Hi !

[MamawVal]

I'm new here & hope to learn a lot. I have had my 55 gal. sw tank since March 07 so I have lots to learn!

[Marke86]

Welcome To the REEF. Its my space for fish

[reeffreak]

Hello and welcome.
If anytime you have questions,feel free to ask.

[Altohombre]

sounds like your tank is already well on its way. Are you looking to add corals now?

[Bifferwine]

Hi! Tell us more about your tank!

[daugherty]

hello post some pics

[MamawVal]

Thank you all for the welcome! I am glad to have found a place with real people to help with any questions I may have. Although I have had my sw tank almost a year, I still know little about them. I have kinda just let it go on it's own with what I had to start with. The local fs I started with has since closed so now I have to travel about 50 miles to get my water (which is a lot easier & cheaper than making it myself) & supplies or go online. I do the water changes about once a month which has seemed to work well. I have the old standard filters from when I had a fresh wayer tank (that I hope to replace wit a canister soon!) I also have a heater & 2 addtl. pumps just to move the water. I am still in the process of obtaining more LR (which I should be receiving any day now) I have a small zoo & a feather duster and a colt coral, though small, they all seem to be doing well. I also have an anemone which the blk. & wht. clown has taken to well. I am trying to promote the coralline algae growth now as there is little in there. I DID have a problem with an unwanted algae that starts out a really pretty purple & I was told to use the eurythromycin (sp) which seemed to do the trick & it all turned black & went away but I see traces of it again. I suppose I will need another treatment.? Anyway....I got a protien skimmer for a Christmas present & I took it out because the foam would leak out around the rim & was going back into the tank, which I KNEW was not good. My kids got it off ebay for me & for some strange reason, after Christmas, they sent a second one to my daughter who lives in Tn. She called & said she got it but we have no idea why. Anyway, I am meeting her in Ky. (half way) this weekend for m birthday & she is bringing it to me & I am hoping it will work w/o leaking as this one did. If it does, I will have to get yet another one! geezzz!~~ I am trying to learn all I can & what I really "need" to have a beautiful tank. I am hoping to find a place this weekend in Lexington Ky. (where I'm meeting my daughter) that may have some good (reasonably priced) corals, mushrooms, ect, that I could get. I know the big thing with SW tanks is patience, but mine really does need some frags to get going & to add more color & life! I may add some more fish later, one of which I am wanting is something that is red or orange since I have yellow, blue, black & white already. I am not sure what would be com patible with the ones I have. Everytime I find one I like it says it's agressive or won't live well in a reef tank. I want both! Reef & Fish! lol I will list again what I have. Yellow tang, 2 blue damsels, firefin goby (had 2, 1 died) blk. & wht. clown, chocolate chip star fish & 2 snails. Any suggestions on what else I can add would be greatly appreciated. I also am a little leary about getting live things online (except LR)...not real sure if it is too much a risk or what.
I was also wondering what all the tiny white things are growing in my tank. I can't get a picture of them to show up. I was told they may be feather dusters but they don't seem to be growing fast at all so I can't really tell. But they are growing on all the LR & on the glass too. They are a tube like thing w/ tiny tiny things sticking out from the end. and they are all white. Any ideas? (My feather duster also amazed me...1 day I looked & the feather part had detatched & was laying away from the tube...so I thought ok well it has dies...but now there is a new "feather" on it & seems to be doing well. I didn't know they did that...or was that just a freaky thing?? lol) Anyway...I am glad it's doing better. And oh yeah...I am adding Purpleup to try to get more CA growing. Was wondering how long I should keep adding it? Hopefully it works
I am looking forward to all the help I can get. And thanks again for the Welcome!!

[yote]

First off.Welcome to the reef.
Now lets get you headed in the right direction.
If you add a canister filter,your going to have give it a good cleaning on a regular basis.The crud that builds up in them will cause high nitrates and algae problems.
Dont use any medications at all in your display tank.Most of that stuff will kill inverts and corals,The purple stuff you talked about is most likely cyano bacteria.Its caused by excess nutrients.Just cut back on feeding.Use only frozen foods.Flakes and pellets containe ash which is phosphate.It'll also help to leave the lights off for 3 or 4 days.
If you want reef,you'll have to get rid of your chocolate chip star.It'll eat any thing it can crawls over.
Stop using purple up to.That stuff is just a waste of money.Get yourself a test kit for calcium,PH,alkalinity,magnesium,and nitrate.Test those on a weekly basis and dose as needed to replenish levels that need it.Usually regular water changes will take care of that part for you.
Good luck and hope to see more posts from you.

[fishbait]

yes, the little white things are feather dusters called spirobid worms. they are harmless filter feeders. If you are overun with them it's a sign you're nutrient levels are high. and they will be without a skimmer. I would skip the canister filter. an ample amount of live rock (1-2 lbs per gallon) and a good skimmer should be all the filtration you need. canister filters can cause more problems than their worth if not cleaned weekly. a good skimmer will also help out with the cyanobacteria (the ugly red/purple algae) that you are getting. I recomend up-ing the water changes to remove excess nutrients until you get a skimmer.