My 29 gal tank

[hannn]

Hello! I'm new here and I'm here with some info and a few questions. I've done FW my whole life but am new to SW. A month ago, after cycling, I started up my tank. My tank consists (currently) of 2 Picasso clowns, a small ( I mean SMALL 2 in) and a royal gramma. I have 1 cleaner shrimp, 4 turbo snails, 1 banded star and around 5 or 6 blue legged hermit crabs. For coral I have a green polyp and a couple of zoas. I've had a few issues. After getting my LED, I've had horrible issues with a copper looking algae. It's everywhere! I mean everywhere, rocks, sand, glass. Hence, buying the snails. They have helped wonders but I still would like to know what it could be. Also, being dumb, my salinity was very high. Almost 1.035. Under that salinity, I had a long tentacle anemone die, a Kenya tree and a torch coral. I've moved on, fish and coral are very happy. So, my questions..

1. What is this algae?

2. Could the death of my coral and anemone be the cause of my salinity levels?

3. What are some corals I could get in my tank?

Thanks so much.. I appreciate any comments. So enjoy my pics!

 

[hannn]

Small 2 in yellow tang***

 

[Sniperhank]

Well, as it stands your tank isn't anywhere close to large enough for a tang of any size. These are big fish that need lots of swimming room and end up producing larger amounts of poop than fish that don't get as big. This is why you are seeing the 'algae', which looks to be cyanobacteria. This is an indicator of parameter issues in the aquarium. The solution would be to rehouse the tang, feed sparingly and onto a every other day cycle, ensure you are using ro/di (or distilled at least) for top offs and water changes, and do some large water changes to get the parameters in check.

 

[TheTodd]

Agreed. Plus, in answer to #2, your salinity levels are high because you have too much salt. Stuff dying does not add salt. Are you topping off with water (not saltwater)? I've seen people fill with saltwater after evapoartion , but only water is lost through that, so you only add regular RO or RODI water. If you want to lower it, take some saltwAter out and replace with unsalted water. Salinity has to go down that way.

For corals (#3), it depends what LEDs you have. There are many out there that are not meant for corals and some that supposedly are, but that won't keep more than easy stuff like mushrooms.

 

[Macscale]

Where exactly are you seeing Cyano? All I see are diatoms.
Everything else states is correct.

 

[Ingy]

I agree it looks more like diatoms than cyano. I think the purple color in the tang pic is a bit misleading. Let the snails eat the diatoms and they'll eventually disappear.
But yes, the yellow tang must go. It's way too big for a 29 gal tank. It will get sick and stress out the others. A goby might be a nice replacement for it. I have a 110 gal tank that is too small for a yellow tang as they need a 5 foot long tank to race about in.

 

[hannn]

My tang seems very happy but I will consider it. Could you guys suggest any other fish I could get? I have 2 clowns and a gramma

 

[Ingy]

A goby would be a good fit. Good character and many will sift the sand eating diatoms. They hang on the bottom and watch what's going on inside and out if the tank (I think).

 

[ezy33]

Bennies are a good fit. Check out this site.
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/aquarium-fish-supplies.cfm?c=15

 

[Macscale]

My tang seems very happy but I will consider it. Could you guys suggest any other fish I could get? I have 2 clowns and a gramma

Returning the tang is not something to consider, you really have to do it. Otherwise the fish could get hurt badly.
Gobies are a good fit. However they don't eat diatoms. Diatoms go away after all the silicates in the aquarium are consumed.
Also, letting the snails eat the diatoms isn't really good for them. It can lead to diatom poisoning which can be a problem. Some snails do eat them, but not all.