So, on Sunday I purchased a 55g setup that has been going strong for three years. The biofilter is well established and everything is happy and clean in it. Now that it is mine, though, I am hoping to figure out how to make it... prettier. This is my second salt tank, and the first one (that I started about four months ago, so still very new to the hobby) had no problem spreading beautiful coralline algae all over the rocks over the course of a month or two, which pops against the white sandbed. I didn't really have to put much effort into it, it just kinda happened.
This tank looks more like a riverbed than an ocean to me. The rocks are brown and covered in snail eggs and green algae, and the sand bed is extremely coarse (more like a pebble bed). Also filled with bristle worms, but I could take or leave those guys since they're so helpful with cleanup.
I'm looking for some tips on how to do a couple things, hopefully without killing the biofilter. First I want to kill off all the green algae. Then, I want to get some coralline growing and get these rocks all nice and purple/pink. And finally I want to replace the sand bed, or at least mix it with some finer sand. I don't want my little 3 inch sand sifting goby to choke on this stuff!
All the livestock is moving out soon, I'm in the process of selling off all the fish that came with it, so I won't have to worry about hurting any fishies in the process, but I do want to keep the bacteria thriving if I can. Tips? Advice? I'm open to it taking a long time if it needs to, I'm taking it slow with this tank in general and don't anticipate adding any fish to it for months, so I'm open to whatever you guys know and can share with me
thanks so much!
Oh, and here are some pictures of the tank, so you can see what I'm working with:
http://i.imgur.com/rpeDgWh.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/9RDzxF3.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/iYr5HVV.jpg
This tank looks more like a riverbed than an ocean to me. The rocks are brown and covered in snail eggs and green algae, and the sand bed is extremely coarse (more like a pebble bed). Also filled with bristle worms, but I could take or leave those guys since they're so helpful with cleanup.
I'm looking for some tips on how to do a couple things, hopefully without killing the biofilter. First I want to kill off all the green algae. Then, I want to get some coralline growing and get these rocks all nice and purple/pink. And finally I want to replace the sand bed, or at least mix it with some finer sand. I don't want my little 3 inch sand sifting goby to choke on this stuff!
All the livestock is moving out soon, I'm in the process of selling off all the fish that came with it, so I won't have to worry about hurting any fishies in the process, but I do want to keep the bacteria thriving if I can. Tips? Advice? I'm open to it taking a long time if it needs to, I'm taking it slow with this tank in general and don't anticipate adding any fish to it for months, so I'm open to whatever you guys know and can share with me
Oh, and here are some pictures of the tank, so you can see what I'm working with:
http://i.imgur.com/rpeDgWh.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/9RDzxF3.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/iYr5HVV.jpg