[soxley2k]

i got what i think is new tank syndrome how do i cure it. everything in the tank was fine till few days ago and now the coral and white stones i got have turned like a brownie colour. and one more thing has the skimmer got to be working 24h a day as the tank is in my bedroom or can i turn it off at the nite. it is a prisam hangon skimmer. and how long should i wait till i can put in 1 anemay for the clown fish.

[samsreef]

How long has your tank been running?
What filteration do you use apart from the prizm hangon skimmer?
What water did you use to setup the tank with? (reverse osmosis or tap water?)

I have my tank in my bedroom and leave the skimmer on 24 hours. I got used to the sound! I don't if you can turn it off, but someone else might be able to answer that.

[soxley2k]

it was set up with tap water and left to filter for about 4-weeks and the filter i got running is a external hydor prime 20 i have just put in 2 clark clown as all the nitrate is gone as used sea muture to help set it up and took a sample into the shop and he did test and said water is loads better as been taking some in on weekly basis it is only a small shop but he dont sell the fish unless the water is ok for them (a honest man) and the skimmer is a prisam. but now i would like to know how long will the tank take to come nice and white again or should i take the coral out and give it a clean. and what about the stones as it is marine gravel (white) and now looks a mucky brown. looked really nice and bright untill this happend but was told it may happen

[samsreef]

I wouldn't take the coral out and clean it. Tanks go through quite a few stages of algae growth, perhaps somebody else can suggest some kind of stuff for this kind of algae.

Originally Posted by soxley2k

it was set up with tap water and left to filter for about 4-weeks and the filter i got running is a external hydor prime 20 i have just put in 2 clark clown as all the nitrate is gone as used sea muture to help set it up and took a sample into the shop and he did test and said water is loads better as been taking some in on weekly basis it is only a small shop but he dont sell the fish unless the water is ok for them (a honest man) and the skimmer is a prisam. but now i would like to know how long will the tank take to come nice and white again or should i take the coral out and give it a clean. and what about the stones as it is marine gravel (white) and now looks a mucky brown. looked really nice and bright untill this happend but was told it may happen

[Arctic Fox]

without a picture it's hard to tell but if it's a realitively new tank and the "algae" is a brown colour and covering the rocks and glass and sometimes the sand my first guess is that this algae is actually brown diatoms. Diatoms appear in new tanks all the time and they are a good sign. They don't actually harm anything or mean anything is wrong. They are just eating the extra Silicon in the water, I don't think they take anything out of the water that any of the other critters need. The only bad thing about them is they look ugly. Provided you keep the water quality up they should go away after they've depleted the silicon in the water.

[soxley2k]

ok thanks at least it is not nothing wrong wi the tank and thats a good thing
how do i work out how many fish i can have in a 180L tank its about 4ftx2ft its a juwel 180L i have upgraded the filter to a hydor prime 20 and prisim skimmer.
i am thinking of going to live rock in the near future.
how long should i leave it before i put a anemory in as i want 1 so the clark clown can live in it.

[Poseidon]

Please do more research BEFORE you buy that Anemone... They are best kept by experienced reefers... Also for the algae bloom, you can add LOTS AND LOTS of snails! I try to keep more then 100 in my 135 gallon tank!

[samsreef]

we have two clark clowns that live under the internal pump. We wont risk having any anemone yet and the tanks been running for a good 6 months.

[Arctic Fox]

Originally Posted by soxley2k

how do i work out how many fish i can have in a 180L tank its about 4ftx2ft its a juwel 180L i have upgraded the filter to a hydor prime 20 and prisim skimmer.

That's about a 50 US gallon tank right? I've seen numbers anywhere between 1 inch of fish per every 5 gallons, to 1 inch of fish for every 20 gallons in marine aquariums. Unfortunately that's not very helpful since I'm basically giving you numbers like, "well you can have one 10 inch fish or 10 one inch fish". It's got a lot to do with how much of a bioload your biological filtration can handle. I don't know what your biological filter looks like, at first it's going to be pretty lean, and you wont be able to put that many critters in your tank, but as it ages you'll get more and more good bacteria that will help clean the water, and you'll get to be able to put more and more of a bioload in the tank. Start off small is all I can really say and then add more as your filter matures. The best way to tell how your biological filter is doing in the long run is by how much you have to change the water. Find out how long it takes for your Nitrates (NO3) to go above 10ppm and put yourself on a schedule. If it takes about a week to get that high, you might have to change your water every week. If it takes a month to get that high, then you'll have to change it every month. For a new tank, initally you'll probably be changing it every week since your biological filter isn't mature, but as it matures you'll find it takes longer and longer to hit 10ppm. I think that is the best way to see how your biological filter is doing because I started off changing my water every week and the amount of time took longer and longer for the Nitrates to go up, now I'm at the point where I haven't changed my water in over 2 months and the Nitrates are still below 1 ppm.

Originally Posted by soxley2k

i am thinking of going to live rock in the near future.

That is good, live rock I've found is the best filter in the world, never needs cleaning, no filters to change, looks natural, given enough time all kinds of strange critters and algae will grow on it and the rock itself will be absolutely fasinating to look at. Aim for about 1.33 lbs of live rock for every US gallon, (about .6 Kilos for every 3.785 litres). DO NOT add a bunch of live rock all at once if you already have fish in the aquarium, start off slow if you already have fish in the aquarium, add about 5 lbs (2 kilos) worth of rock at a time in a tank that big, watch the ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. Your tank will go through kind of a little "mini cycle" and once ammonia and nitrite are back down to zero you can add more rock.

Originally Posted by soxley2k

how long should i leave it before i put a anemory in as i want 1 so the clark clown can live in it.

Anenomes are absolutely beautiful yes, but they are extremely difficult to take care of for someone with no experience in reef keeping. I don't mean to burst your bubble or be mean or anything. Anenomes need an extremely stable environment to live in. Only about 1/32 anenomes live longer than 5 years in any random sample of aquariums, (about a 3.125% survival rate). Contrast that to a figure I've heard that said in the ocean some anenomes may be over 1000 years or more old. I would wait on the anenome a few years, your Clarks wont mind the wait. Try some easier to take care of corals first, and if you can keep those alive then move onto more difficult corals, and then finally anenomes last. Also, as a side note, most anenomes need a lot of light, a lot more than what most home aquariums have. You'll most likely need metal halide lighting to meet that need, and metal halides are very expensive, not only to buy, but to run as well.