A couple questions

Okay, so I've had my 75gal tank running for a year or two. All is going well, except a few things.

First -

There is significant salt buildup / residue that builds up on the tank cover, and all the appliances hanging on the back of the tank, the back of the tank, etc. Salt caked on everywhere. I clean it every so often, but I'm sure there is a way to avoid this?

Would a protein skimmer eliminate this problem?

Second-

The tank would look quite decent, if it weren't for all the visible powerheads/filters/etc.

Are there easy ways to hide the 2 filters I have, the heater, and the 2 powerheads? Also, if I were to buy a protein skimmer how would I hide that as well?

I also know I don't have enough rocks in there, so I'm slowly building up the rocks as well.

I have 3 clownfish(2 are black and white and were bought as a pair)
3 damsels
a goby
and a clean up crew with all kinds of crabs/snails etc.

The tank levels are all good, but this salt residue I think is what is causing my salinity to spike every so often if I let it go.

edit-

Third-

I only have a cheap freshwater light setup. I mean to upgrade it eventually.

 

Fist things first are you able to get a sump underneath your tank? If so this would be the easiest way to hide things, get a hang on back overflow and place a sump under the tank for the filter, skimmer, and heater.

As far as hiding the power heads there's no real solution beside some rock on the side of them to hide them, you need them to circulate water around your tank so placing them in the sump is not an option.

Furthermore are you adding saltwater when you refill evaporation from your tank? This will increase salinity levels

 

I was actually looking into building a sump right now. I want to set one up with an overflow box style so I don't have to drill. I'm still researching how though.

I am adding saltwater to replace evaporation. Only a light amount though. I mix it up to like 1.02. Right now the salinity is at 1.03.

So I should start by not adding in saltwater for evap?

 

You should not replace evaporation water with saltwater, you just replace with regular water. Your salinity is too high - it should be anywhere from 1.021 to 1.026 with the lower end for fish only and optimally around 1.025 for fish and corals. That high salinity may be part of the salt creep issue you're experiencing - but to be honest, one will always have salt creep in and around a saltwater tank, I don't think there's any getting around that but perhaps others may have some ideas...

You are going to want to bring that salinity down - you can take out some water and replace with regular water. Are you using RO/DI water? If you're not, that will also be an important thing to start using filtered water. If you don't have a unit, you can get RO/DI from your LFS or even places like walmart have RO water. If you can't get access to any of that, you can use at least distilled water. Filtered water goes a long way to keeping your water clear and you tank free from various algaes......

Since you're new here, if you run your cursor over any unfamiliar acronyms, it will tell you what many of them stand for.

Welcome to 3reef! We're glad you're here!

 

Thanks fishkeeper. I have not been using RO/DI, I've just been using tap and putting in an additive. I know that's not optimal, but the tank is doing well aside from this salt issue.

I think my next step is bringing down the salinity and setting up a sump and buying more live rock.

Can anyone link me to a good sump to buy, or an easy DIY build?

Edit

Okay, I know what I want in my sump and whatnot. How do I work the overflow/line going into the sump and how big of a pump do I want going out?

 

See if you can PM Todd Sails. He actually has a plastic bin as a sump I think....he's also very knowledgeable on the DIY with the sump.