Pea Soup 2

Hello All,

I finally got the 20 gallon setup and filled. I filled the tank with tap water and I mixed the salt myself. I used Instant Ocean salt. I left the tank empty without LR for 30 days. At the end of January I purchased some live rock and put it in the tank. On the February 6th I purchased two percula clowns and put them in. The following Saturday I bought a small yellow tang and added him or her not sure which. Anyway, the fish are doing fine and seem happy but now I am having problems with algae. First I started battling the brown diatom. I put chemi-pure in my filter and that took care of the diatom. Now I am battling the green powdery algae that gets on the glass. For example, I put my mag scraper in the tank this morning and I cleaned the entire tank. It is now 5 pm cst. and the green algae is back on the glass. I did a water change on Saturday morning using RODI water. I used a siphon and I cleaned all areas of the sand that are exposed. I got rid of the rest of the the diatom on the sand, but now the green algae has taken the place of the brown algae. What can I put in the tank to take care of this stuff? I don't mind doing tank maintenance, and I know that things happen fast in a 20 gal aquarium, but this green algae on the glass makes the tank look green and neglected. I have not tested my water after the water change, but before the water change the Nitrates = 0, nitrites where 0 and the ph was 8.4. I also have a pulsating zenia, and it seems to be doing fine after water change. I have 5 snails and 4 small hermit crabs because one died and I sucked him out during the water change. I realize that I don't have enough janitors in the housekeeping department, but as time passes I will hire some more workers for that department. In the meantime any and all suggestion are greatly appreciated. I don't have a protein skimmer, but I hope to get one next Tuesday for my birthday. I will enjoy the tank more when every thing does not look green any more. Thanks in advance for all the help and suggestion.

Gus Gonzalez
Baton Rouge, LA;D

 

ok so its like a green powder all over the place?

 

The algae is part of the cycle and you will also have to deal with it for the rest of the time. It is microalgae and part of the environment. A good clean up crew will help. Using the rodi will help as time goes by. The skimmer will help a lot on this also. Feed less, do water changes more often and I hate to say this but that tang will outgrow your tank in a couple of weeks if not already. Tangs are very active fish and swim large distance in nature. 4 foot tanks are the minimum recommended and that is very iffy. 6 foot tanks are better.

 

The tang can also be contributing to the algae due to its bio-load. It would be a lot in a tank that small.

 

Yes, that is it! Green powdery algae all over the glass and in some spots on the sand. It is a pain in the neck and makes the aquarium look neglected.

Thanks for your help.

Gus Gonzalez

 

Thanks for your advise. The yellow tang has been in the tank about a week now I purchased it Friday a week ago. The LFS is a friend of mine and he told me that he would trade my tang when it gets big for another small one. I am sure that will try other fish that are more suited for that size tank. I don't care to have more than three or 4 fish in this tank at any given time. How many fish can I safely have with without creating an overload? Again thanks for your help and advise.

Gus Gonzalez

 

I forgot to mention that I only feed once in the morning. Should I feed once, or twice a day? Let me know.

Thanks

Gus Gonzalez

 

Thanks for the advice! How many fish that do not include a tang would you put in a tank this size? I like the clowns and the wrasses. Not crazy about the blennies. I would not mind trading my yellow tang for two maroon clowns. Would you consider this to be to many fish for this tank. I don't ever plan on having more than 3 to 4 fish. Let me know what you think.

Thanks
Gus Gonzalez

 

The general rule of thumb is 1" of fish for every 5 gallons of water in the system.

Are you sure your algae is just growing on the glass and rock, or is it in the water column? Is your water green too? I had a phytoplankton bloom, and it actually powdered the glass and rocks too.

 

As for your algae issues, your tank probably never cycled as you didn't add any rock for 30 days, then immediately added two clowns and the tang. First, that tang should not be in a 20 gal tank, I can't stress that enough. It will be stressed, prone to disease and will result in constant issues for you and your tank. The clowns are good in that size tank, but you haven't mentioned anything about a skimmer, chemical filtration, how much rock you have etc. IMO, a good example of a stock list for that size tank
with a good skimmer and filtration would be two clowns (not maroon, they get too big IMO) a goby of some sort and a small wrasse such as a flasher wrasse. You need to be very careful what fish you put in there and research what fish you want before just adding them. Some fish need ample room and frequent feedings (anthias, tangs) other will be very aggressive in that size tank. Personally, I would have no more then 3-4 small fish (gobies, clowns, some wrasses, damsels etc). I find it very unnerving that your lfs told you a tang would be ok in that sized tank, even a small tang should not be in that sized tank.

To your algae issue, how much are you feeding? I tend to feed once every other day, but sometimes will give two small meals in a day. The tap water is a major source of nutrients for the algae, it's good that you changed over to RO/DI, but it will take a while to get all that tap water out of there.

One final suggestion, is that you should take it a little slower. You seem not to have researched a salt water setup or stocking list much. Nothing good happens in this hobby quickly. It requires patience, time and knowledge. You'll get there, and we all make mistakes, but slowing down and doing more research will greatly increase your success in this hobby.