What are your thoughts on this new tank? Novice here, so any recommendations on changes or additions are welcome.

[trasor]

What would you add/change? 3 month old 20g. The orange sponge has been receding since the beginning and there seems to be some bleaching so I’ve cut the light back from 14 hours a day to 10. Also the light gradually increases to 80 percent and then back to zero except the blue light is left at 2 percent outside of the 10 hours. The water is purchased from a reputable lfs and is currently changed 20-30 percent about twice a week, though there was a point where I was making my own with tap water and the instant ocean conditioner. Won’t be doing
do that again lol.

 

[Retro Reefer]

Sponges can be tricky, important to research specimen your interested in and also best to wait until your tank is well matured and stable before introducing one.

I would agree 14 hours of light is probably to much, 10-12 is what I typically run mine.

20-30% water changes twice a week are excessive and probably doing more harm than good. 10-20% once a week is usually fine unless there are other circumstances.

I would be very careful trusting LFS to make your water, make sure you check TDS each time before using. water is one of the most important things in this hobby, all things considered a Ro/DI system is well worth the investment.