Is this a good set up?

[chrisareston]

Ok I am new to SW but have FW and it is doing well. I want to get into SW!
I am thinging of getting this set up!
29Gal long tank salt water set up, it comes with the salt, a undergravel filter, a filter that hangs on the side with a bio wheel.
for $299 at *****.
I would put 40lbs LS
maybe 20 Lbs LR
I will let it cycle then want to add some coral, live plants, clown fish, a puffer, and some of the clean up crew.
Basicly I just want to know if it is worth getting a $299 set up from ***** or should I buy the stuff by itself? A
Is there anything else I need for the tank?
What is the best way to cycle it?
Thanks

 

[ocellaris_keeper]

***** really do have good prices for things like this. however, you will find out real fast that a 29 gal tank for fish is way too small to put any diversity into the aquarium.
if you want to get this I would suggest you purchase a protien skimmer and some Power Compact lights and go right for a reef tank.

 

[aileena]

I don't think that is a very good bargin at all! You don't need an undergravel filter for saltwater tanks first off. Next, a 29g tank is ok thats what I started with and still have, but you can get a all-glass aquarium for like 1$ per gallon at Meijers or Kmart and buy a ugly iron stand for 30$ or spend 100$ on a nice wooden stand! thats like 130$ for the tank and the stand add another 150$ for a good protein skimmer like cpr or prizm, add 20$ for a heater, 25$ for a glass top and you have your essentials for about 300$ Get the salt (25$) and some Reverse Osmosis water and a powerhead (25$) put it all together and wait for the cycle to finish! Thats about 350$ for all of the must haves! Thats a much better deal than the ***** thing you mentioned....Good luck!!!

 

[wamp]

Get the tank, salt, heater, lights. Then, leave out the Undergravel filter, add some live sand and rock and you got yourself a nice beginer setup!
Don't forget the hydrometer and test kits!
In a 29 gallon using LS and LR for filtration, you would need about 30lbs of rock for a midly stocked fish tank.
You cna make an awsome tank with a 29 but you have to go slow and rember, you can't stock it like a FW tank/.

 

[chrisareston]

Ok I just thought 29 gal because it came as a set at *****. I would love a 55 gal, but just dont have room for it. I can probably go to about 48 gal and thats it.... Anyone know of a good place online to purchase a tank at a good price? Or in the Albuquerque area? I will be buying it in about two weeks. I was also going to get the sand at ***** it comes in a bag with water for $20 for 20 lbs I was going to get 40 lbs. I was going to by the live rock at LFS for $4 a lb....
Thanks

 

[sistrmary]

If it comes with the stand, it's not a bad deal. I've never bought from *****...I'm not really fond of mass-market pet stores since they just write off the deaths and don't really care about how well the animal/fish/whatever fares.
(I'm not saying that you shouldn't buy from them because of this, I'm just saying that I don't go in there because I have a huge heart when it comes to animals and I already have too many animals/fish. My house is like a petting zoo...but I can't resist rescuing sick/mistreated animals.)

 

[wagirl81]

when I was looking around for my tank, I went to every LFS within 50 miles and wrote down all the specs and prices....I found the best priced tank at the smallest little shop! just open up the phonebook and call a few places or go in.
HTH
~Tiff~

 

[waterboy_007]

i'd say get as big a tank as possible (whichever limits you first, budget or space ). remember, you can't cram a salt tank like you can a freshwater. in fact, fresh is about 1in fish per gallon, while salt is about 1 inch of fish per 4-5 gallons.
definetely stay away from undergravel filters. they are very "old school" and don't work with sand since it would fall right through. basically, there isn't enough filtration in an undergravel filter or current.
oh yeah, one last thing. i would put a puffer in a 29 gallon. they will get too big for it.

 

[chrisareston]

Thanks for all the help! I am very new at this, and want is much info as I can get... I have been reading the boards for a month or so now, and people have different sugestions. I have a few more questions.
1. Live sand - If I but the live sand at the store in a packaged back of water (some company cant remember the name) they say its from the ocean though. Is this good? Should I also had some of the powder product they sell that helps speed it up?
2. If I buy live rock from my LFS will it be live and if not will it become live after a while?
3. When I set up my aquarium and let it cycle I dont want to add fish until it is done, I have read to add a dead shrimp, doe sthis work? And do I leave the shrimp in there until it is gone?
4. When I add coral I have to take my rock out and super glue it on, this will be a pain, can I add live coral before I cycle the tank or will this harm the coral?
5. When I add anemones do I just drop them in from the bag or do I hand place them in? Will I get stung?
Sorry for so many question, but I need to learn !!!!
Thanks

