29 gallon questions.......

steagfs

steagfs

Member
I have a 29 Gallon and I want the best filtration and skimmer. I was wondering what you guys would suggest because I really want the best water quality possible.
Also, this was an all glass setup from ***** and it came w/ a regular fluorescent light that I believe lights it up pretty well but I am new to this so I wanted to ask you guys if this would be enough for any corals inverts etc. If not, could I just get another bulb w/ out spending hundreds?
Lastly, how many lbs of live rock do I need(I have around 10-15 right now) and is crushed coral ok or do I need sand.
This is a predator tank w/ small green wolf and snowflake eels along w/ 2 damsels...they are all small and I will upgrade when they outgrow the 29.
Thanks in advance,
Spencer
 
coolguy818

coolguy818

Member
I know exactly the All Glass Package you are talking about. I got the same as a Valentines gift...... Well I went straight into a reef system. I have posted pics of the before and after.
The light is a 17 watt. The only corals you can house are dead ones or a Sun Coral. On my tank I upgraded to a Skilter filter. Personally i'm not happy with it. But the amount of LR and LS makes uo for the difference.
I run the skimmer on the Skilter maybe once a week. But I did put in 2 Maxi Jet 1200 Powerheads. And also a Rio Mini PH for the surface water.
I upgraded the lighting first to Coralife Power Compact Light kit, then to a 175w SE MH Retrofit. Now I can house any coral I want.
Here's some advice from me to you. DO NOT OVERSTOCK YOUR TANK WITH FISH. I currently have 7 fish, the LFS said it wouldn't be a problem.

Except for the Nitrate issue I have the water is perfect.
You have to remember to do weekly water changes of 5 gallons. Well that's what I do.
In the tank I have LPS, SPS, and Sun Corals. Its an addiction...........
Hope this helps. (The Ricordia's are my favorite)
Feel free to ask any question you need. In the Saltwater world, there is no such thing as a dumb question

Welcome to the boards.




 
rbaldino

rbaldino

Active Member
Here's my 29, recently converted to a reef:

29 gallon AGA tank
30+ lbs live rock, 10+ lbs base rock
40+ lbs sand
30" Coralife Lunar Aqualight 130 watt PC fixture
AquaC Remora HOB skimmer with prefilter box
Aquaclear 30 HOB power filter
2 Maxijet 600 powerheads
100 watt Visi Therm Stealth heater
Green Chromis
Yellowtail Damsel
Tomato Clown
Two Frogspawn corals
Branching Hammer coral
Pulsing Xenia
Moon frag
Green Star polyps
Clove polyps
Colt coral
Various zoos and mushrooms
Emerald crab
20+ assorted hermits and snails
You should get some decent ideas from all that.
 
steagfs

steagfs

Member
Thanks guys, I would love for my tank to look like yours........So, I have a penguin bio-wheel and a tetra whisper, both designed for "up to 30 Gallons." You guys aren't running any filter at all, only LR, LS, and skimmers? Also, I have an air pump that supplies bubbles through an airstone, I don't know how else to supply oxygen....is this necessary? If not, how do ya'll aerate?
I don't have a powerhead but i will get one tomorrow....prob the strongest I can find.
Also, what would be the cheapest way for me to properly light for corals? I don't really have a reliable LFS, just someone who wants to sell me the as much as possible.
I have a cheap berlin skimmer w/ an airstone but I don't think I have the proper air pressure, I want to upgrade to a remora or a coralife......one that I wont have to worry about messing w/ air pressure. My LFS has the coralife for 99.99 and I'd have to order a remora, so i am leaning to the coralife.
I'm sorry about all the questions, I am new and wan to do it right........thanks so much for your help. I am sure more questions will follow.
Spencer
 
rbaldino

rbaldino

Active Member
Originally Posted by steagfs
Thanks guys, I would love for my tank to look like yours........So, I have a penguin bio-wheel and a tetra whisper, both designed for "up to 30 Gallons." You guys aren't running any filter at all, only LR, LS, and skimmers? Also, I have an air pump that supplies bubbles through an airstone, I don't know how else to supply oxygen....is this necessary? If not, how do ya'll aerate?
I don't have a powerhead but i will get one tomorrow....prob the strongest I can find.
Also, what would be the cheapest way for me to properly light for corals? I don't really have a reliable LFS, just someone who wants to sell me the as much as possible.
I have a cheap berlin skimmer w/ an airstone but I don't think I have the proper air pressure, I want to upgrade to a remora or a coralife......one that I wont have to worry about messing w/ air pressure. My LFS has the coralife for 99.99 and I'd have to order a remora, so i am leaning to the coralife.
I'm sorry about all the questions, I am new and wan to do it right........thanks so much for your help. I am sure more questions will follow.
Spencer
Read through my specs again and you'll see that I do have a filter, an Aquaclear 30 hang-on-back power filter. The only reason I have the powerfilter is to provide mechanical filtration and addition flow/turnover. Your Penguin or Whisper will work fine for that, but some people go without mechanical filtration altogether. Remember, live rock and live sand provide biological filtration (the nitrogen cycle) but they don't trap particles or polish the water. And skimmers aren't really filters, just a different and effective way of removing waste. You don't absolutely need to have one, though.
As for a skimmer, I would save up for a Remora. Absolutely no fiddling and it works great. Anything else would probably just be a waste of money. Skimmers actually help to oxygenate the water too, so you can get rid of the pump/airstone.
You're best option for affordable lighting would be a Power Compact fixture of some sort. Get one like mine and you can keep a variety of soft a large polyp stony corals. The Internet is probably the best place to get all of this stuff.
 
