Getting back into saltwater, Purchased used setup - looking for input - Identify Aapt

[scape]

Please bear with my post. I am newish to saltwater and I am looking just for information.

I will start with the back story?
My Wife wanted to get a fish tank for my Daughter (She just turned 2, but LOVES fish). I asked if it could be a saltwater tank and i was told yes as long as it met a $150 price limit (tank, filter, pump, heater and fish).

I found a complete used 29 gal setup for $75 and pulled the trigger. Bought it, tore the tank down and brought it home and set it up in my daughters room.

It came with
a large Banded coral shrimp
Blue damsel
Clownfish
a goby of some sort
Unknown fish
and some brown corals

The tank wasn't maintained well. algae is all over the glass and rock, along with salt built up over everything.

Now I have a few questions. I haven't had a saltwater tank in a few years and want some advice getting this tank back to what it is supposed to be.

1) there is not a clean up crew in this tank. only 1 scarlet hermit crab. what are some recommendations to add to the tank?
2) what is a good limit on fish?
My wife wants to get a second clown, blue hippo tang(I believe this tank is too small) and a star fish
Is that practical? What is a good starter star fish?

3) What can I do to liven up my corals? I removed the glass and it seemed to respond well. I have already ordered a new Aqua knight 30w full spectrum light(heard good reviews for a budget tank) I plan to do a few water changes over the next few weeks to refresh the water and hopefully liven it up.

4) There are a couple random plants? in this tank. there are 2 anemone looking items, I am not sure what it is.
There is a tube looking thing? Not sure if i should remove it or leave it?

I am waiting on my test strips to come and then I will be able to give a little more information about the tank

I'm open to any tips anyone has for the tank, setup or just general information.

Here are the pictures of my tank setup
https://imgur.com/a/rPlhXjf

 

[Vinny Kreyling]

1- crabs eat snails for a bigger shell but can't climb the glass you only need a few.
2- with only less than 29 gallons Small fish like Blennies or Royal Gramma, or you are over the limit immediately.
2A -- tank is too small for any Tang.
3- Started out correctly already, how about a screen top?
4-Tube thing I would leave - the others should go. The annemoe things are aptaisa, the other item appears to be polyps, they can be toxic to humans if not handled correctly,
wear gloves & put the rock & all into a plastic bag. If I had to dispose of them I would probably bury them. Search palyothoa poisining for more on the subject.
My Humble Opinion

 

[scape]

I got my test strip and here is what I got.

No3 80-160ppm
No2 0-.5ppm
PH 8-8.5
KH 240ppm
GH 180ppm

 

[Orsamax]

Vinny, just curious, does he NEED to get rid of the (probably) palythoas? Or are you saying that based on his light which doesn't appear to be near bright enough? Scape, if you do get rid of the palys (which, indeed, you will want to if you don't have adequate lighting for soft corals, a topic there are numerous discussion on the internet about) +1 on being very careful handling them. Look up the appropriate protective gear to handle them and certainly don't let your daughter (or anyone) be around without proper protection while you handle them. They don't explode and kill everything like the weapons in the old move "The Rock" but they are still very dangerous. All in all, though, it looks like a good buy, a good starter (because you will probably want more someday...we all do) tank and it came with the basics that you need to get things going. It would have cost you much more just to buy those items/livestock individually. So that's good. Just keep doing research, youtube, forums like this as you progress and make informed decisions before you buy livestock. That cool fish at the store may turn out to be very aggressive (in my experience, freshwater fish are a lot more plug and play than saltwater fish in terms of being territorial, etc). Just use it as a chance to learn. Reef keeping is marine biology, chemistry, and engineering all in one. Have fun!

 

[Vinny Kreyling]

Orsamax,
With a 2 year old probably not, but kids grow up & if she gets interested & starts to do things on her own why take a chance. I know too many guys that have gotten Bactermarin, me included I think & we have been informed on how to avoid it.
How many put hands in the water without a second thought, I do, what if there is a short circiut? Just NOT WORT IT IMHO.

 

[RioReefr]

The fish in your 3rd/4th photo is a lawnmower blenny. They eat constantly and love to pick off anything and everything. They get BIG fast!
Personally, I would ditch the damsel. Your tank is too small and as she grows she will terrorize everything. Probably get rid of the damsel and get yourself another clown (of the same species). You cannot have a hippo tang -- they double in size like every month.

The pest is in fact a pest -- an aipstasia. Get rid of it asap, it serves no good purpose in the tank. It can actually sting.

Just general observations, as someone else mentioned, you can't really have anymore fish than you have already. Get yourself some live-rock -- fish like hiding places, caves, holes, etc. Your tank is too wide-open and fish don't like that.

IMO, you can't have a saltwater reef (w/corals) on the CHEAP. I can't imagine having/maintaining a tank w/o a skimmer, Auto-Top Off (ATO) system, a good LED, etc.
The hobby is more like a perpetual science-project. It basically takes "work" everyday and if you don't enjoy that, then it probably won't work out even if your daughter thinks the fish are cute.

 

[scattered]

The goby looks like a watchman. Does the other unknown fish have a tall thin dorsal fin? A better picture would help but it could be a fire goby.

The algae might be red turf algae if that is what you are asking for an ID on in picture #8

The corals look more like zoanthid than palythoa to me, but the toxin warning is the same. They used to give me a rash and little blisters all over my hands if I did not wear gloves. Do not put them in a bucket of water and leave it unattended if you have pets. There are stories...

