Converting to saltwater

[mr_bubbles]

I have a 29 gal fresh water tank but I really want to get into saltwater. I have plenty of time but I need to know what I need to buy in order to give my fish the best chance.
I have
Magnum 350 canister filter
29 tank and stand
Cover and a freshwater plant bulb
100w and a 75w heater
Power filter of some sort rated to 180gph
I want to do a live sand and live rock tank, I really want to have a clown or 3, a sea cucumber, sea star, shrimp, and mabye a lobster. I want to have a tank that has alot of color to it.
What do I need in order to have a good tank and what should I do in order to impress everyone I know?
I know alot about saltwater but I really value the opinion of others.
What other fish should I consider, Do I need a cleanup team?

 

[dburr]

Welcome to the board.
Will this be FO.(fish only) If so color is in the fish. Clowns are good but add 2 at the same time. A pygmy angel would do good also. Shrimps add alot of color also.
Stay away from bright colored cucumbers, lethal to the fish if they die.
LS and LR would be all you need for filtration. Mayby a skimmer.
Take out any media in the canister, nitrate factory. Add carbon once in a while to polish the water.
Pick up a good book first . That will guide you to the right lights, fish, ect...
What you need to do to have a great tank and impress everyone is........patience. That is the key. Read, read, read is the 2nd thing.
HTH, good luck and keep asking questions.

 

[mr_bubbles]

Thank you. What type of skimmer should I get? I also was wondering were to get some good LR.
Will live rock grow better with more lights?
do I need a calcium infuser to make it grow well?
Do I need a cleanup crew for this tank?
Are LR/LS considered FO?
thanks everyone

 

[dburr]

Live rock and live sand is LR/LS. FO has no corels. A reef is LR/LS and fish and corels.
I don't use a skimmer, I wouldn't want to steer you in the wrong direction on that.
Rock does not grow. A FO only needs normal output lighting, not expensive lights that are needed for corels.
Calcium infuser???? do you mean reactor? That is for corels as well.
Yes a cleanup crew would be good. You need a book first, then cycle the tank with water, rock and dead shrimp. Then add the other stuff.
Please get a good book.

 

[mr_bubbles]

I bought Aquariums for dummies. And am reading the entire book right now. I am planning on reading saltwater aquariums for dummies next. Thanks for all your help.
Where can I get good quality live Rock and Sand?

 

[birdy]

This site has about as good a price and quality as everyone else. You can buy LR and LS online or at your local fish store. You just have to search for the best price and quality.

 

[pufferfreak]

I have both books for dummies in my opinion they are a waste of time. You are better off reading websites that people have made and reading and posting topics here. They are many people on this site that know how and what to do just as long as you ask. I also have a 29 gallon but I have a reef instead of a FO. I would recommend a reef before I would a FO. It is much cooler, just as long as you have a lot of extra money, but it is worth it. Here is my tank, it is very colorful.

 

[luvnluk]

I bought LR from this site and am very happy with it - colorful, esp. with purple coraline! It was also delivered when they said it would be (which is a big plus in my area )

 

[superman]

shrimp and lobsters usually dont work. Lobsters will take out shrimp quite easily. But thats just what i've heard.
I've also heard not to keep Coral Banded Shrimp with other shrimp. I proved that wrong with a Huge CBS, 2 skunk cleaners, and a fire shrimp.

 

[matti070]

fish to consider are maybe royal grammas, clowns or damsels, a yellow tang, and my friend got a coral beuaty

 

[matti070]

also, you might want a powerhead, a protien skimmer, and get rid of the freshwater plant bulb

 

[mr_bubbles]

What kind of lighting am I going to need to make the LR look good?
Thanks everyone.

 

[jlem]

The only way that the media in the Magnum will become a nitrate factory is if you don't rinse it throughly when you clean your filter and change out charcoal monthly. You have the filter already and for a start it is a great filter. I have one on my 90 and it works great. You might be able to find someone on this board or other boards around where you live to sell you about an inch deep worth of sand for a good price. You can use lace rock instead of live rock and it cost a fraction, plus after a while it will turn to live rock after it gets colonized with lots of cool stuff. I would start with a fish only. I would keep your filter, get a skimmer like a seaclone which are not the best, but for the price it will be more than enough for your 29 gallon. 1 maxijet 900 powerhead will work great. Avoid the maxijet 1200 because for the increased water flow it uses almost 3 times the power and runs pretty hot. Wait to upgrade lights and wait to go reef until you are comfortable with the basics of a F/O. You can put on a 10K bulb which will make the tank look very nice. Even a cool white bulb looks pretty good and cost about 2 bucks. You probably will want to get a bigger tank anyways when you decide to go reef, and then you can buy in bulk what you want and save alot of money.

 

[pufferfreak]

The only thing I have to add is don't get the yellow tang, I made that mistake, they can live but they don't have a lot of area to swim also they are more easily prone to ich, I know from experience.

 

[jlem]

I agree with pufferfreak on the tang. You are going to be enjoying this tank for years so start with just a couple hardy fish and take it slow. Most tanks don't crash right off the bat and it is very easy to think that one has it mastered within 4 or so months only to have a tank crash hard and cost lots of money. I wish that I would have just clamped my wallet shut for a good year and enjoyed my simple F/O tank with my couple cool damsels, snails, and brittle star. I know that what I am saying is probably not going to happen, it didn't for me but it sure would have saved me a ton of money if I had. You also get to really watch your tank grow if you keep up maint and let the tank do it's own thing for awhile. Good luck

 

[mr_bubbles]

I am planning on setting up my tank as follows
29 gallon tank
25LB LS
25LB LR
300 gph power filter
2 clownfish
1 blue damsel
1 cleaner shrimp
10 turbo snails
skimmers are pretty pricy so I am going to price a cheaper one.
Tell me what you all think
thanks
Semper Fi