New to this

I just recently got in to this hobby and as of now been going on the advice of my local stores where i purchased my supplies. I have had my tank up and running for 3 months now i have a 55 gallon tank with 2 filters 2 power-heads, one 1300 gph, which is in the front right side of the tank point strait across at a slight downward angle and 1 800 gph, which is on the left back side of the tank points strait across at a slightly greater angle t5 lighting, a heater and about 50 or so pounds of live rock. Fish wise i have a sailfin tang, coral beauty angel fish, and a clown fish. I also have a 3 anemones as well.

I am unsure as to the best placement for my live rock as well as the power-heads. i currently am having a few dead spots and starting to get quite a bit of algae growth. Like i said i am new to this and i would greatly appreciate all suggestions that more experienced aquarists can offer. thank you for the help!




Here is a picture of my tank:

 

I would not recommend 3 nems in a newer tank first of all...Return those when you can..the reason is that nems need mature tanks to survive well in, around 6-8 months at least..

And your lighting really isnt great for nems, you need Metal Halide light or a really good T5HO light with individual reflectors.

Another is to never really RELY on LFS's...Not to disagree with everything they will tell you, but most of the time they dont always tell you the right and safe way to run a reef tank, most of the time they are in it for the money.

I would recommend getting a skimmer for your tank.

You said you have a few dead spots, maybe redoing your rocks and moving your power heads around and see if you can get rid of them..Its never a good thing to have dead spots IMO.

What filters do you have? most of the time for a reef we would recommend a sump. A sump is a better filtration then HOB filters, and will also hide your equipment.

 

Welcome to 3 reef..... The rock placement is more or less just personal preference, I like to have arches and caves for the fish and inverts to hide in, also keep in mind you need places to put coral. as for the power heads, you just have to play with them, I have mine pointing at the front glass to bounce the current off in a diff. direction.... As for your nems, they usually do best in a more mature system, but I've heard of people keeping them from the start, just try and feed them every so often.

 

Welcome to 3Reef...The algae is most likely from the Tang = high nutrient water. Is it on the rocks or glass? How often and what do you feed? What are your water params? Amm, Nitrite, Nitrate, Phos? How many bulbs? How long are your lights running? How old are your bulbs? How often and what % water change are you doing? Answers to these questions will help nail down the reason for your algae problem.

 

Hello and Welcome to 3reef,


The age of the tank may be part of the problem. Not uncommon for a tank that age to go through an algae problem.

Is this green hair algae or cyanobacteria, I do not see much algae in the image you attached?

When you back to the fish store ask them to test your water for phosphates. You want values below 0.05 ppm and lower. If the phosphate level is elevated you should consider the amount of food you are introducing to the tank as well as the phosphate level of your water source.

Also consider trying some chempure-elite or GFO.

Good luck.

 

Welcome to 3reef.

Place the power heads so they are aimed parallel to each other and pointing slightly at the surface to give better gas exchange and keep your pH more steady.

 

I am just at a loss as to the best way to arrange the live rock weather to stack it along the back of the tank with a bit of space to allow waterflow(what i currently have), create separate stacks, large pile at the middle i have arranged it many times and still unsatisfied. What is your personal preference? There is a Green Algae on the front glass and a red/brown algae on the side glass. im not sure of the water parameters the light is a T5 with 2 actinic blue lamp bulbs and 2 full-spectrum daylight lamps with 3 led moonlights. I bought the light fixture off a friend whom replaced the bulbs before he sold it to me. I do a 15 gallon water change monthly.

 

If it just a dusting on the glass that is normal for a young tank just get a mag float/glass scrubber and clean every other day. I personally like the 2 island look. Maybe you could look in the display your tank forum for some ideas there. The Tang will love you for as much unobstructed swimming as you can provide. JMHO

 

Welcome Welcome ! Everyone has given you really good advice!

 

welcome and I hope you get things to a point that you like them. Aquacaping is something that just happened for my in the first 2 years because I had not seen that many tanks for inspiration or had time to learn about the pros and cons of different styles. As your finding there are lots of different opinions in this hobby because there are a lot of different ways to do things . I suggest taking things slow and doing lots of research, so you can sort out how who is doing what and what you like.