Kill the aiptasia with a kalk injection.

I don't see a picture of the 'tube thing'.

For a clean up crew, try turban, cerith, and nerite snails. Crabs are evil.

Coral Banded Shrimp will go after a fish if they can and they are not well fed.

I would recommend more live rock.

You are about maxed out on fish unless you are prepared to spend a lot of time/money controlling nutrient export.

I keep a pair of clowns and a goby in a 13.5 gallon and it is a heavy load. I deal with this by doing multiple small water changes a wee and tightly controlling feeding. I am building out a new stand to include and automated daily water change.

I recommend an auto top off. 29 gallons is not a huge volume of water and regular top off is a necessity for maintaining stable specific gravity.

You phosphate are through the roof. Water changes, limit feeding, remove nuisance algae and patience are the recipe to bring them down.

KH is likewise high. It is usually expressed as dKH and you are shooting for between 8-12 (142-215 ppm) and you are at 13.44, if I'm doing the right math.

Stability is key in reef keeping. If your temp is 78° instead of 80° but stays within a tenth or three all day every day it is fine,. But if your temp swings from 78° to 82° throughout the day it is going to be a problem. Same with PH etc. (not ammonia)

Always use RODI for your top off and water change make up water.

 

[scape]

The goby looks like a watchman. Does the other unknown fish have a tall thin dorsal fin? A better picture would help but it could be a fire goby.

Doing some searching I believe it is a Bar goby/Zebra Barred Dartfish

and Thank you to the few others who've posted

 

[Orsamax]

Vinny, thanks. I agree with you. If he has the tank anywhere that a young child can access the water, that is dangerous outright. Not just for the fish (soap, lotion, food on hands is bad for tank water) but more importantly, dangerous for the child. I second the push for a screen top and more importantly, positioning the tank in a way that makes it very difficult for the child to get to it in any way.
Scape, what everyone has said about maintenance is very true. Do keep in mind that reef keeping is like professional grill masters. Talk to people at a rib competition, they all have their "secret" way of making ribs. Some take days and hours of love and special preparation. In the end, they all taste like bbq ribs to me. With reef keeping, everyone here has their "secret" way of doing a salt water or reef tank. Some are incredibly intricate, some people focus on simplicity. Either way, the essence of all of them is STABILITY for the livestock by maintaining water quality (chemicals, waste, temperature, salinity, etc). Some ways of doing that are way more complicated than others. Watch videos, read posts, find out a regimen that you can/will commit to. If you cannot commit to one of them, then sell your livestock and get some FW fish that require less maintenance (but you still have to set those up correctly too, think FW cycling and still some water changes, etc). Or, just look at videos of tanks on youtube. I absolutely love reefing, and we are not trying to scare you or bully you into doing it "our way". But you have to enjoy the process, the husbandry of it or else watching the fish won't be enough. I've not heard you say that you aren't ready for the responsibility at all. I'm just saying that it could be possible to read some posts on here and think "yikes, I didn't know there was THIS MUCH involved in keeping a stupid SW tank!" Best of luck. Thanks for getting on here and sharing your story with us.

 

[scape]

Vinny, thanks. I agree with you. If he has the tank anywhere that a young child can access the water, that is dangerous outright. Not just for the fish (soap, lotion, food on hands is bad for tank water) but more importantly, dangerous for the child. I second the push for a screen top and more importantly, positioning the tank in a way that makes it very difficult for the child to get to it in any way.
Scape, what everyone has said about maintenance is very true. Do keep in mind that reef keeping is like professional grill masters. Talk to people at a rib competition, they all have their "secret" way of making ribs. Some take days and hours of love and special preparation. In the end, they all taste like bbq ribs to me. With reef keeping, everyone here has their "secret" way of doing a salt water or reef tank. Some are incredibly intricate, some people focus on simplicity. Either way, the essence of all of them is STABILITY for the livestock by maintaining water quality (chemicals, waste, temperature, salinity, etc). Some ways of doing that are way more complicated than others. Watch videos, read posts, find out a regimen that you can/will commit to. If you cannot commit to one of them, then sell your livestock and get some FW fish that require less maintenance (but you still have to set those up correctly too, think FW cycling and still some water changes, etc). Or, just look at videos of tanks on youtube. I absolutely love reefing, and we are not trying to scare you or bully you into doing it "our way". But you have to enjoy the process, the husbandry of it or else watching the fish won't be enough. I've not heard you say that you aren't ready for the responsibility at all. I'm just saying that it could be possible to read some posts on here and think "yikes, I didn't know there was THIS MUCH involved in keeping a stupid SW tank!" Best of luck. Thanks for getting on here and sharing your story with us.

I appreciate all of the information it is very helpful. I had no idea that Zoos/polys were toxic, and because of that we are going to get rid of the whole rock. hopefully trade it away for some coral that is more friendly.

Like I had said I am getting a 30w full spectrum light for this tank. So that should liven up the current corals

I am not new to saltwater, I had a 75 gal reef tank a few years ago. (2 black clowns, frogspawn, hammer, bubble coral, and a few others) So I am a little out of touch with it and not very experienced with such a small tank.

 

[scape]

I looked back and my 75gal was torn down the end of 2013.. So only 6 year ago.. ha.