hlcroghan's 29 gallon thread......

hlcroghan

hlcroghan

Active Member
Okay, so I am converting my cichlid tank to a saltwater finally!!

I have been lurking around these boards for like a year already. I just decided to use the tank I already had to get some practice until I can go bigger....
I cleaned everything with a vinegar and water mixture and rinsed it out and went and got the RODI water to fill the tank.
So here is the equipment that I have.
29 gallon rectangle tank and stand
Aquatech on-back filter for 40-60 gallon tanks (extra filtration)
GLO T-5 lighting with actinic and high level lighting
6 lbs of live rock (that is all for now, I am getting more on Monday)
Also on Monday, I am getting about 30 lbs of black sand as I always want black sand in the tanks and I only see white.
hydrometer (my LFS only sells these. I will get a refractometer later.)
So a couple questions to start.....
It is really cloudy in the tank with all the salt being added and mixed.
How long does that last?
How much lighting should I give the live rock?
Currently the salinity is approx. 1.021. Is that pretty good?
Please give any suggestions that you have. They are much appreciated. I will try to get pics up as I go.
 
nissan577

nissan577

Active Member
ok. well it seems you added the salt already in the tank. i never do that since i dont want little places of salt to be collected. i always do it in a bucket with a power head and leave it there for 24hours.
it should last a couple hours when you add the mix, i dont know. i just let it go. LR doesnt need light. um do water changes to keep the live rock alive. the corals that you are planning on getting are the one you should be worried with the light. but you got t5 so your good. a good S.G. is 1.024
 
hlcroghan

hlcroghan

Active Member
ahhh, I mixed the salt prior to adding the LR. It was already mixed but the water was still cloudy. I see what you mean though. I will be getting seawater from my LFS store from now on.
 
hlcroghan

hlcroghan

Active Member
Now I see why all these people want to cycle with damsels....lol.
This is definitely like having a pet rock...lol Really boring.
I am going to go the dead shrimp route though.
I may order my rock off this site. How has people's experiences with SWF's live rock been?
 
hlcroghan

hlcroghan

Active Member
I got some more live rock.....whoopdidoo...lol
I will get a pic up in a sec. It looks a lot better.
I also got this great electronic heater....soooo much better than the one that I had before. LED light display and everything. Fluval E100.
 
fishstick4sale

fishstick4sale

Member
what you want to do is make sure u fill up your tank with more saltwater all the way up so it slides in not waterfall in, you dont want those bubbles generating in your tank like that it can get into ur fishes gills and damage them, though it will oxygenate your water u still dont want any bubbles in your tank where ur fish and coral will be, so make sure u add more water so it wont waterfall in, next step will be to get a powerhead something to move your water an cause a current in your tank aim a lil high if u want to that also will oxygenate your tank like the ocean waves do. :) cheers looks good though also dont add rock to close to your glass on sides and front will b hard to clean. :p if ur keeping coral or plan to make sure u keep your salinity around . 1.024 or 1.025 if not 1.020 or 1.021 i hear is good for fish only.. also for liverock i love the 1.5 pounds of liverock for each gallon in my 29bio i have about 42pounds alot of liverock but it does its job and all my coral thrive, but if u wish u can go 1lb of LR for each gallon keep it simple and have more area for ur fish. check out my link it may sound like alot of LR but its not
https://www.saltwaterfish.com/vb/showthread.php?t=350666
 
hlcroghan

hlcroghan

Active Member
I know. I can't wait to get some stuff in there.
Good advice about the bubbles. I did know that but I am trying to get some oxygen in there prior to adding the fish. I am trying not to fill it all the way up as I am adding way more rock.......Thanks for the advice. Here is a pic with the extra rock that I added.
Attachment 219692
 
hlcroghan

hlcroghan

Active Member
Okay, I have my first really weird thing on my LR. I have never seen this mentioned on any of the treads I have read....what the heck is this????
It looks like a black pearl and it looks like it's full of air?? It has some give when I poked it and feels like if you poked a liquigel pill. Here is a pic.
Attachment 219693
 
hlcroghan

hlcroghan

Active Member
Should we leave it in there or try to get it out?? Is it food for any of the animals we keep in a nano? I dont mind it in there if I can feed it to something in the future.
 
hlcroghan

hlcroghan

Active Member
Hmmm, okay. Well I will figure it out. i am looking at some different animals I would like to have in the tank.
Let me know what you guys think of these for me.
Sea apple
Different colored sponges
sexy shrimp
Which crabs are fun to watch?
pistol shrimp and goby combo
Just want some good opinions.
 
fishstick4sale

fishstick4sale

Member
your fine dont worry about that bubble i forget the name, i have a couple its very common in tanks, for ur liverock leave about 2-3 inches in gap from all glass except the rear glass, u can lean LR on that rear glass this way u can clean ur glass with so much ease trust me people thank me later... also yeap just make sure when ur done adding rock ur water is up for no bubbles.
 
hlcroghan

hlcroghan

Active Member
What is wrong with sea apples?
I added the black sand.....What a mess!! Talk about a sand storm!! I will post some pics in a second...LOL
 
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