Help? Just adopted a 25g hex.

[seanb]

I am in the middle of putting together a 90gal reef tank, but now I have just been handed a 25 gal hex that already has corals in it. I have been going slow planning my 90, but now it is sink or swim with the 25 hex. It was moved today in about 3 hours. All the water was put into buckets, along with the live rock w/ critters. The sand ( I use that term loosely) was left in the bottom. the last five gallons of water and detritus were siphoned and tossed. Then after moving, everything was put back and topped off with 5 gal of LFS saltwater. I haven't researched anything for such a small tank so here is a list of what I have been given, let me know what you think is good and what should be changed.
25 gal (I think) acrylic hex
at least 30 lbs of good cured LR
about 3-4 inches of very coarse live sand (contains a great deal of shells and detritus)
3 soft corals ( I think 2 are leather and 1 is a colt coral)
Assorted mushroom anemones
two very large snails and probably some other critters
A CPR backpack skimmer
heater
2 Rio 180 powerheads ( I have no idea if this is enough flow)
2 PC lamps with electronic ballast, one is white (?K) and the other blue (actinic?) I don't know the wattage but they are probably 12 in long.

I am content to keep this mostly for soft corals, but I have so many questions.
Do I replace the sand with something smaller?
Do I need more cleanup crew?
Is there anything I can do to make the move easier on the corals (I assume I will have at least a small cycling period from the detritus being stirred up)?
Is the skimmer a good one, what maintenance does it need?
Do I need new or better pwerheads?
Do I have enough light? The lights have no cover, should they?
Another problem is the Salinity is 1.019 I know I want to raise it, but how slowly should I go?
This tank has been a bit neglected, but I want to save it if I can.
I am ordering test kits tonight, so it will be awhile for water parameters.
Thanks.

 

[seanb]

Bump

 

[55kfog]

swim time...

Do I replace the sand with something smaller?
- generally, it's an aesthetic choice, but I would switch out if the 'sand' is crushed coral size just because substrate of that size has a tendancy to collect more detritis than finer sand.

Do I need more cleanup crew?
- I would add a few more critters to what you have. I prefer more snails than crabs fwiw.

Is there anything I can do to make the move easier on the corals (I assume I will have at least a small cycling period from the detritus being stirred up)?
- the quick move and having a similiar set up to the original really helped already. reusing 80% of the same water helped too, I bet. I would probably do another 3-5G water change, test your water and go from there.

Is the skimmer a good one, what maintenance does it need?
- the bakpak is easy to use and will be a really good option for your 25g tank imo. maintenance includes keeping the venturi pump clean as well as the venturi air line tube (maybe monthly or bi-, depending on how dirty it gets). and of course, emptying the skimmer cup! Soak the airline tube/valve in warm water to get rid of the salt build up.

Do I need new or better pwerheads?
- do they seem to be working normally? some people do not like rios and don't trust them...I would just stick with what you have for now. you probably have enough flow in terms of gph, and if the rios give you trouble, then perhaps you can swap them out then.

Do I have enough light? The lights have no cover, should they?
- for softies, you probably have enough, but you may want to replace the bulbs (if you don't know the bulb's age). some people install a guard for the light (sometimes depending on distance from the water), which can be nice, but not necessary imo.

Another problem is the Salinity is 1.019 I know I want to raise it, but how slowly should I go?
- I'm not sure if there is a metric used for this. I would do it over a couple water changes though.

This tank has been a bit neglected, but I want to save it if I can.
I am ordering test kits tonight, so it will be awhile for water parameters.
- fwiw, salifert tests seem to be pretty accurate. you can also usually visit an lfs to have your water tested in the meantime.

Good luck

 

[GobyJohnKenobi]

I would say that now is the time to swich out to a finer aragonite sand. You will be happy in the long run that you did and not have to tear down the tank again to do it. About 20 lbs should do the job.

Sounds like you have about 32 watts of light - 2 x 18. New bulbs would be a good safe bet.

There is no rush to add any more cleanup critters until after everything settles back in. You might also have a little bit of a cycle and after replacing the sand, the bio filter will need time to reestablish itself.

If it was me, I might not trust the old heater unless it looks to be fairly new and in good shape.

I have not heard anything good about the Rio pumps and would probably replace them with a single Maxi-Jet 900 or two 600s. Especially since you don't know their age or the maintenance they have received.

Mix up some fresh salt water to the specific gravity and pH that you are targetting, say 1.025; and start doing 4 gallon water changes every third day or so until your salinity is where you want it.

Just watch the mushrooms. If they are expanding nicely, then you are proceding well. If they are not, then slow things down a bit. They will tell you when they are happy or not.

Good luck, don't make any sudden drastic changes, and enjoy.
I really like hex tanks BTW.

 

[seanb]

Thanks for the advice.
Three days after the move Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate undetectable (LFS), Temp is about 78F, pH=8.0, and salinity is near 1.020.
I have included a couple of pictures:

It doesn't look half bad after the move.

You can see how coarse the substrate is and all the detritus.

Does anyone know what these green spots are on the large Leather coral?

Look who peeked out when I was taking pictures!

Waiting for other test kits. I am thinking of going ahead and tearing it apart again to change out the substrate, clean the powerheads, and possibly replace them and/or the heater.
BTW, what is the best way to clean a powerhead?

 

[GobyJohnKenobi]

Looks great!

Just take the powerhead apart and toss the parts into a container of warm water with a goos amount of white vinegar in it. It should have enough vinegar in it to smell good and vinegary- like a pickle, 'cept different.

Let it soak for about 20 to 30 minutes then scrub the parts with a toothbrush - don't tell your girlfriend you used hers, she'll get mad about it.

Rinse good, reassemble, rock and roll.

Rinse out the toothbrush really good and replace in the holder.....far away from your own toothbrush.

 

[Drewpdog]

i like this thing marine land makes its like a little pipe cleaner on a long peice of flexable plastic its great for cleaning the entrances of any piping too

 

[Hoggn]

I would have to say that looks like a toad stool to me and those green spots will come out of the top and wave in the motion of the Power heads... May take a couple of days for it to happen, they are fickle little buggers at times...

 

[55kfog]

Nice. You'll be very happy as your tank 'settles in' to its new setting.

GobyJK's suggestion on the heater is a good one. Heaters have generally been the most unrealiable part of my tank set up in the past. Now I use separate controllers with the heaters I get off the shelf.

Looking good...