Newbie looking for advice/suggestions on how to improve my setup

Simon_K

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Hello everyone,

I've had my aquarium for a few months now (since july 2019), I've had a few major issues over that time (salinity drop, salinity hike, algae bloom, diatom bloom) as i learn the craft. Most of the issues I experienced could have been prevented by talking to people more knowledgable than me and preventing rather than fixing!

So here's my questions - are there any serious issues or flaws in my setup? I want to make sure my setup is a healthy environment for all my livestock!

Things I'm worried about:
- the water flow seems bad, i have a few areas around the rocks that seem to accumulate diatoms.
- is the placement of the equipment correct?
- Should I scrub the rocks from all this disgusting algae or should i leave it as is ? will it die off once the tank is matured?
- my clownfish are always chilling in the left back corner of the aquarium, is there a reason for that? Usually behind skimmer, sometimes next to the rock in front of the skimmer and close to the red macroalgae.
- what do i need to do to make this setup viable for corals? I'm thinking about toadstool leather coral for my clownfish



Photos of the setup can be found here:

Below are my aquarium specs:

Aquarium Details:
- Aquarium - Ciano Aqua 80 - 80 x 30 x 41,5 cm, 71Litres - https://ciano.pt/en/produto/aqua-80/
- around 9kg of live rock
- Light - Vipar Spectra 165W www.amazon.com/VIPARSPECTRA-Control-Dimmable-Aquarium-Spectrum/dp/B07SHR6HW1
- photo period - 12 hours of blue lights (80%) and during that 6.5 hours of white lights (30%)
- external filter - EHEIM classic 250 (2213)


Livestock:
- Bicolor blenny
- jawfish
- 2x clownfish
- 2x turbo snails
- 1x bumblebee snail
- 2x spiny shell snail
- 1x banded trochus snail
- 3/4x blue legged hermit crabs
- 1x Black Leg Hermit Crab
-1x macroalgae - red bamboo/Solieria spp

Filter media:
- coarse foam
- JBL BionitratEx
- JBL Micromec
- JBL PhosEx
- JBL Symec Filter wool
- (will add seachem renew today as i have no carbon filtering right now)

Maintenance:
daily
- scrub the algae from the glass with the magnet scrub
- remove the skimmate (usually every other day)

Every couple days:
- scoop up any poop, uneaten food and diatoms

weekly
- dose of Fauna Marine Bacto Blend
- 20-30% water change with RO water+red sea salt
- remove and clean from the algae - wavemakers, heater and the filter pipes
- thoroughly clean the skimmer cup (Tunze Comline® DOC Skimmer 9004)

every 4~6weeks:
- clean the canister filter - remove media (keep in water), rinse with RO water
 

Ruben's Reef

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!!! Welcome to R2R Simon !!! Nice looking tank and rock scape. Your tank still new and will go to the called "ugly phase" where diatoms and algae will comes out and go. A good CUC will help to control that and a diamond goby will keep your sand out of diatoms. Also, I had that light before and I see a good setup on 80% blue and 20% white. The blue channel started at 9am and off at 22pm. The white channel comes out at 11am and off at 20pm. That setup worked out well for me. There's no problem using canister filter but you will need to keep it clean often. Also do you have a ATO ? That will help a lot with your salinity swings. Other members will give more advise.
 

Sparkymarc

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My clownfish do the same. I have two tanks and each has a pair of clowns. They both picked a spot and they chill there most of the time. I think that is pretty common. My two phantom clowns love euphyllia
 

lapin

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- my clownfish are always chilling in the left back corner of the aquarium, is there a reason for that? Usually behind skimmer, sometimes next to the rock in front of the skimmer and close to the red macroalgae.
It could be a few reasons.
They are not really free swimmers. They pick a spot and tend to live there. Can be a corner of the tank or an anemone or something where they feel safe and can defend it if need be. They also do not like to fight fast current, so they might be trying to stay out of the flow from your power heads.
 

Ruben's Reef

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My two clowns stay under the overflow box and sometimes they host a gonipora. I have them for almost two years.

 
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Simon_K

Simon_K

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Wow, thanks for all the reassurance. I've never had clowns before and was a bit worried :D

!!! Welcome to R2R Simon !!! Nice looking tank and rock scape. Your tank still new and will go to the called "ugly phase" where diatoms and algae will comes out and go. A good CUC will help to control that and a diamond goby will keep your sand out of diatoms. Also, I had that light before and I see a good setup on 80% blue and 20% white. The blue channel started at 9am and off at 22pm. The white channel comes out at 11am and off at 20pm. That setup worked out well for me. There's no problem using canister filter but you will need to keep it clean often. Also do you have a ATO ? That will help a lot with your salinity swings. Other members will give more advise.

Thank you! I've tried 80/20 and it looks great, ill keep those settings!

How often should i clean the canister filter? I've been doing it every 4 to 6 weeks, but I guess when the tank is cycling i should've done it more often?

I have recently purchased an ATO after struggling to keep the water level stable, I got the Tunze nano, and it's working flawlessly! Very happy with it.
 
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