First tank - Newbie questions

[abizzle117]

Dear All,

This is my first tank ever. I was handed down a 36g bowfront aquarium and filter, and I purchased the rest. It was cycled initially with bottled bacteria, and it took about a month. The tank is almost 4 months old, with fish being introduced for a little over 2 months.

My parameters that I'm capable of measuring are (all API test kit):
Temp 76-77
Ammonia 0
Nitrites 0
Nitrate 0 (but unlikely truly 0)
Phosphate 0 (also unlikely)
Alk 9
pH 7.8
Salinity 1.024 (refractometer)

Current occupants (in order of introduction):
2 clownfish
1 watchman goby
1 royal gramma
1 tuxedo urchin
5 small hermits
5 astrea snails

No corals and no plans to. Feed twice a day, frozen mysis, flakes and pellets. Water change 10% weekly (sometimes twice to clear uglies).

I resisted posting on this forum for a while because of the intimidating nature of all the knowledge on this forum and all the beautiful tanks. But the forum has been very helpful for me to read through when I have questions. My tank designed to please both myself and my children so please be kind on the decoration. But I do have a few questions I was hoping those with more experience would give me their insights.

1) The pH. I know it's low, and opening windows does seem to have a very minor impact. I added an airstone (against the general opinion I've read for saltwater tanks) and it didn't really seem to do much. The tank does have a glass lid with small spaces that air can probably seep in. The one circulation pump I have does point towards the surface. What can I, or should I, do about the pH? Additives do have a temporary effect but ultimately, it returns to around 7.8, sometimes a bit lower, sometimes a bit higher.

2) My fish. They seem bored as hell. The clownfish mostly just swim near the front glass, occasionally they do rest in the fake anemone. The royal gramma does duck and in and out of his live rock cave but mostly just sits in the dead center of the tank staring at me. The watchman goby is expectedly inactive. I added the new rock structure on the right very recently, which I made from frags, in hopes that it would incite some activity. There is little to no swimming in the upper 2/3rds of the tank, and little to no active swimming as a general matter.

3) If I were to get another fish (maybe in a few months), what would be a good addition here? I was looking at wrasses, like a Solon fairy wrasse. I want something peaceful, and something active - given the lack of activity. The tank is small so that is a limitation. Would probably be the last fish for the foreseeable future.

4) All the gunk you see in the picture is normal? Been going through it since month 1. There were diatoms, then the green film algae, then what appears to be green hair algae growing on the substrate and a few other small locations. I vacuum it up with water changes and it comes back the same day. There was more green film algae on the rocks but the snails took care of a lot of it.

I think that's all. I'm mostly just concerned about the lack of activity from the fish. Maybe I just chose inactive fish. The rest of the questions are open for me but a lot of the posts I've already read do make them seem like normal occurrences. Thanks in advance and I appreciate the contribution of this forum for those new to the hobby like myself.

 

[Stang67]

I wouldn't be to overly concerned with ph at this point. If you were planning to get corals maybe, but with just fish not really important.
Some fish just aren't active but it may be partly due to the decor. I understand the reasoning.
Active fish recommendations, tail spot blenny, springeri damsel, a couple or 3 chromis.
Gunk maybe from feeding too much and too much light. I would cut back feeding to 2 small feedings a day and cut back on the duration of time the light is on.
Don't be afraid to ask when you have questions. Most of us are nice here and want to see others succeed.
Congrats on the tank and welcome to the Reef

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I would not worry about ph, 7.8 is just fine especially for fish only tank.

Your tank desperately needs powerheads to create some flow. It will help against all that algae, and fish like playing in the flow.

You don’t have many hiding spots in your rock work. Personally I would not get another fish.

