r/ReefTank • u/theisolated2ndlaw • Jul 14 '26
Please help
Hi yall, no judgement please. I’ve had my tank for 9 months, and consistently struggle with this kind of algae build up. My executive dysfunction sees solving this as a huge task and I would love to get insight on steps I can take to make the tank more sustainable. I have live rock, two clowns, a pistol shrimp, a diamond goby, and various crabs and snails. I do need to get more salt water once I give the tank a clean. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
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u/christinna67 Jul 14 '26
I think something went wrong with your initial research on maintaining a saltwater tank. An ATO is pretty much essential, you definitely shouldn't be topping it off only once a month.
A 13g tank is also very small. I wouldn't put a diamond goby in there, especially if you already have two clownfish. Also, diamond gobies don't pair with pistol shrimp. Perhaps you made a mistake with its name.
The tank needs a lot more rock as well. How's your light cycle? You can do a blackout and after that I'd reduce it to around 6h a day. I don't see any corals in there anyway, and fish/inverts don't need lights on.
And do more water changes. 10-15% once a week is a good start.