New to this site, and new to salt water

[cmoreash]

Hello everyone ,

I am new to SW, and have had FW tanks for years.  I have decided to give SW a try.   Here is what I was thinking on for my new 29 gallon tank:

-an Aqua Clear 300

-a visi-jet protein skimmer

-a 300gph penguin powerhead

-a 100 watt ebo-jager heater

-60 watts of light (3 20-watt bulbs): a actinic, a 50/50, and a daylight

-live sand, and 20-25? pounds of live rock.

 

I am gonna try some types of coral, I don't know what yet, and MAYBE stuff like anemomaes.

 

I am thinking for fish: a pair of percula clowns, a goby, and a few damsels.  plus a bunch of crabs, snail, etc.

 

Should I use my tap water (hard, ph around 8), or use de-ionized RO water (soft, ph around 6.3)?   Do you guys have any thoughts on my proposed setup?  Comments, questions?  I am gonna do all this near the end of July, after I get enough cash.

 

Thank you!

[SLOreefer]

if youa re planning on keeping corals or anenomes or anythign you are going to need to up the lighting. also i wuld recomeend using more rock than 20-25 pounds. maybe more like 35-40. at least use 25. but the more rock the more filtration. i guess you could add more live sand but you do not want too much of a dsb. i personally only like about 1 inch of sand but otehrs will recomend up to 4 inches

[cmoreash]

ok, i maybe i will do 30 pounds.  live rock is so expensive $5 a pound at my local store...Well, does the filtration/water movement sound ok?  for sand I was thinking 2 inches.

[cmoreash]

ok, for compact flourescents...i am thinking on 2 55 watts then..  what bulb combo would work best, and what time(s) should they be on?  or could I have this, plus a 20 watt NO flourescent bulb? (i already have fixture for that).    Do I need fans for the PC fixture?  I am looking at www.petsupplyliquidators.com, and www.ahsupply.com....thanks

[NanoReefer53]

Filteration looks good. 2x55 will be good for softies and some of the easier SPS. I ran 2x55 daylight and 2x20 blue actinic for a while before upgrading so yes, they will do fine. http://www.petsupplyliquidators.com is a very good store. That's where I bought my hood and a bulb before.

[fish04]

I second everything that people have told you

At least 110W PC for a 29 gallon tank (6400K/ 10000K and actinic lamps). More live rock, 20-30 lbs is going to look pretty sparse in a 29. I would think you should be near 40-50 lbs.

 

My disclaimer....this is not a put down but just a statement......

 

If you can't afford to do it right , then don't do it. I realize rock, lights, fish, corals, equipment is expensive. If you try to go the cheap way out you WILL be disappointed, you tank will suffer, and you will not get out of it what you put into it. If you can't afford everything you need now, save up and get it when you can afford it.

Live rock should be added all at one time to prevent cycling spikes once the tank is established. In other words buying 15-20 lbs now and 15-20 later will cause  your tank to crash. Do it in steps...

1) get your water and tank set up

2) get GOOD lights, in your case at least a 2x55W PC

3) get some sand

4) get ALL the rock you need

5) cycle the tank

6) add some inverts

7) get some "easy" corals to start

8) slowly bulid your reef

 

IMO, FWIW

[karlas]

you may be planning on overstocking a bit. a good rule is 1"/5 gallons of water. especially in a small tank water parameters can flucuate a lot more than in a bigger tank. also anemones should be left to more experienced reefers, they have very poor survival rates in most tanks. and only put in a well established tank at least a yr or more. they need perfect water quality to survive. good beginner corals would be mushrooms, polyps, and leathers. also another good beginner invert are feather dusters.

[HuBu]

maybe the 96W bulbs will fit in a 29 tank. or you can just invest in a MH light. instead of buying all LR, you can buy some LR and some base rock. then put the base rock on the bottom with the LR on top to seed it. you would need to increase your circulation within in the tank. mabye add another powerhead. and i second with fish04 about taking it slow. it really matters in the end. i have learn this. theres no cheap way out of this, you cant go cheap on anything, maybe the calcium and Mg to add into the tank.

