Upgrading to a 29g from 10g and have a lot of questions.

seecrabrun

seecrabrun

Active Member
I'm picking up a 29g this weekend and I feel like this is going to be very different from caring for my 10g.

Currently I have a HOB and power filter, premixed water, master test kit(pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate), and food of various types. In the tank I have 13lbs of live rock, sand of various texture, and Thin Stripe Hermits.

In the 29g I will eventually add a fish, two at most but I am very interested in the more aggressive fish and so I know I can't have many or even more than that one in some cases, and I can't have most CUC or corals and I'm ok with that. I do not plan to upgrade past 29g as I have determined that is the largest I can fit in my house until my kids have grown more.

I know I need more live rock and more sand, Is it ok to use regular sand to mix with what I have instead of buying more live sand?

I will need more water and since it is now 29g instead of 10g I may want to mix my own instead of buying the ready to use. Is there a specific brand/type of salt that is going to be better for my type of tank?

Also I don't want to use tap water, I don't feel comfortable drinking our tap water and so I wouldn't feel comfortable using it for my tank. What kinds of water are safe for mixing? I've been using spring water to top off my tank. Can I use the water from those refill stations in Walmart, Publix, etc?

Do I need a different filtration system than what I've been using? If it will be 1-2 fish and the hermits do I need a sump or canister or anything different than a larger HOB and power filter?

Do I need any additives, buffers or anything like that?

Am I forgetting anything?
 
boggie99

boggie99

New Member
So your going to up grade your tank, that's how it all starts. I will not pretend to know everything about dealing with a saltwater tank, but I can tell you what I have learned though the 40+ years that I have had tanks set up. First MrSaltwatertank.com and Mrsaltwatertank on face book, is one smart guy when it comes to saltwater tanks. He has a wealth of info that he passes on all the time. Now lets talk about the sand you are asking about, just what sand are you thinking about? Sand that you would use lets say for a sand box outside for the kids, is not going to work. The sand that you would use in lets say mixing concrete is not going to work either. Please just go to your local fish store (LFS) and buy what ever sand that they have for saltwater tanks. As for the water that should be used, RO/DI water is the only water you should use, unless you are using saltwater already made up at the LFS. Tap water in no good, no matter what you add to it and as far as I am concerned, bottled water is not any better.RO/DI is the only way to go. We have to go every week with at least 5, 5gal buckets to our LFS to buy RO/DI water. If I could set up a RO/DI system in our house we would, but we have no where to set it up. Thus so the trip to the fish store. As for the salt, we have used Oceanic, Reef Crystals ,Salinity and Red Sea..we keep going back to the Reef Crystals. We have a 90 gal tank and we replace about 14-18 gals of water every week. Last Additives or Buffers? I don't dose our tank with anything, and I would say a tank of the size your talking about I would just say no real reason...hope this info helps you with your new set up and please remember, do not hurry, things take time and I mean time, and do not over load the tank. good luck
 
seecrabrun

seecrabrun

Active Member
Thanks. I meant regular fish safe sand.
We actually don't have a fish store. We have petsmart who only carries freshwater in our area and Walmart who has a pitiful pet section in general.
I'm having to make a trip out of town to go to a ***** for all of this.
Don't even know where the closest fish store is but it is farther than *****, which is far.
 
trigger40

trigger40

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by SeeCrabRun http:///t/397831/upgrading-to-a-29g-from-10g-and-have-a-lot-of-questions#post_3547572

I know I need more live rock and more sand, Is it ok to use regular sand to mix with what I have instead of buying more live sand?

i know pool filter sand is a cheap way to get fish safe sand. but be prepared for a lot of brown algea but it will go away after a while.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SeeCrabRun http:///t/397831/upgrading-to-a-29g-from-10g-and-have-a-lot-of-questions#post_3547572

I will need more water and since it is now 29g instead of 10g I may want to mix my own instead of buying the ready to use. Is there a specific brand/type of salt that is going to be better for my type of tank?

instant ocean makes a great salt mix.