 

[sistrmary]

1. Yes it's good. It's probably Arag-Alive. If it is, this is the stuff you use to seed live sand. So no, if it's wet you won't need to seed it
2. Again, if live rock is wet, it's alive. If it's not alive, you have a lawsuit against the LFS on your hands
3.Yes it works. I thank you and the damsels thank you for not using them to cycle. You can leave the shrimp in there as long as you want. It just depends on your personal prefence. It gets ugly, but it won'thurt anything and when you get some cleaners in there, they'll clean it up.
4. You're going to have to wait out the cycle. I don't know of any corals that would survive it. I've personally found underwater epoxy to be a lot easier.
5. You acclimate anemones just as you would a fish. I'm even more careful about anemones because they're so delicate in the aquarium. You won't get stung, they feel a bit sticky because their nematocysts (their little fish harpoons) stick into you, but it doesn't hurt.
You might want to wait quite a while before getting an anemone. They don't do well in new systems. (new, in my experience, being under a year old) You'll find people who will tell you differently, but they're mostly the same people who think that their anemone is fine and that all the talk about them dying is silly because they've had it for a whole week. Read up about them before you think of getting one. There are people who have been in saltwater for years that still can't or won't keep an anemone.

 

[chrisareston]

Cool thank you all for so much help... Heres another question....
I am planning on using the following filteration.
1. A penguin with a bio whell, it hangs on the back of the tank.
2. A power head for water movment (I heard that it is best to use a power head to make it seem more like and ocean for the fish to exercise etc... )
Do I need any other filteration? What is a skimmer and is it needed?

 

[plhsurfer]

Originally posted by chrisareston
I am thinging of getting this set up!
29Gal long tank salt water set up, it comes with the salt, a undergravel filter, a filter that hangs on the side with a bio wheel.
for $299 at *****.

My local ***** has this special going...
http://specials.*****.com/ad.asp?ses...&cai=78#_start
29 Gallon setup is $179.00
55 Gallon setup is $279.00
Hope this helps!!

 

[wagirl81]

You shouldn't necessarily use a penguin bio-wheel. They are good filters, especially for fresh water or fish only tanks. However, with a reef, you'll need a good skimmer and live rock. All we run on our tank is our skimmer and our powerheads. We have 100 lbs of live rock, 120 lbs of live sand, and our water parameters are perfect. A lot of people feel that the bio-wheel is just going to add nitrates to the system. HTH

 

[chrisareston]

What would be a good priced skimmer for a 29 gal tank set up? How many power heads do you sugest? Why not a bio wheel, the marine set up at ***** includes one and my LFS says that it is the best filteration system you can get..Thanks!!!

 

[fshhub]

IMO. no not a good deal, look for something other than a n eclipse system
th ebio wheel filters are good, but by far not the best thing available AT ALL
instead, go wiht lr, dsb and a skimmer with good circulation, THAT IS THE BEST THING FOR MOST TANKS, esp reefs
for a 29, i would get a prizm or if youwant to spend a little more, and upgrade, a cpr bakpak

 

[chrisareston]

thanks by the way what is dsb?

 

[smalltimer]

If you plan on having live rock you don't need any additional bio filter, the lr does it, invest your money in a skimmer, the reef bac pac, (I have never used but have heard raves about) seems good, I use the Turboflotor in sump and would expect the same from a hang on but they are big, and expensive...the bac pac would do great on a small system..I do prefer a sump though, you can use 10 dollar rubbermaid and a small mak drive for return and get a over flow for the back...this way you can use an in sump skimmer, use a foam pad to seperate the bubbles from return water and skim the top of the water, that is where it will look nasty..I have 3 tank, 1 50 gallon square reef, with overflow to central sump, with 30 gallon long sea horse tank tied to same sump with chiller and heater, calcium reactor, turboflator skimmer, 3 pumps, 2 for aquariums, 1 for chiller, in a 24 gallon 14$ rubbermaid sump...no scum on top of either tank..the 3rd is a 10 gallon acrylic custom for damsels for my daughter, has a small biowheel for biological, has a film on top of water, that is where the protiens collect, trust me, you will not like it, especially if you have reef, light will not go through that film very well.. anyway,
good luck

 

[fshhub]

dsb= deep sand bed( 4 to 6 inches of fine grained sand, not gravel or crushed coral size)