29 Gallon Reef

[pufferfreak]

Right now i have a 29 gallon with ~25 gallons of lr and 20 lbs of ls. I am going to add 20 more lbs. of sand. But I was wondering what lights should i get to do a reef tank. Also i have a millenium 3000 filter and a prism skimmer will this be good for a reef. Also i have a small yellow tang and a chrmois and a percula clown that is probably gonna die. The tang i am going to get rid of once it ougrows the tank. But my question is that i am new to marine tanks and i wanted to do a reef, will this tank be good? And do i need anything else to have a sucessful tank but not to expenseive.

 

[kassy]

I posted this on elsewhere but as far as lights go anyone powercompact smartlight very inexpensive compared to others - anyone is this a good reef light - have fish and liverock inverts considering coral etc want to know if it's good enough myself.

 

[galina]

I have a 29 gallon reef-to-be as well. I really like the 2x55 watt kit from AHsupply.com. Thier hoods are really nice as well. I decided to get thier hood, with thier PC lighting. 2x55=110/29= 3.79 watts per gallon. You can keep most things under this lighting. I went with half actinic, and half daylight. Good luck with whatever you choose!
Galina

 

[shootonsite]

PC's are perfect for small to average size tanks. They cover a broader spectrum than NO, VHO, or MH and are much brighter per watt for those who like to conserve energy. If your tank has a depth of more than 24 inches, than you'll have to use multiple VHO (run cooler but need frequent replacement) or MH (run hot and use up tons of energy but are closest thing to sunlight, unattractive appearance) which penetrate deeper through the water. Also depends on whether or not you're going to keep SPS corals and clams.

 

[fishfreek]

I think you have a nice little set-up. You have about the same as me exept mine is a 45g. As far as your lights go, it all depends on what you want to keep as far as corals go. If you are interested in keeping softies and some LPS corals i would get 2 x 55w lights. You can always add another 55w down the road.

 

[joe's reefer]

better filter and gets some lights(pcs or vho if the come in that size)

 

[y2says]

I started a 29g reef for my mother about 5 months ago. I'm running 1 NO actinic and 1 NO 50/50 and 1 55w PC 50/50. The only corals in it is a mushroom leather that I gave her and yellow polyps. The leather has since doubled in size and has splitted. I'm just going softies in her tank and I think the lighting is fine so far. The whole lighting system costed me about $100.
If I were you, I would remove the yellow tang. It's an aggressive fish that need a lot of room to move. Once it's stressed, it may cause an ick outbreak that may spread. I would stay with the smaller fishes like clowns, chromis, gobies, cardinals, firefishes, or even dwarf angels.

 

[tvan]

I've got a 28 gallon bow front with two 55watt smart lights. A just got a 175watt mh. going to put all these into a diy hood. By the way the two 55watts aren't very bright. But put them with the 175!!!!
HTH Tom

 

[kevin r.]

I have a 29 gal reef with a set-up close to your's, minus the number of fish. I'm running 2 x 55 watt PC's with combo atinic/daylight bulbs. I've been very happy with them. I have a couple large polyp stonies that seem to be doing fine. The whole set-up ran $125 (including shipping) from AH Supply. For the price and quality of lighting, it was the best option for me. I might add a third 55 watt later, but no big rush. Good Luck.
Kevin

 

[karlas]

i agree with the pcs for that size tank you will be able to keep a good range of corals. also with the 29 the clown and chromis should do fine in that size tank. as far as the prizm i started using one on a 75 and it works pretty good so you should have no problems with it. just with a smaller tank you have to monitor the water parameters a little more because things can flucuate more often than with a bigger tank. gl and keep us updated

 

[nss11110]

i use 2 65w smartlamps pcs on my 20 high reef they work good. i dont see why you should have any problems doing your tank with pcs. just keep track of the water perameters since a smaller tank dont have room to make mistakes as a larger tank does. the tang wont do good in the 29. trade it in and get a couple more chromis or other small fish instead. my filtration on my tank is my 45lbs of lr and 40lbs of ls and a protein skimmer. so imo you dont need you filter if you add some more lr. but thats just mo.

 

[tru conch]

i have a 29 gal with 2x55 watt pc smart bulbs. pretty much the same set up as you. i am running a mill 3000 filter (carbon removed) with a sea cyclone skimmer. about 60lbs of lr with 3 in of ls. i dont have the same fish as you, i only have a neon goby and a yellow headed sleeper goby. inverts are as follows, 2 colonies of mushrooms, 3 peppermints, a handful of snails and hermits, and 1 florida condi anemone. just add some more lr and bump your lights up, then you can keep pretty much anything, espically on the softie side of the coral house. hth and good luck!

 

[pufferfreak]

well thanx for all the replies. I bought a complete hood for 230 with 2 55 watt pcs and a built in fan. It looks nice im glad i spent extra money instead of trying to make it work myself. Well i want to get mokre ls like 20 more lbs, i buy the stuff packed with water, my 2 perc clowns died and i am going to trade the yellow tang in a couple of months then get either black percs or true percs 2 or less than get one of those gobies that kinda filter the sand. I am going to add more live rock when i get some more money. I need summer cause i am only 15 so i dont have an income. Well thanx for all the sugestions just keeping u informed.