Newish to the Hobby

bhaynes88

Reefing newb
Hello everyone I am relativley new to the hobby, i have had my tank up now for about 3 months or so and, have had a really hard time with it and am not sure why. I heard that this was a great forum with nice members, unlike most other's who wont offer up advice. I hope to make some good friends on here who can assist me in the learing of the hobby and allow me to oneday offer advice. Have a great day
 
Hello and Welcome!

Can you give a run down of the issues you have been having and the equipment and fish and inverts you have currently?
 
A total run down:
Equipment:
Penguin 350 HOB w/extra carbon in media bags
maxi Jet 600 in powerhead config
Regent 16ogph powerhead
50w heater
4XT-5HO fixture(10,000k, UVSuper Actinic, UV454,10,000k
Open Top 29g

Live Stock
2 Emeral Craps
1 mexican turbo snail
1 Clown Fish
1 Blue Damsel
1 Black and White Damsel
1 Peppermint Shrimp

15 to 20lbs of live Rock and
10lbs of sand

The problems i am having is i cannot get my tank clear or keep it clear for more than a day or 2, i have yet to enjoy my tank but rather spend all day worrying about it. about 2 weeks ago i was having a problem with dissolved organics i was doin water changes every other day with ro water from fish store. I decided i would you raw well water on saterday 2 weeks ago instead of ro because fish store is 35min away. on sunday you could not see through my tank it was solid green in the water not on the glass i tried a maring algicide for 2 weekw but no luck. i was forced to do a 100% water change three days ago i cleaned my sand very well to get the algea out and cleaned tank completely, rinsed rocks in clean sw to remove algea from in the pores to prevent another bloom my tank was cloudy the next morning but that i can understand, from the water chang but today it seems to be worse its a white haze. and i have foam on top of my water, i guess i am having another problem with organics. i just dont know i dont want to give up but someitmes its hard and when you go on other forums and well nobody cares to help you feel helpless. But from what i have heard and have seen in the last 30 min or so this forum is actually help full.

What other equip do i need should i go sump route, i am planning on eventually working up to a 75g but that is way in the future so all equip i by i try and make sure that it can handle a 75g so i dont have to re-buy but please any suggestions
thanks
 
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howdy and welcome to the site.. :D
dont worry I am sure things will get straightened out..
I would first off get another heater I would throw another 100 to 150 watts on, dismantling the tank like you did is going to start a cycle again ( most likely).
Are you testing anything? nitrates, ammonia, or nitrites? the filter wil be fine for the moment but I would look into getting rid of it and getting a nice little skimmer for the tank, the filter without regular cleaning will cause problems down the road. I would also switch your powerhead to circulation mode to get a little more movement in the tank.. You want to try and turn your tank over 30 times or so per hour, this will get you set for corals also down the road..
 
thanks marcah for the suggestions

I will upgrade my heater as soon as i get the chance. i had the maxi in circulation mode at first but it seemed i could never get it not to blow away the substrate. i thought at first that might have been why my tank was cloudy.

I Test:
Ammonia: 0
Nitrates 10-20
Nitrites 0
Ph 8.1
Calcium 420

I am just looking for the right solution to the problem and i am confident that when i find it my water will be clear but, hey this is my first sw tank its a learning expirience.

I have read and have got the impression that protien skimmers are the back bone to the filtration of a sw tank, is this the case, is there need for the mechanical filtration, once i get my tank stable and sustanced for lets say 6months to a year.

thanks again
 
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