moreofadogperson
Aquarium Advice Newbie
- Joined
- Oct 28, 2012
- Messages
- 7
You'd think it would be easier to have a tank that was already started, and it might be, but I am totally clueless. A year and a half ago, I sort of inherited a 60 gallon salt water fish tank. I thought it would be fun at first so I agreed to take it on. My landlord told me if I brought the thing to my house I would have to pay a pet deposit that I cannot afford so it is at someone else's house and I am caring for it, which adds to the difficulty. I go by 2 times a day to check on it. I am in way over my head. I talked to the local fish store guy, but he is so busy and went so quickly that I think it was just too much inf overload and I shut down after a while . I looked online but the only beginner info that I could find was for starting a new tank and the rest might as well have been in another language. So I have been taking the bits and pieces and trying to put it all together my self...I am not succeeding. I am totally ignorant on all of this and desperately need help! I don't know any of the technical terms for things so I am going to try to make as much sense as I can. First let me tell you my routine then I will tell you the obvious problems that I am having.
Routine:
Feed: 2x a day. I don't know what everyone eats, but I do figure out quickly what they don't like so I try to throw an assortment of the favorites in. I also feed frozen twice a week. A carnivore cube and a vegetarian one and some red eggs...plankton maybe???? I let that melt down and toss it in.
Maintain: I keep the temp at 76-78 degrees and clean the glass as needed. there is a plastic divided container on the bottom that the water filters through. in there, I clean the sponge when it looks dirty (it probably goes too long normally but I despise this task!) I also clean out this tube think that has a bowl looking thing on top with a lid that has holes that the water shoots out of. I do that every other week.
Water: I change 10% every other week. I also add the following supplements: B-Ionic calcium buffer system alkalinity and calcium components every other day at 15 ml each. Weekly Kent brand supplements: Tech I iodide supplement, strontium and molybendum, and tech m magnesium all at 5ml. I add water as needed from the tap with Prime de-chlorinater, says it also provides a slime coat and detoxifies nitrite and nitrate. Don't know if it matters, but I add water on days when I put in alkalinity and calcium supplements.
...thats really about it. I know I should be doing more.
Now my problems:
I have managed to keep most of the fish alive, but the rock and the things attached to it look sick if not dead already. The water is full of sediments. Also, there is a red algae covering a hairy algae all over the place. I removed a bunch of it last night. I have been noticing all of this getting worse over the past 6 months or so. Everything was pretty and purple when I got it, but now it is all kind of an ugly greenish gray.
I need help in language that I can understand...please I am desperate!! I have attached some pics. The plastic container thing gets dirty so fast and I am not even sure how to clean it properly. I took the photo in the process of changing the water, that is why it looks so low.
Routine:
Feed: 2x a day. I don't know what everyone eats, but I do figure out quickly what they don't like so I try to throw an assortment of the favorites in. I also feed frozen twice a week. A carnivore cube and a vegetarian one and some red eggs...plankton maybe???? I let that melt down and toss it in.
Maintain: I keep the temp at 76-78 degrees and clean the glass as needed. there is a plastic divided container on the bottom that the water filters through. in there, I clean the sponge when it looks dirty (it probably goes too long normally but I despise this task!) I also clean out this tube think that has a bowl looking thing on top with a lid that has holes that the water shoots out of. I do that every other week.
Water: I change 10% every other week. I also add the following supplements: B-Ionic calcium buffer system alkalinity and calcium components every other day at 15 ml each. Weekly Kent brand supplements: Tech I iodide supplement, strontium and molybendum, and tech m magnesium all at 5ml. I add water as needed from the tap with Prime de-chlorinater, says it also provides a slime coat and detoxifies nitrite and nitrate. Don't know if it matters, but I add water on days when I put in alkalinity and calcium supplements.
...thats really about it. I know I should be doing more.
Now my problems:
I have managed to keep most of the fish alive, but the rock and the things attached to it look sick if not dead already. The water is full of sediments. Also, there is a red algae covering a hairy algae all over the place. I removed a bunch of it last night. I have been noticing all of this getting worse over the past 6 months or so. Everything was pretty and purple when I got it, but now it is all kind of an ugly greenish gray.
I need help in language that I can understand...please I am desperate!! I have attached some pics. The plastic container thing gets dirty so fast and I am not even sure how to clean it properly. I took the photo in the process of changing the water, that is why it looks so low.