Help! I've got a SW tank that has never had a water change!

[JEC11718]

I just picked up a 20gal tall with a tetra ex45, a snowflake eel,mimic tang and a humbug damsel...now get ready for this...I asked the previous owner as I was leaving about water changes....he has never done one, just a top off every month of a gallon of Dist water from wally world! i had to cringe a little! No heater, and a very cheap hood/ flor light combo. What is my next step..I'm new! and this is my first sw tank. thanks in advance and all comments are greatttlyyyy appreciated!! here is my to do list...

1. get some ro/di sw from lfs for 20% wc taking water sample in asap also
2. a heater... (cant believe that!)
3. a t5 flor bulb for hood
4. more Lr...it has a few small baseball sized pieces
5. a cuc...it has ONE snail.

If this sound right..LFS asap! (tomorrow am)
If not plz list the order of importance cuz this tank has been neglected for over a year...thanks a million Josh

[wantacookie]

1. slow down, read some sticky threads
2. get a heater
3. get some test kits
4. post up your results

[JEC11718]

This is from my phone after i got it transported this evening.

[JEC11718]

thanks wantacookie-- i needed that reality check! I was kinda freaking out

[wantacookie]

All considered, that really doesn't look that bad.

My advice, depending on where you live, get a heater, stabilize that and do some tests to see where the water parameters stand.

Don't start blowing a bunch of money without knowing what your goals are for the tank.

[wantacookie]

As it stands, the biggest issue that I see is the choice of livestock.

[pyroboy1der]

IMO:
Heater first. I find it amazing that he's got fish in there that aren't floating.

As for everything else I'd be careful. You have no idea what he was doing/dosing to keep that tank alive with no water change so you want to take it slow. If it were me I'd commit to doing a lot of really small water changes over the next few weeks. Do a gallon a day for the rest of the week and then do two gallons a day for a while and then maybe 4 (20%) once you're feeling good about it. Also make sure you get a good test kit, and check the salinity. Changing those perams- especially salinity too quickly can cause lots of shock to fish and they might not make it.
If you don't have coral you can wait on the light. fish don't need light except for you to see them.
Live rock should also go slow. Add small pieces slowly and if you can cure it before it goes in the tank then you'll be better off (don't trust your LFS that tells you the rock is already cured... do it yourself.)
CUC- Yup slow again. Add a few snails (maybe 3) and see how they do.


This is the one thing you need to remember in this hobby. Everything good takes lots of time. Only bad things happen quickly.

It sounds like you're already headed in the right direction, just remain patient and you'll do well... Oh- and look for a bigger tank... you'll be wanting it in a month anyways

[JEC11718]

yeah, i really like the tang and even the humbug but the eel???? I am open to suggestions, i thought about a pair of clowns and a nem and not much else but more LR and maybe a few corals. my lfs said they would take the livestock on trade..wholesale value

[JEC11718]

I bought a 125 at a garage sale saturday for 50 bucks! no need to search its in my storage unit..lol I picked it up, stuck it in my unit, picked up the 20 and took it home and put it beside the 10 community FW my girls have.

[JEC11718]

Well, got the results for my tank -remember i bought it like this, it came with nothing but the items listed on the first post, i took my water to lfs for tests...Nitrates too high, ph at 7.3, and ammonia just barely acceptable. I did a 15% water change, added a buffer (seachem) for the ph, then put stresszyme+ in for the beneficial bacteria. Any ideas for the Snowflake eel....is it reasonable to trade him in and then wait a few weeks to add a few snails to help with clean-up? wanting to go slow, but Frustration/lack of experience(my first sw tank) is figuring out the ins/outs of normal tank conditions. Does that sound right?

[MrTuskfish]

Originally Posted by JEC11718

Well, got the results for my tank -remember i bought it like this, it came with nothing but the items listed on the first post, i took my water to lfs for tests...Nitrates too high, ph at 7.3, and ammonia just barely acceptable. I did a 15% water change, added a buffer (seachem) for the ph, then put stresszyme+ in for the beneficial bacteria. Any ideas for the Snowflake eel....is it reasonable to trade him in and then wait a few weeks to add a few snails to help with clean-up? wanting to go slow, but Frustration/lack of experience(my first sw tank) is figuring out the ins/outs of normal tank conditions. Does that sound right?

Nitrates don't hurt fish, but indicate lousy housekeeping. Any ammonia is bad. Snails aren't magic. This tank is WAY to small for a tang or an eel. You can, and should get more aggressive with WCs. Newly made SW should mix & aerate at least a day or so.This is a very small SW tank, think small fish.

[JEC11718]

I purchased ro/di sw at the lfs...previous owner was getting distilled wally world to top-off. He never used any freshly made sw for the tank..should i mix my own?- I have yet to purchase a power head or heater, they are on my asap list. do you have any recommendations for small fish?

[kaipo13]

How long did the guy have the tank? He kept the fish alive somehow, if you start changing things up too fast it could have a detrimental effect on things...

I've had tanks that according to everything I've read on this forum should never have survived let alone thrived, and they did. I've never done a water change in any salt water tank, ever, and have had several successful fowlr setups.

The guy you bought the tank from had things working somehow, so I'd advise you to take small steps while you get things to your liking, so you don't mess up whatever system he had going. There's absolutely nothing wrong with topping off with distilled water from walmart. Distilled water is quite possibly more pure than ro/di water, provided it isn't being condensed in copper tubing.