Quote:
Originally Posted by SeeCrabRun http:///t/397831/upgrading-to-a-29g-from-10g-and-have-a-lot-of-questions#post_3547572

Also I don't want to use tap water, I don't feel comfortable drinking our tap water and so I wouldn't feel comfortable using it for my tank. What kinds of water are safe for mixing? I've been using spring water to top off my tank. Can I use the water from those refill stations in Walmart, Publix, etc?


the one from walmart is good. any RO/DI will do the job. even bottled water.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SeeCrabRun http:///t/397831/upgrading-to-a-29g-from-10g-and-have-a-lot-of-questions#post_3547572

Do I need a different filtration system than what I've been using? If it will be 1-2 fish and the hermits do I need a sump or canister or anything different than a larger HOB and power filter?


well if its a 29 i am gessing its a biocube(am i wrong). and if it is a biocube it should already come with the filtration sistem. if not a over powerd HOB will do the trick or a canister, i am told the canister is a pain to keep up with but i have never had one.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SeeCrabRun "/t/397831/upgrading-to-a-29g-from-10g-and-have-a-lot-of-questions#post_3547572">

Do I need any additives, buffers or anything like that?


none you should never add anything like that to your tank unless you are having ph problems.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SeeCrabRun http:///t/397831/upgrading-to-a-29g-from-10g-and-have-a-lot-of-questions#post_3547572

Am I forgetting anything?
what about powerheads or circulation pumps. you should at lest have two small ones.
 
seecrabrun

seecrabrun

Active Member
Sorry yes I have 1 power filter and just bought another.
So if I paid 4-6 per pound and that came with free CUC then it was a good deal?
 
silverado61

silverado61

Well-Known Member
A power filter is different than power heads. Power heads churn the water creating flow through your tank (you don't want any dead spots or you'll have algae and parameter problems.) And adds rich oxygen to the water. A power filter helps keep the water clean but it can't do that if you have dead spots for food and contaminants to settle. Which is where the power heads come into play.
 
seecrabrun

seecrabrun

Active Member
Let me link to what I have. I have a HOB but then I have one that is fully submerged and the water jets out a tube in the front and then I just bought another one that only has a foam slip on filter over the intake and then jets the water out the tube.
 
seecrabrun

seecrabrun

Active Member
http://m.petsmart.com/h5/hub?id=http%3A%2Ffish%2Ffilters%2Fnational-geographic-trade-ifs30-aquarium-filter-zid36-21344%2Fcat-36-catid-300088?null
http://www.***********.com/Zoo_Med_Powersweep_214_Max_160_GPH_Adjustable_Flow_Aquarium_Powerheads-Zoo_Med-MZ3111-FIPHAD-MZ3113-vi.html
 
silverado61

silverado61

Well-Known Member
Honestly, I've never heard of the National Geographica brand or it's products and the add says nothing about size or GPH so I couldn't offer my opinion on it. And it is a filter. Not a power head.

As far as the Powersweep, it looks like a power head to me. But it also looks like they discontinued it so finding replacement parts (an impeller for one) or a second one (you really need two) might be near impossible. For a 29g I think you need 580GPH and if you had two (they also need to be the same pumps) that would only be 320GPH.

Sorry I can't offer more.
 
seecrabrun

seecrabrun

Active Member
Honestly, I've never heard of the National Geographica brand or it's products and the add says nothing about size or GPH so I couldn't offer my opinion on it.
Found in my material it is up to 106GPH
I can easily use it elsewhere when I find good replacements. I can use it in the QT after removing the filters in it, etc.
Do you have any recs for good power heads that I can buy online? I just have petsmart and well these are all they had pretty much...
 
seecrabrun

seecrabrun

Active Member
So I set up the tank with the sand and rock I had plus 20 more pounds each of newly bought.
I added 5 gallons of water from the old tank and let it sit for a day and then tested. It was the same parameters as my 10g so I moved my hermits into it.
I'll now let it sit for 12 weeks and then introduce a fish.
I'm thinking of getting some small snails but I worry if the crabs will eat them. The crabs are large breed so it wouldn't be for their shells. Crabs are currently in 2-2.5" shells.
 
seecrabrun

seecrabrun

Active Member
I took back the power filter and got this instead
http://www.aqueonproducts.com/products/circulation-pumps.htm
 
seecrabrun

seecrabrun

Active Member

What size and GPH is this one? Remember, you need a minimum 580GPH total between all your pumps added together.
That one is 500 and the power filter is 106. So I should be good.
I took the power filter apart and all it is is a power head within a cylinder that has carbon and sponge inserts.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top