What Else Should I Do?

[stanleo]

So I started trying to make a great saltwater tank out of a not so good tank about 2 months ago. Here's what I have done so far
 
1. Changed 90% of the water
 
2. scrubbed everything in the tank including the rocks, all equipment and thoroughly vacuumed the sand. Only lost one fish through this and that one wasn't doing so good before I started.
 
3. waited 2 weeks and cleaned the filters.
 
4. waited another month and changed all the filter media. It did have ceramic and a couple bags of carbon that hadn't been changed in I don't know how long. The filters are a 304 canister fluval and a 305 canister fluval. They now have sponges and one layer is floss, the second is carbon, and the third is floss. Both filters.
 
5. Added more CUC just this week.  there are now 20 hermits, 10 Astraea snails, 4 nassarius snails and 1 emerald crab.
 
water tests are
 
ammonia 0, nitrites 0, calcium 520, nitrates 10, phosphates. 0.1, specific gravity is 1.023.
 
It does have a protein skimmer but I don't know what kind. No sump. I have a pic of the skimmer
 
Its a 55g with 2 leather corals, a batch of star polyps, a clown fish, six line wrasse, lawnmower blenny, and a green chromis.
50 lbs of live rock and live sand
 
The lighting is one t5 actenic and one t5 daylight bulb and the photoperiod is 9 hrs a day.
 
Maintenance is 20%WC weekly, scrub glass every other day, clean filters once a month and scrub the equipment once a month. Use RO water for the changes. Empty the protein skimmer daily.
 
I am at the end of what I know to do based on my research. Do I have enough CUC? How long should I wait till I add more corals or fish? And anything else you might be able to tell me would be great. Thank you
 
Pic before I started this project

 
Pic after I scrubbed everything and changed 90% of the water

 
There diatoms again and a little algae after 2 months but haven't noticed any of the red slime.
 
 
 

 

[stanleo]

A pic of the emerald crab. He's a little cutie
 

 

[Donya]

Do I have enough CUC?

 
There isn't a good simple answer for CUC stockings. You know the CUC is sufficient when you don't have an ecosystem imbalance resulting in uneaten food lying about and/or algal growth. How much CUC is needed will change as the tank matures so it's best to add things on an as-needed basis.
 
 

How long should I wait till I add more corals or fish?

 
I would wait and watch for a couple more weeks to make sure it stays stable and keep an eye on the fluffy green algal growth. It looks loads better now, but it can be stubborn to fight off for good. Adding more fish would encourage it via more feeding and nutrients going into the system, so you'll want to make sure that it's definitely under control first.

 

[stanleo]

Is there always going to be diatoms or should they eventually go away all together? I have some in there right now but not a lot. There is still no red slime and I do have green algae going but that's a good thing, Right?
 
Also, and I may imagining this, but it seems like in the morning there is hardly any diatoms and by the end of the light cycle, there is a lot more. Is this normal? Light is on from 1130am till 8pm with one T5 daylight and one T5 actinic bulb.

 

[Donya]

In general diatoms just bloom and then disappear over time in new systems using up silicates. They may show up again briefly from time to time as a system matures. 
 

I do have green algae going but that's a good thing, Right?

 
It depends on the type. Fluffy species like hair algaes and Bryopsis can become pesky and are hard to eradicate once established. Encrusting species and those forming thin films on the rock (which snails eat) are usually the ones considered beneficial, although they can require regular glass cleanings.
 

Also, and I may imagining this, but it seems like in the morning there is hardly any diatoms and by the end of the light cycle, there is a lot more. Is this normal?

 
I have seen similar patterns in the past. They are photosynthetic. Snails and other animals may also be eating or dislodging them at night.

 

[stanleo]

So here are some pics I just took. The powerhead pictured is a new one that I put in when I cleaned tank about 3 months ago. Is that too much algae growth?
 

 
 
This is a full tank shot. What do you think? is there to much bad stuff growing? I have been doing the weekly water changes like I say in the first part of this thread and keeping up with cleaning the glass, equipment and filters.
 

 
Sorry for all the questions, but I really want this tank to do well.