tank still unstable

Question
I'm 18 and have just started building my 10 gallon saltwater tank. I know that I'll prob upgrade later to a bigger one, but i don't have the money to get a bigger one right off the bat. I have a nano protein skimmer, heater, power filter for 20-30 gallon tanks, and a compact 60 watt flouresnt light with a solar light. I have about 10lbs of live rock. It all started going wrong when i bought over the internet (drfostersmith.com) my bulb anemone. I thought i would be able to keep the anemone in there while the live rock cured. i was wrong. Now to help cycle the tank i got 2 turbo snails, a damsel and a chromi, and a shrimp which died 5 days later. The tank was cloudy and the ammonia lvls were high. I tried fixing that and then with the light the brown algae started growing out of control! just 4 hours with the light on and the tank is bursting with brown algae. the poor snails cant keep up with it! but i need the light on for the anemone right? i took the fish out because they looked unhealthy (color fading) and put them in a temporary saltwater tank i set up. I tested for nitrate and it is VERY high. My anemone has survived for about a week now. The tank this morning is cloudy again. T_T i don't know what to do!!!!!! should i just take out the anemone and put it with the fish and have the live rock cure...but i don't know how long the fish and inverts will last in the little tank i set up. do you recommend any algae products? my first tank is not working out so well, please help. what should i do???


Answer
firstly take all the livestock back to the shop ASAP. anemonies are not a beginner thing to try and keep, they have very specific requirements. its also cruel to use fish to help you along with your cycle, it means they are forced to live in horrid water conditions.

the live rock is all you need to get the tank cycled, trust me it can take a couple of months to cycle, all the algae is just a part of the cycle unfortunatly. when your ammonia and nitrate have dropped to zero do some small water changes once a week to bring the nitrate down, then you can add a clean up crew, a couple of snails and a couple of hermit crabs. leave it for another couple of weeks and keep testing for ammonia, phosphate, nitrita and nitrate, after that you can add a couple of clowns and a few easy to keep soft corals. stay away from anemonies!

it sounds like you have all the right equipment, unfortunatly you just have to have some serious patience with marine.

hope that helps