cmc3502

cmc3502

Member
I have a 29 gallon reef and heres the setup I would recommend...
I use a bak-pak 2 skimmer (I started 9 months ago with a skilter 250, not worth it, they dont work well). I also have a whisper mechanical filter with the ammonia, phosphate reducing pads). The lighting is Power Compact lighting at 2 x 65W, you can usually find these used cheap, I think my lfs wanted $250 for theirs, but you can do alot better used. As for corals I can keep any softies, most LPS and really no SPS, but I think I still have a nice colorful vareity to choose from. My water changes are every other week at 5 gallons, more than the 10% recommended, but those jugs are 5 gallons so it works well, then the other weeks (in between the water change weeks) I just top off with the R/O water... I've had great water conditions this way and stable enough to grow coralline.
Hope this helps!

 
steagfs

steagfs

Member
Thanks guys, great info..........a few more questions for you.
What exact lights do I need? watts, size...etc (least expensive to support most corals)
Thanks
 
slowburn22

slowburn22

Member
I'm not going to try and hijack this thread but I was pumped to see that you guys all have pretty much the same setup that I do. First things first, to answer steagfs question.... I upgraded my 28 bowfront lighting to a 24" nova extreme t5 setup... Its a great lighting combo at 96 watts, sporting 2 10K and 2 acintic tubes w/2 white lunar lights. Just be sure to buy some sort of lighting timer. Coralife also has a good PC fixture that is comprable, but I went with the t5's due to longer tube life and less power usage.
As for filtration, I run an emperor 280 biowheel HOB with filter floss, and a filter medium cartridge. I usually add some carbon/phosphate remover here and there just for kicks in the cartridge. I skim it with an AquaC Remora HOB w/prefilter/drain fitting, and top that all off with a MaxiJet 900 for added flow. I like the setup and wouldnt change a thing if I did it all over again. Hope the gear list helps steagfs...
Now before I get reamed, keep in mind that when I get back from Iraq this time next year I'll be upgrading to a 125 or better... My current stock list includes, 1 fuzzy dwarf lion, 1 scooter blenny, 1 firefish.... I was pretty happy with it but my lion likes to hide and I figure sooner or later she will make a meal out of the firefish. So today on a whim I bought a coral beauty angel and a small 6-8 inch snowflake eel to spice things up. I know I've got enough filtration to handle the load currently, but how do you guys think this little war will play out over the next 9 months?
 
rslinger

rslinger

Member
Well then i will say it. Get ride of the yellow tang and blue hippo soon. unless you plan on upgrading to a tank that is atleast six feet long in the next couple months. thoose fish will get very stressed out in a tank that small and boom boom boom you will have problems. I am not trying to be mean i am just telling you how it is. Thoose fish will grow fast and when they get stressed will make all sorts of problems for your other fish.
 
rslinger

rslinger

Member
Originally Posted by Coolguy818
I know exactly the All Glass Package you are talking about. I got the same as a Valentines gift...... Well I went straight into a reef system. I have posted pics of the before and after.
The light is a 17 watt. The only corals you can house are dead ones or a Sun Coral. On my tank I upgraded to a Skilter filter. Personally i'm not happy with it. But the amount of LR and LS makes uo for the difference.
I run the skimmer on the Skilter maybe once a week. But I did put in 2 Maxi Jet 1200 Powerheads. And also a Rio Mini PH for the surface water.
I upgraded the lighting first to Coralife Power Compact Light kit, then to a 175w SE MH Retrofit. Now I can house any coral I want.
Here's some advice from me to you. DO NOT OVERSTOCK YOUR TANK WITH FISH. I currently have 7 fish, the LFS said it wouldn't be a problem.

Except for the Nitrate issue I have the water is perfect.
You have to remember to do weekly water changes of 5 gallons. Well that's what I do.
In the tank I have LPS, SPS, and Sun Corals. Its an addiction...........
Hope this helps. (The Ricordia's are my favorite)
Feel free to ask any question you need. In the Saltwater world, there is no such thing as a dumb question

Welcome to the boards.
This is the tank i am talking about.
 
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