Need help bad!!

I am new also, but with your tank population and ur feeding...I would do water change once a week or at least every 2 weeks.

About the live rock, I would suggest 1 - 1.5 lbs per gallon of water. The type of rock...I think some are more dense (florida for one) than others, and some are more porus than others. I heard Fiji are a popular type of rock.

Also, about the Yellow Tang...I think 36 gallons is a bit too small for him/her.
I think you also need some sand sifting creature...like hermits or snails.

Hope that help, and please correct me if I am wrong.

 

Filter media- I have a wet/dry w/ bio balls and use activated carbon. I think I'm gonna take your advice and start feeding every other day instead of every day like I have been. I do also have crabs in my tank and thought about getting a cucumber but i didn't want to add any thing else with the nitrates high like they are. i have always done water changes once a month without problems untill now. I dont know I'm stuck!!

 

You need nitrate media to help remove the nitrates. You must remove them slowly if they are high, because you can stress some stuff in the tank, so I've heard. Same for phosphates. Kent Marine Nitrate sponge will not help solve your problem, as it absorbs very slowly and is recommend to help keep them low. Run this sponge after you get them low to keep them at low levels. There is seachem's de-nitrate which I've heard is fast absorbing. Also, look into phosphate media, if your nitrates are high, your phosphates will be high too. You will have a nasty pest algal bloom. I recommend PhosBan for phosphate removal. Also, wouldn't hurt to start running carbon media as well.

Good luck!

 

I will get both and start the seachem right away. ty thanks for all the help everyone. I'll see what happens. Anything else I need to do please let me know.

 

Sorry but I'm going to be the bad guy here.

you have too many fish in too small a space! You may not have started with a Nitrate problem but I can't see how you can eliminate it with that kind of bio load.

I'm not going to even get in to minimum tank sizes for the fish you have because right now there is just too many


J

 

On top of the high fish load, you are using wet/dry media(aka. nitrate factory), but due to your high load of fish would seem more beneficial than not. I suggest dropping your fishload and removing about 20% of your bio-balls per week till gone. I also advice the use of live rock and/or a DSB.

 

is it a fish only tank?
What are the params?

 

Your tank may be over stocked. Yellow tangs get big and will out grow the 36g tank.

 

Just an update. I took a water sample to my LFS and had it tested Last week and everything turned out fine, so over the week end I took another sample and also my test kit and had them check the water with my kit (maybe it was me.) Nitrates tested About 80ppm with my kit, he tested the water in a tank at there store and it can to the same reading. I ended up buy a nitrate test ket they sell and everything is fine now maybe I got a bad kit? Thanks for the help everyone !!!!

 

I'm new and have a wet/dry with bioballs. So are you saying that if I continue using the wet/dry with bioballs I will have a nitrate problem?

Thanks