29g just set up, need help

[hemicross]

Hello everyone,
Well i'm new to the saltwater stuff so I have been reading alot and going to alot of forums asking alot of questions, just need to spread it around and get more opinions, first time asking this though,
Ok well I have had my 29 gallon set up for maybe a month and a half now, It has been running with a cheap filter and cheap power head just to circulate the water with the salt along with 10 lbs of live rock and 20 lbs live sand with 15 lbs of aragonite, well I added a millennium 3000 (275 gph i think) last week along with a koralia 600 gph (powerhead) i guess you would call it, the turbine looking thing, and also a 175 gph powerhead with venturi, I just added 8 more lbs of live cured rock today along with two green chromis, about 3/4" big both to start the cycle I guess, my salinity is in between 1.022 and 1.023 is that good? my water levels are perfect but being there were no fish in it, should I test the water after 24 hours of having fish in it or should I wait a little longer? How long do I have to let the tank cycle with the new fish in it before I can add the real fish that I want? I am planning to get a protein skimmer next, looking at the seaclone 100, as that how long before I could add a mandarin goby or a sea urchin? is there any way to speed up the growth process of the nessissary things in the tank to make it able to add a goby or an urchin, I dont want them to starve, I got more to ask but let me keep it at this for now, thanks alot for your time, I know I ramble on way to much.

 

[nigerbang]

Originally Posted by Hemicross
Hello everyone,
Well i'm new to the saltwater stuff so I have been reading alot and going to alot of forums asking alot of questions, just need to spread it around and get more opinions, first time asking this though,
Ok well I have had my 29 gallon set up for maybe a month and a half now, It has been running with a cheap filter and cheap power head just to circulate the water with the salt along with 10 lbs of live rock and 20 lbs live sand with 15 lbs of aragonite, well I added a millennium 3000 (275 gph i think) last week along with a koralia 600 gph (powerhead) i guess you would call it, the turbine looking thing, and also a 175 gph powerhead with venturi, I just added 8 more lbs of live cured rock today along with two green chromis, about 3/4" big both to start the cycle I guess, my salinity is in between 1.022 and 1.023 is that good? my water levels are perfect but being there were no fish in it, should I test the water after 24 hours of having fish in it or should I wait a little longer? How long do I have to let the tank cycle with the new fish in it before I can add the real fish that I want? I am planning to get a protein skimmer next, looking at the seaclone 100, as that how long before I could add a mandarin goby or a sea urchin? is there any way to speed up the growth process of the nessissary things in the tank to make it able to add a goby or an urchin, I dont want them to starve, I got more to ask but let me keep it at this for now, thanks alot for your time, I know I ramble on way to much.

You could ghost feed to start the cycle, or add a raw shrimp to the tank and take it out once the Ammonia starts to rise...No real need to cycle with fish...Really hard on the fish..Seaclones are terrible skimmers from my understanding..A skimmer is not something to cheap out of...Hate to say it but give up in the Mandarin for a while...They for the most part ONLY eat pods, I would give the tank a year or so to try and populate with pods...Cycles can take 1 week, I had one last for about 6 weeks before..
Ask away..

 

[perfectdark]

I agree. Taking things slow is key. Dont rush or what follows a crash will take you 3x as long to recover from then if you just took your time in the beginning. Mandarin's or any other microfauna eating animal will not survive your tank unless you make provisions to stock, house and supply your tank with literally thousands of pods. Cycling your tank is first and using a piece of raw shrimp or clam is typically the norm. There are other ways and using a fish is an option but IMO its unessesary and stressful to the fish.

 

[hemicross]

ok, well, how often should i test for ammonia once i have started with the fish, i already have 4 small green chromis in there with two hermit crabs and about 4 tiny snails and two moderate sized snails, when should the ammonia start rising? and how much will it go up because my tank is still reading 0 ammonia

 

[perfectdark]

Well after a month and a half your cycle is prob over.. only issue now is IMO your at maximum capacity for fish in a 29 gal tank. Are your plans to remove them or keep them? Testing for further things is a good idea, Nitrates, PH, Alkalinity and amonia ( for a while longer) Get your tank in check with all those levels (post your results here if you can). Your salinity if your keeping a reef should be at 1.024 to 1.026. You should also have all your LR in your tank as adding a substantial amount later on can create sort of a mini cycle. Its best to have it all in there from the start. And you should be good to go.

 

[hemicross]

i will be removing the four green chromis i have 18 lbs of rock so i guess i need to just bump it up to 30 lbs with them in it then watch for a mini cycle? i have 35 lbs of live sand looks about 3 inchs deep, I am debating weather or not to make this a fish and coral tank or fish only. its kinda small and I have a 75 gallon I could turn into a saltwater tank but its housing my freshwater cichlids right now. any suggestions?

 

[hemicross]

forgot to ask, what type of protein skimmer should i get for the 29 gallon tank

 

[earlybird]

I have 45-50lbs of LR in my 29. I'd remove the chromis now if you don't plan on keeping them. Then you can add more rock if you want and just watch the cycle. You don't need the fish to cycle. It's just a preference as to FO or Reef tank. Personally, I'd make the 29 a reef and the 75 a FO down the line. You can have more fish in the 75 obviously.
I have a Coralife Super Skimmer 65 for my tank. I have it in my sump but it can be a hang on skimmer also. There are pros and cons to this skimmer and one of the biggest cons is having it as a hang on. Some have had it malfunction and dump gallons of tank water on their floor. This can be prevented with regular maintenence and cleaning. I love my skimmer.

 

[hemicross]

ok, well I just posted a thread about refugium to also go along with the skimmer question, I don't really like the design of the round skimmers, they seem to be more internal and not external, I dont want the line to pop off and drain the tank on my floor, but I have been seeing these hand on skimmers that look like a box, also I saw a CPR Aquafuge2 refugium with skimmer, looks awesome but I don't know if I should go with that or a stand alone box type skimmer, and an under tank big refugium but I dont understand how it works wwithout overflowing