need help

[pURPLEcHILLIrED123]

Just inherited 2 fish tanks - Need help

I just recently moved into my brother’s place because he moved out. He left his 2 tanks, one 75g salt and the other 170g fresh water. He told me it’s yours; take care of it. I can take care of the arowana pretty easy, only has arowana and I just got flag tail and arowana has been biting it, I got it in container they sale at the fish store so it won’t get killed. I never had saltwater before, the salt only have 5 fishes in it – the rest died. He told me that he hasn’t feed the saltwater in like 6 months; he says they eat “algae” and the fishes that didn’t died. I moved in about month ago and have never feed the saltwater tank, they all seemed fine. I feel like I need to change the water for the salt water. I told him to swing by this weekend and change it so I can see what needs to be done, but he might flake and just tell me not to worry about it. I am worried because he got so pretty expensive coral in there and since its mines now I need to take care of it. Some of the coral cost $600 ahead and he has 3 head of that kind – that’s what he tells me.

Currently the salt has about 80 lbs live rock, 405, HOB protein skimmer, and some kind of phosphate remover filter.

What I need to know is:

Are saltwater fishes and corals really that sensitive to changes in the tank? Since I moved in; I just have been topping the water.

How often should filters be cleaned and what not.

How often should the water be changed in the saltwater tank?

What I need to control the algae problem, I saw the algae filter but don’t have sump and want to do bucket version but kinda scared of doing something wrong and end up killing everything in the tank. Right now Salt tank has 3 different algae’s, purple, red, and green. Should I consider making sump and removing all the other filters?

The saltwater tank currently has;

One small purple orange color tang
One small solid purple wrasse of some kind
One small mandarin goby? With orange circle on it.
2 damsels I just got because my GF wanted me to buy them.

Arowana tank has - 405 connected to UV filter - UV running 24/7, and powerhead with only foam filter no carbon. When I moved in, the arowana had gill curl. I did 30-50% WC everyday for about week and the gill curl has gone away and healed. He told me he only feeds the arowana once week so you don’t need to change the water all the time, he only changes the water every 2 month. Bro told me the tank is too small, I told him water is bad. I've was feeding it MW everyday and just got small bag of Hiraki food stick and it eats that. Going to just feed it sticks and MW's only once week. I am currently changing the water once week about 30% each time.

I used to keep Discus when I was young, but that was 14 years ago. It’s been along time since I been in the hobby. I need to know what is needed to keep the fished healthy.

I’m sure the tanks have everything I need to keep it running, I just need info on what I need to do daily, weekly, and or monthly.

Thanks,
pURPLEcHILLIrED123

 

[justonemoretank]

Are saltwater fishes and corals really that sensitive to changes in the tank? Since I moved in; I just have been topping the water.
Fish are sensitive to water chemistry, and fluctuating salinity isn't good. Buy some test kits and start testing the water, including salinity. When you do water changes, you'll need to make up salt water. Specific Gravity should be between 1.023-1.025, but don't raise or lower it too much at one time. These are obviously very hardy fish, but you don't want to stress them further.


When you top the water off with fresh, you're keeping Spec Grav about constant, because the salt isn't evaporating; only the water is. However, to reduce waste and keep the fish healthy, you'll need to do actual water changes, at least 25% once per month. The only way to tell what shape that tank is actually in is to buy a test kit (Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, pH are most important, KH and Ca would be good also).

For water changes, make up the water the day before and let it sit in a bucket or a barrel with a powerhead or little water pump, and add a heater if necessary, to match the temperature of the tank. The salt mix will have directions as to how much to add. Make sure that you test the new water and add mix to match the tank water as closely as possible. When you're adding salt, adding a little less than they say is best; you can always add, but it's really difficult to get out extra salt!

Always use a dechlorinator, just as you would have used on your discus tanks. Prime is the one I use.

How often should filters be cleaned and what not.
I'd leave the filters alone until you're done fixing water quality and have done a water change. A lot of beneficial bacteria is in there, and messing with them could screw the water up more. After that, clean them as often as you would a freshwater filter, and use tank water to rinse them, etc. SW is the same as FW there. The only thing on your side is the live rock, which also contains bacteria. As with the water quality, though, the key thing is to go slow and avoid stressing fish.

How often should the water be changed in the saltwater tank?
25% once a month at minimum. However, allow your test results to dictate water changes, just as you would in a FW tank.

What I need to control the algae problem, I saw the algae filter but don’t have sump and want to do bucket version but kinda scared of doing something wrong and end up killing everything in the tank. Right now Salt tank has 3 different algae’s, purple, red, and green. Should I consider making sump and removing all the other filters? I'd get water quality right first, and leave the algae where it is. I don't think the algae problem is due to the non-existence of a sump necessarily; we ran a 75 on a canister filter for years and never had any real algae problems a glass-scrubber couldn't fix. The purple is probably coralline, a "pretty" algae that most people consider attractive, the red is most likely cyanobacteria, not an algae at all, and might go away once you've gotten the water quality fixed and filters cleaned, and the green could be regular old algae (there are several types in SW -- would need a pic to tell for sure), but it could also be green coralline algae, which is as desireable as the green. Does it flake off when you rub on it? Then it's not coralline.

I really think slowly getting water quality and cleanliness up to par needs to be your first step, but do it gradually so as not to stress the fish. They may be crappy conditions, but it's what they're used to.

I wouldn't add anymore fish until you've got the tank right. These fish may have what's called "dirty tank syndrome" --- conditions have become such that they have managed to adapt and survive it, but other fish would be shocked as crap and wouldn't make it. Thus, the slow changes toward a cleaner and more well-managed tank. In addition, it's not going to make conditions better, for sure.

As for the phosphate remover thing, I'd get a phosphate test kit and test the tank. It may be so old, it's not even working anymore.

As for the Aro, what size is it? If it needs a new tank, you likely know that from looking at it. It sounds like you're on the right track with him, as you have fixed his gill curl (usually resulting from bad water quality).

I hope this helps. If there's anything up there that I didn't explain well enough, just say so. Also, you can use the search bar to search any terms you're not familiar with.