I'll get flamed, but I've been keeping salt water tanks since I was about 6-7 years old collecting my own stock at tide pools. Some things just work, they shouldn't but they do, and if you mess with that often times the results are catastrophic in small salt water tanks.

[phyber]

Originally Posted by kaipo13

How long did the guy have the tank? He kept the fish alive somehow, if you start changing things up too fast it could have a detrimental effect on things...

I've had tanks that according to everything I've read on this forum should never have survived let alone thrived, and they did. I've never done a water change in any salt water tank, ever, and have had several successful fowlr setups.

The guy you bought the tank from had things working somehow, so I'd advise you to take small steps while you get things to your liking, so you don't mess up whatever system he had going. There's absolutely nothing wrong with topping off with distilled water from walmart. Distilled water is quite possibly more pure than ro/di water, provided it isn't being condensed in copper tubing.

I'll get flamed, but I've been keeping salt water tanks since I was about 6-7 years old collecting my own stock at tide pools. Some things just work, they shouldn't but they do, and if you mess with that often times the results are catastrophic in small salt water tanks.

+1

i won't credit the previous owner for husbandry if what OP is saying about maintenance is true...

at the same time, the fish are indeed living (not thriving, but living) in these conditions...if you were to instantly make their environment better (as is all new water, sand, rock, etc), i'd argue that would harm them more than leaving them as is.

there's a good quote to this hobby that is 110% true: Only bad things happen fast.

do small, gradual changes of water. maybe a gallon a day for a week. then up it to two gallons a day the next week. after that period of time, you should have replaced all the water in the tank without the fish knowing the wiser.

[BeanMachine]

Is a tetra ex45 a HOB filter? So basically a nano with some heavy eating and pooping fish. Everyone has given you great advice. Not sure if this has been mentioned but unless you want to do water changes every week or more, invest in a decent hang on the back protein skimmer.

Yes, trade in the tang and the eel. They are not suited for such a small aquarium. Better choices for you would be clowns (avoid tomato and maroon- aggressive) gobies, blennys, hawkfish... those that stay small even when full grown. Tangs need lots of lateral swimming and grazing area, and eels just eat too much and the fact that the filtration is lacking is the reason your parameters (nitrate and ammonia are present). A little nitrate is fine, but ammonia is no bueno.

[Saltyjam]

If I were you, I would take the credit on all the livestock, toss the live rock in a bucket with some circulation, start reading and make a game plan for the 125. As others have recommended, the eel and the tang are a really bad fit for that size tank. The damsel will likely be a PITA with other small fish you may keep in that tank. You can do all the small water changes, but you'll never really know what's in there because even 10 10% water changes does not equal 100% water change. Consider this some extra supplies, or maybe a 'fuge for a new build. Even if you are interested in keeping a smaller SW tank, it seems that you're as well off to pretty much start fresh.

[JEC11718]

I know the tank has been running over a year, the ex45 is a hob, I have added an additional whisper 20 hob just with a poly filter to help with mech filtration. The ex45 was getting a filter pad change once a month (I was told). I plan on swapping a new pad every week unless i do some horse tradin' to lessen the load on the tank by removing one of the messy fish. My mimic is only 2.5 to 3 inches long, is it still not compatible with this size tank? i.e.--wait till he grows bigger or is he too big already? Thanks for the great reply's and wisdom....

[JEC11718]

Snowflake (14"eel) went to the LFS this morning, was traded for 5 small snails! I couldn't be happier with the lessening of the bio-load on my tank! And the acquirement of some CUC..and will be slowly adding some more!! Probably next week! Till then....any other comments/ideas appreciated!!!

[d0ughb0y]

you don't need more than 1 snail in a 20. snails are heavy on bioload. looks like the lfs got a good deal trading a snowflake eel for 5 small snails.

[dzfish17]

Originally Posted by JEC11718

I know the tank has been running over a year, the ex45 is a hob, I have added an additional whisper 20 hob just with a poly filter to help with mech filtration. The ex45 was getting a filter pad change once a month (I was told). I plan on swapping a new pad every week unless i do some horse tradin' to lessen the load on the tank by removing one of the messy fish. My mimic is only 2.5 to 3 inches long, is it still not compatible with this size tank? i.e.--wait till he grows bigger or is he too big already? Thanks for the great reply's and wisdom....

The tank is way too small for any tang (no matter what size).

[BeanMachine]

I know you needed to get rid of the eel but seriously you only got 5 small snails for it? Dang what a generous LFS. Like 10 dollars or less? Could have sold him on CL for more than that.

[JEC11718]

Ok....Was told the wholesale price for the trade-in. (Roughly 9 bucks)..I was also told at lfs one snail per gallon, I already have one snail and he wasn't helping the algae build-up..But these little guys have already started to make a dent. Help me with this formula...One snail=20 gallons or 20 snails=20 gallons???? Or somewhere in between??As it stands I have 6! At this point..mr snowflake had to go! and I needed the snails.

[JEC11718]

Originally Posted by d0ughb0y

you don't need more than 1 snail in a 20. snails are heavy on bioload. looks like the lfs got a good deal trading a snowflake eel for 5 small snails.

So a 14" eel is less bioload than 5 small dimesized snails? well I think I have bit off more than I can chew!!! Its a bummer that this 20gallon was neglected and overcrowded for a long while!

quote--The tank is way too small for any tang (no matter what size).

The tang issue is gonna have to wait, lack of funds to replace him-- he's been in this twenty for over a year...I bought him, a humbug damsel and snowflake in this 20 on monday