[Strife]

:alarm: :bounce: :bounce: :jump: WELCOME TO NANO-REEF :jump: :bounce: :bounce: :alarm:

 

a pair of percula clowns, a goby, and a few damsels, and not to mention an anomone is quite a bit for your 29 gallon

I personally dont recommend keeping anemone's in reef tanks, due to the fact that they will not live long in your aquarium ( they are better off at its natural habitat). Not only that, but if they die, there is a big chance that it "could" take your whole tank with it...it will release alot of toxin in your tank...

 

but if you insist, i wish you the best of luck. and welcome to nano-reef

[printerdown01]

WELCOME, glad you could join us!

Ok with that said, I too second the thoughts of others: 2x55 is a wise choice (one daylight and one actinic sounds good [6400K and 10000K bulbs]). As they said 25 lbs or LR would probably be the min for your tank... Everything else looks good to me! -oh, and yes you could also throw in the extra NO bulb if you wanted to!! Just remember to replace the bulb aprox every 6 months due to spectrum fall-off. Honestly, setting up the tank is expensive! However, once you have it established it really doesn't cost that much to maintain... Def. go with the RO water!! I don't know where you are located, but in the SF Bay Area they sell RO water in supermarkets, under "purified" (just be sure to read the fine print).

[cmoreash]

do I need fans or not?  I see it will cost an additional 40 dollars, but if i need it....So an actinic and a daylight for the 2x55.   what to put in the NO fixture, maybe a 50/50?

 

I thought clownfish needed anenomaes, i guess i was wrong?  What kind of coral is easier, and doesn't attack anything?

 

And about some live rock, and some normal....you guys mean the lava rock i can get at the normal FW store, right?

 

Thanks for all the help!!!!!!!

 

(Edited by cmoreash at 6:05 pm on May 20, 2002)

[SLOreefer]

i woulnt really use lava rock. you can usually buy what is called base rock. it is just old lr that has dried out. i would usually try and use some sort of araganite based rock. often times lava rock will not grow coralline. about the fans....you will not need one right away and if you are building your own hood you can add one later for about 15 dollars with a computer fan. and the no bulb i would do either 50/50 or actinic. either one will be fine but if you do actinic your tank will be more blue than anything

[cmoreash]

alright, would I be best going with the 2x55 fixture at petsupplyliquidators for $120, and getting a computer fan, or paying the extra $40 for a fan?

 

or even the ahsupply kit?    What are the BEST spectrums for daylight and actinic?  Thanks

[SLOreefer]

are you planning on buliding your own hood? if iw as bulding my own hood i would go with ahs for the kit and the bulbs from hellolights.com. the spectrums i would get are the true 03 actininc and a 10000k daylight. if i was buliding my own hood i would buy my own fan and not worry about buying it from the dealer. there are many ways to do it and it all dpends on how much you want to diy.

[cmoreash]

The PC flo. light strip I want at petsupplyliquidators.com is $120, but nice looking, and includes the 2 55 watt bulbs...i think I am gonna go with this.   Should I pay the extra $40 for the 2 fans, or try to rig something up?  and how?

[Nishant3789]

i dunt think ull need the fans cept for MH lighting... well at least on that tank. id reccomend getting another 55 watt and all your corals would be very very happy. if not now u could get it later. but petsupplyliwuidaotrs.com is awsome they have fast delivery too, and good wuality bulbs

nishant

nishant

[quiksilver5768]

Its really up to you on the hood and fans. Im assuming your getting the aluminum hood for petsupplyliquidators...those hoods have a realy sleek look to it and are suppose to stand on their own. Personally, if i had the money I would get the fans to start off...

 

About the fish...if you think about it. Its really not a bad assortment. A pair of percs, a goby and, say 2 damsels/chromis would be fine in a 29 gal. And also remember that this tank is just on the borderline between nanos and true reef tanks IMO.