tank handlin

hi everybody! Just wondering if my tank cycled already, ive only had it for 3 weeks and i had the spike and leveled also had a algea bloom and that went away too, is it time to change the water yet, still looks clean and my damsels survived the cycle! how much water do i change in a 14 gallon, since there are live rocks inside does that mean i really have about 7 gallons of water? And when should i grab a clean up crew, whats the best CUC like how many snails or shrimp or star fish... also i have a biocube 14 gallon but i still have the bio balls, no carbon filter just the oc protein skimmer should i swap the bio balls? and how do i promote growth of purple and neon green algea on my rocks?

 

Get a test kit and look. Change 50% or 7g. Take the damsels out unless you want them. Email reefcleaners for a CUC
reefcleaners.org
Take the bioballs out.

 

I would do a 20% wc, wait a day or two, check parameters again and then proceed with a sm. cuc.

I would get rid of the bio-balls now.

Check Reefcleaners online site, good information and good deals.

I would look towards a snail or two maybe 2 sm. hermits, no starfish though.

The coralline will come with time, maybe 3 - 6 months. Keep up on the water changes and maintain good ca and alk levels and the coralline will just start to sprout. Personally I do not believe purple up does anything but cost money.

 

It's hard to say how much water your LR displaces.. and how many inches of sand do you have and do you have a sump? I would change 7gal of water for your first water change and then 3-4gal of water every time after that.

Remove the bioballs entirely you dont rly need them if you have a good amount of LR in your tank.

maintain your Alk/cal keeping you cal at ~500 and youll get good coraline growth in 5ish months.

It also sounds like you should pickup a couple of aquarium keeping books. LFS usually have good selection or just order them... i cant think of the names of my books :/ but i have a bunch..

and remove the damsel if your looking to keep less aggressive fish in your tank.

GL!!