Advice on aquascape, flow, and green algae

[Ali16590]

Hi,

My tank has been running for about a year.

Tank: Neptunian Cube 90

Current stock:

• 2 mollies
• 2 clownfish
• 1 bicolour blenny
• 1 watchman goby
• 1 fire goby
• 1 snail
• 2 hermit crabs

Water parameters:

• Phosphate: 0.03 ppm
• Ammonia: 0
• Nitrate: 5 ppm

I have a few questions and would really appreciate any advice.


1. Aquascape:
How suitable is my aquascape for a FOWLR tank, and eventually for a reef tank? If changes are recommended, what would be the best way to go about adjusting it?


2. Flow / wavemaker:
I currently have one wavemaker. Does the placement look okay? Would it be beneficial to add another one, and if so, where would you suggest placing them?


3. Green rocks / algae:
My rocks have become very green. I suspect it may be related to using tap water. I’m currently looking into getting an RO/DI system. Is there anything else I should be doing to address this?


Any other advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

 

[Fish Fan]

I thin your rock 'scape looks good, but I'm terrible with such things

Looks to me like you're not getting good surface agitation, the water surface looks rather flat and still, at least to me from the pic above. I would suggest another circ pump and aim it up towards the water surface. This provides god gas exchange for your system, CO2 out and O2 in.

Tap water may well be fueling the algae, it did for me when I used it many years ago. If you don't yet have an RODI system, consider buying gallons of distilled water for a little over a dollar/gallon to use for making your own saltwater and for topping off evaporated freshwater. Just start now using the distilled water with your next top off and/or water change, and in time all the water will be changed over. In the long-term, it's quite a bit cheaper to have your own RODI filter and make your own freshwater rather than buying distilled, but in the short term buying distilled water is an affordable and accessible way to go. You can also check with a local fish store, often they will sell premade saltwater (double check all parameters before using!) and/or RODI freshwater by the gallon.

I do now see that your location is in Israel and the distilled water available in the United States is thought to be safe to use, though it may be different in your country. I would think it's likely fine to use, but it would depend on the method they use to distill the water. In some cases, they may use coils that contain copper, and copper would be bad for your inverts. Just something to be aware of.

I like the Mollies

Good luck with your tank!

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Personally I would aim that powerhead upwards to create some surface agitation and help oxygenate the water, and IMO a large tank like yours would benefit from another powerhead. I would place it on the opposite side somewhat aimed towards each other to create some random flow patterns.

The rockwork looks good, personally I would go up one more set of rocks to give it more height, but thats just my preference. Good luck