 

[ScottJ]

Agree that a power head would be a great addition. Something like this would work well. I would maybe put it up on the back wall, other side of the filter. (sorry, Amazon links don't seem to work for me as late)

Hydor Koralia Nano Aquarium Circulation Pump, Includes Built-In Cable Protector, 425 GPH, Measures 2.4-Inches & is Ideal for Fresh or Salt Water Use

IMHO, The tank could use some more rock, maybe even double what you have.

 

[abizzle117]

Thanks to you both for the replies and the welcome.

I do feed twice a day and I've tried to keep it smaller as I've suspected I'm feeding too much. Will try and cut back more and reduce lights.

Thanks for the fish recommendations Stang. My father-in-law, who gifted me his old tank, actually does have 3 chromis and I saw they swam in a school. Thought that was cool. Certainly would be some activity.

Mr Mojo, thanks I will try and add more flow. Seems like a good tip to address a couple of my issues. Indeed, I know I'm short on rockwork and the new piece I created was meant to add a bit more cover. Hence maybe one more fish eventually. I appreciate the advice.

Thanks again to you both!

 

[abizzle117]

Agree that a power head would be a great addition. Something like this would work well. I would maybe put it up on the back wall, other side of the filter. (sorry, Amazon links don't seem to work for me as late)

Hydor Koralia Nano Aquarium Circulation Pump, Includes Built-In Cable Protector, 425 GPH, Measures 2.4-Inches & is Ideal for Fresh or Salt Water Use

IMHO, The tank could use some more rock, maybe even double what you have.

Thanks to you as well Scott. And for the product recommendation. I do want to add more rock, but im hesitant to crowd the tank with it. Im also a bit nervous about adding vertically since I don't have too much epoxy holding what's there together, and I shouldn't take the rock out of the water right?

 

[ScottJ]

Thanks to you as well Scott. And for the product recommendation. I do want to add more rock, but im hesitant to crowd the tank with it. Im also a bit nervous about adding vertically since I don't have too much epoxy holding what's there together, and I shouldn't take the rock out of the water right?

You can take rock out of the water for a short time to work on it. It won't impact the bacteria. I think you have plenty of real estate to work with, especially on the right side and in the center. One nice thing about reef rock is it interlocks fairly easily, so you can build a pretty secure structure without adhesive, or very little. Another option to hold them together is to drill holes in the rock and use short acrylic rods to keep them in place. (Although, I have tried that without much success. I just stack and interlock, no glue.) You can even make little egg crate supports held together with zip ties, to elevate background rocks. Just hide the egg crate behind the foreground.

The possibilities are endless.

 

[abizzle117]

You can take rock out of the water for a short time to work on it. It won't impact the bacteria. I think you have plenty of real estate to work with, especially on the right side and in the center. One nice thing about reef rock is it interlocks fairly easily, so you can build a pretty secure structure without adhesive, or very little. Another option to hold them together is to drill holes in the rock and use short acrylic rods to keep them in place. (Although, I have tried that without much success. I just stack and interlock, no glue.) You can even make little egg crate supports held together with zip ties, to elevate background rocks. Just hide the egg crate behind the foreground.

The possibilities are endless.

Thanks for the tips. I will see if I can figure out how to build things up a bit before I add any more fish. Appreciate it very much.

One last question for you on the powerhead actually. I do have one pump already on the right side, top back. To make surface agitation, but also for flow. The placement you suggested for the second head would be left side of the back wall pointing towards the front? Somewhere in the middle of the depth of the tank?

 

[ScottJ]

Thanks for the tips. I will see if I can figure out how to build things up a bit before I add any more fish. Appreciate it very much.

One last question for you on the powerhead actually. I do have one pump already on the right side, top back. To make surface agitation, but also for flow. The placement you suggested for the second head would be left side of the back wall pointing towards the front? Somewhere in the middle of the depth of the tank?

Sure, that could work. You are trying to create some randomness in the water movement, like it would be on a reef. Clashing currents make that. If you want to get fancy, you can get controllable wave makers. You set them to run at different speeds, different pulse types, etc.