New 29g Build

[travisbundo]

I'm looking at getting into Saltwater fish and converting my 29g freshwater to salt water. I would be emptying the current tank and scrubbing well with Vinegar. 4-6" of sand, is the high dollar "live sand" worth the price? I know in freshwater I just used silica sand that was 1/20 the price. I'll also be adding live rock, I might add a mixture of live and unseeded rock. I will likely leave the light on there for now, it is just a fluorescent light that provides good lightning but nothing too powerful. I'll also leave the 150W heater in there.It currently has an AC70 HoB filter, I will likely replace that with a Reef Octopus BH100 skimmer http://www.Please do not link to other vendors.html. I think all I will be stocking in this would be a pair of clownfish. I have seen some say that a pair of clownfish and a carpenter wrasse could go in a 29g, is this true? Seems the 29g would be a bit cramped to handle the Wrasse's aggression.
Any input would be appreciated, thank you.

 

[snakeblitz33]

Welcome to the Boards!
And welcome to the wonderful world of saltwater aquaria. BEFORE you jump into setting up a saltwater aquarium, I urge you to check out all of the stickied threads in the New Hobbyist section to read about equipment, cycling and fishes. It sounds like you have done some research, and you have come here, which are all great steps to take for the health of your aquarium. Freshwater is a whole different animal than saltwater, and saltwater aquaria has different procedures and a lot of fun and interesting equipment that is necessary to keep your fishes happy.
Do not use silica sand. Silica causes massive diatom blooms - this brown algae- and will be an eyesore for the entire life of your aquarium. The only play sand that you could use would be Southdown white sand, but the company I think went out of business and it's very, very hard to find it. If you do, buy me a few hundred pounds and we'll call it even

. You do not have to get live sand at all. Most people on this site start with Aragonite sand, oolite or semi-course sand is perfect. Live sand is too expensive for the small amount of benefit that you can get from it. A sand bed of 4-6" is absolutely not needed unless you really want a deep sand bed. If you did, I'de go closer to 6 than 4. A sand bed of 1 1/2 to 2" is perfect. However, if you have a deep sand bed, there are some critters that you will need to buy to keep it well turned over.
The skimmer that you have your eye on looks pretty good, and it is a good brand. I think you will be very happy with it. It's good to know that you are not going to go with a Seaclone 100 skimmer, which is a newbie mistake a lot of people make. A skimmer, however, does not replace a filter. In a heavily stocked fish only with live lock (FOWLR) aquarium, I highly recommend getting a hang on back filter such as an Emperor 280, for your size tank. It will allow you to run two filters at the same time, so you can change one filter out and leave the other one in to prevent sudden changes in water quality and filtration capacity. Others have had success with canister filters, however I don't like them because they require a lot of maintenance.
Your stock list is pretty good. Most people go with a six line wrasse for their first wrasse. I don't know much about carpenter wrasse, so I don't have any advice there. Maybe some others can chime in.

 

[kiefers]

Hello and welcome aboard. Everything stated above is accurate however,..... the six line wrasse should be the "last" fish you should get as they can get both territorial and aggressive. Not a good starter fish in my opinion (IMO). If you so choose to have one, which I too like them, I would make it the last fish you put into the tank.
Some I know get less aggressive critters then add the wrasse that way territories have been established and the new guy will find his/her own space in the community.

 

[travisbundo]

Yes, I have done some research but understand theres still a lot I need to look into. My plan is to get a good core of knowledge so I can get the tank up and running/cycling, this will be me an additional month to learn a bit more about the basics and caring of saltwater fish. One reason I was leaning towards a deep sand bed was because it was my understanding that the wrasse require this for protection, they also sleep in the sand beds. If I did not have any fish that would benefit from that depth of sand, I would go w/ 2". What would be a good cleanup crew for this tank setup?

 

[snakeblitz33]

A wrasse doesn't really need that much of a sandbed, 2" should be plenty. 40lbs of aragonite in a 29g should give you about the depth you're looking for.