3-1/2 Week old tank concerns

[travischristy]

Hey All,


I have some questions regarding my tank. I am new to saltwater and I have a 100G that has been up for just 3 weeks. Here's what is in the tank:


-Live Rock (60 lbs)
-80 lbs of Aragonite Sand on top of 80lbs of Silica Sand
-1 Scoop of Live Sand (~1lb)
-10 Hermit Crabs
-1 Snail that found it's way into my tank with live rock
-1 Clown Fish I bought to test living conditions


Water Parameters:
PH - 7.9
Amonia - 0 ppm
Nitrite - 0ppm
Nitrate - 10ppm
Temp: 76 degrees F
Salinity - 1.026


Everything in the tank is alive still except 1 hermit. I went on vacation and left a very small "Vacation Time-release" piece of food in the tank. When I came home, I noticed a few differences in the tank that got me concerned:


-Dark Grey spots on substrate (aren't diatoms supposed to be brown?)
-Tiny White spots/rings on back of tank and a few rocks (snail eggs? they are rings so idk)
-Small Sand-colored lines running along rocks (hermit poop?)
-Presence of tiny critters running on and around rocks
-Clown fish wont eat mysis shrimp or other food


I don't know if I should be concerned about some of these issues and take action, or should I just let them resolve themselves? I'm going to post pictures (below) of the things concerning me. Thanks for your help!

 

[Brian_G]

the sand looks like sand to me
the stuff on the rocks looks like sand

the clown.. when was he added?

 

[d2mini]

Just a piece of side advice... no reason to have your salt levels that high with no corals in the tank. 1.026 is on the high end for natural seawater and not found in the majority of seas. Some fish only tanks are run at 1.019. Fish are less stressed when living in water at the lower end of the spectrum. They can breath better and their little fish bodies function better and they will have stronger immune systems to fight off parasites such as ich. People like to keep their sw at the high end to help keep trace elements in check in reef systems, but I've found that even with sw as high as 1.026 or even pushing the limits to 1.028, I would still have to dose with the corals in my tank. So I'd rather dose more, but save salt and have happier fish by running at 1.023 ideally but anywhere between 1.022 and 1.024. So you can save yourself some salt at this point and run at 1.022-23.

 

[travischristy]

Thanks I'll be sure to bring the salt down on my next water change. In the first picture if you look closely towards the bottom of the picture you can see the grey spots on the sand. Any ideas?