I wnat to change from fish only to Reef tank

[fish kid]

HI
Right now i have a 29 gallon fish only tank and i want to change it to a reef tank. I have an emperor bio wheel 280, and under ground gravel filter and two penguin power heads. I want to know what i need to change it to a reef tank.

 

[reptilicus]

Depends on what you want to keep. Basically, you'll need a protein skimmer, live rock, possibly live sand, and a lighting upgrade. Have a look around on the net for people's web pages, particularly those with 29-gallon reefs, and see what equipment they have that you don't.
Regards,
Tom

 

[bobsingh1]

I was in the same situation with the same size tank. I have corals now and they sure look beautiful and happy. Here's what I added
1. 40 lbs of live rock.
2. 15 lbs of live sand on 30 lb gravel that I already had when it was fish only. If you don't have that much you will need more live rock.
3. An 8 Watt UV sterilizer.
4. A fuidized bed filter. You can skip on this if you plan on having just 1 or two fish.
5. A veturi style skimmer (seaclone). This is very important piece of equipment. Don't skip on this.
6. A water pump with 200 gph capacity for good current.
7. Coral Vite or any other coral mineral supplement and liquid calcium.
Once you have all this, start with live sand at the bottom. It will make your water muddy but don't worry, it will clear up itself.
Put in live rock by stacking it more in the bottom and rest on top. Make sure you don't block out a lot of light to the bottom rock. Stack the rock towards back of the tank.
Install the skimmer, UV and current pump. The current pump should be somewhere in the middle corner.
Let the rock cycle for at least 45 days putting in coral vite once a week and and a daily dose of calcium. Testing your water every week for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates PH and calcium. When all read zero (except calcium which should be 400-450 and not more than 500)and you see purple algae on the rock you are ready to add live corals. Buy one coral and watch it for a week. If its happy, it will bloom. Then add another a week later and so on. Also, reduce the number of fish to three small one ( one square inch each).
Good luck

 

[fish kid]

Thanks for the replys, i think they will be a big help.

 

[reptilicus]

Hi,
firstly, the UV steriliser is not essential either, although they can be a good idea. There are a few different opinions on this subject, some say it kills to many beneficial organisms, some say it is a great idea. Personally I have an ozoniser on mine and it is great. Also, fluidised beds are not a good idea for a reef because they do not break down nitrates and you're probably better off with a sand bed, live rock and a big skimmer than a FB filter.
Regards,
Tom

 

[harris]

Fish Kid be careful
Is this a salt water aquarium already?
If you have ever treated for ICk or have put in various medications I would do a complete water change in the aquarium before introducing live rock and invertibraes. Some medications contain copper and will knock out a lot of life if you do not rid your tank first.
And have patience
most of all good luck.

 

[sydney]

I have a 29 gallon reef tank. Although my set up is not what is considered ideal, I do not have the money right now to make it that way. I make improvements as I can afford to. All of my inhabitants are very happy, so I will tell you what my set up is like and take what you will from it. I have two emporer 280 filters, approx. 35 pds live rock, approx. 30 pds coral (on bottom) and live sand (on top) - I am not sure exactly, probably 15 pds of each, no fluidized bed, one heater which maintains 78 degrees f. constantly, power compacts for lighting, one clown fish, one scooter blenny, one juvenile wrasse (which is coming out and going into my fish only tank as soon as I can catch him because he's picking at my frilly purple gorgonian), one sebae anemone, 2 candalactis (?) anemones, one pulsating zenia, one gorgonian (mentioned above), 4 turbo snails, 4 astrea snails (which I don't like and wouldn't recommend), a bunch of hermit crabs, one anemone crab, one flame scallop, some button pollups (?), one beautiful red sponge, and one tube (fan) worm. I do not own a protien skimmer. I am not advocating that you don't need one, as soon as I save up the money, that's going to be my next purchase. After hearing everyone on this website insist that it is vital, I will take their advice. But as you can see, it can be done without one. I ALWAYS do a 10 percent water change weekly however, with out fail every Thursday, with quality water that has no phosphates etc., in it. Which may be why I have gotten away with not using the protien filter. I also don't have powerheads, I think that my two emporer filters create enough water flow for my tanks inhabitants. But I am considering getting one for my red sponge, which I have been told needs high water flow. Well thats everything. So basically I have my two filters, my heater, do water changes, have live rock and live sand, and that's it.