First of all Welcome!!! I'm pleased to meet you. I am by no means an expert...but I will pass on any knowledge i have gained to you anytime I can. I'm a budding saltwater enthusiast myself, and am setting up my first 125 reef tank in about 6 weeks.
ok.....
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1. Only thing I can say is the larger the better. Bigger means easier to maintain.That said....I still think with care and patients a 29 will be a great little system. Get in your head a picture of what you want to focus on....fish?Inverts?Corals? from there you will act acordingly.
2. Cleanup crew!! Bottom feeders love to eat poop!SNails,Crabs,blennies ect.
3.Yes they sell special ligting for tanks that size. There are 2 basic types. T5(and similar lights) and MH(Metal Halide). You have to determin what types of corals you want in your REEF tanks. SPS your gonna need MH lights.A good way to look at it is this: If its bright and pretty like the colors of a rainbow...chances are its gonna need MH. Another thing is MH lights add a "Shimmer" effect that T5's do not. Personally I like the look of the shimmering water on the surface of your tank, so its worth paying 3x-5x the price for MH lights. Smaller lights just means a micro sized reef. The 125 Im doing is larger so gets larger lights, but its all scale, after all, we are simulating a VAST ocean.
4.Yes. About 1.5 inch of sand. Its all about bio filtrations. You want to simulate what the ocean has as much as possible. One-1.5 lbs of rock per gallon. Deep sand beds are a thing of the past, they can really backfire. Ask around, everyone will agree. I would consider a 20 gallon sump system underneath your display tank. In there I would put a small skimmer,live rock(with a bit of chaeto and a cheap light), and a return pump. A hang on skimmer in the back would do fine as well. If I could choose anything as most important, a skimmer would be the way to go.(it does the same thing as when the ocean waves wash up foam)
5.Yes/No. It is the spine. It is the base on which everything builds. It is also the storage of all kinds of usefull bacteria, and a sleeping place for lots of animals.All your corals and inverts are attached to the rock.But it is your other stuff that you will add as time goes on that I would consider "The reef".
6.If you like drinking it, its probably OK for your fish. I will have people disagree with me. But I live in the country and have a private well that comes direct from the mountain glacier. I love my water and hate city water. Some fish stores sell premixxed water. Usually about 5 gallons for $5. Or you can go to wallmart and buy RO-DI water from the water vending machine for like .29 a gallon, this is a very popular method as well. A 29gallon tank wouldn't cost you an arm and a leg to get set up. Your testing your water anyways, so you will see any harm full levels long before you actually put the water in your tank.
7.Its hard. But thats the fun. Go slow and steady. Honestly if you have in mind that will be 3-4 months before you evin put in your first fish, and then mabee 1 fish or invert ect a month your ok. Your daily upkeep might be alittle extreme, do it daily of course when you first start out...but after some time and it gets established once a week for a couple hours should be more than enough time spent. A good normal saturday routine...same as anyone else who mows the lawn or washes the car.
8.Rule of thumb: 1inch of fish per 1 gallon. I dont know about crustaceans. Also remember that some fish breeds are in need of a large tank because they move ALOT! I would think around 7 fish would be about a good number for a tank that small. Save the rest for inverts and the like.Too much leaves to problems. Becuase they poop. and sweat amonia.
9.30-50lbs of rock. and keep it around 1.5 inches tops. Gives the bottom feeders enough sand to do their thing...but you aren't risking have your sand blow up in your face in a couple years, when it can no longer hold its bacteria.
10. Read the stikkies at the top of this page...they are FANTASITC source of noobie knowledge. From there you will have MANY questions. Post them and someone will answer. I did, and it helped alot.
11. I don't know...never mixed salt before. I was gonna add a little at a time till I get the right density.
12. THis is a good debate. 20% water change a month is a good number. Some will do it all at once...others will do it a little at a time. Me personally? I think 5-10% a week should be common practice. Rather than all at once. So you will be needing 2-3milk jugs a week(less than 5bucks a week isn't bad at all). That should be cake for you. one quick scoop and one deposit and your set.
