LR and/or LS?

[thats tangy]

I have a 29g fish only SW tank. I put cc with an ugf in before I discovered this site. I have a whisper power filter size C, 2 powerheads for ugf hagen 201, 301. My question is can I or should I switch to LS and/or LR instead of the ugf? I've had the tank up for 6 weeks and I have brown algae and my water parameters are good, with 3 damsels. Do you have to vacuum LS. If not, how does it stay clean? Thanks in advance.

 

[demosthenes]

Yes, you can switch to a DSB and LR. Get rid of the UGF, and put in some playsand seeded with LS. IMO, you need 40 lbs of LR, and a skimmer. Keep the powerheads for circulation. No, not only do you not need to vacuum LS, you mustn't. Get a cleanup crew. They've got a nice selection on this site that should be sufficient for your tank. HTH

 

[thats tangy]

Thanks for the reply. When you say cleanup crew, how many and of what? Shrimp, snails, etc? How much LS and how much playsand will I need, roughly?

 

[carrie1429]

A good clean up crew for a 29 gallon would be like 15 snails, 10 hermit crabs, cleaner shrimp and/or peppermint shrimp, starfish, ect. Look at the different packages on this site.

 

[fshhub]

i fyou are considering it now, then i would definitely do so now, doing it later on could be a bit more of a problem and if you are having your second thoughts now, then........ you probably will wind up doing the switch eventually

 

[thats tangy]

So, how much LS and playsand for 29g? Does the LR go under the sand or on top? So would LS,LR,2 powerheads,and a power filter cover me for all filtration? Do I need both powerheads? If so, do they just suspend in the water for circulation(suction cupped to the back of the tank)?Is a protein skimmer necessary for a fish only tank? How deep should the sand be? I'm sorry for all the questions, but reading all the different opinions on this site has me a little confused as to what I NEED for a fish only 29g. Thanks everybody.

 

[demosthenes]

I would say you do need a skimmer. IMO, you should go with the Berlin Method, by using your DSB and LR as bio and a skimmer also, and your tank should be fine. However, from what I've seen and heard, less fish can be kept this way. I would get 50 lbs of PlaySand and 20-30 of LS. HTH

 

[stacy]

Also you want to make sure that you add cured LR since you already have sifh in the tank. If you use uncured LR it will start you cycle process over. While the berlin is a very nice skimmer it is pricey. For that size tank you would be fine to go with something along the lines of prizm, or CPR backpack. Before doing the switch I would add some sort of secondary filtration and let it run for a couple of weeks. The reason being most of your filtration is in the UGF, and that will need to be removed. Look at an emperor filter. They are inexpensive and would do a great job on a 29.

 

[thats tangy]

How do I seed the playsand with livesand? Do I just mix them together?

 

[musipilot]

You can mix them, that will work. You only need about 20% live to easily activate the play sand. The formula for figuring out how many pounds you need is this: Length of tank x width of tank x desired depth (3 for 3 inches) x .0579.
Good luck!

 

[thats tangy]

Do I just buy regular play sand from home depot or any garden store? Is any brand better than the others?