Hello, any advice?: 29gallon, future corals and fish

[Anfo42]

Hey, I'm relatively new to the whole salt water aquarium although I've had a fresh water tank since I was a little guy. some of my family members have really gotten me intrigued with their tanks; how their corals have progressed and grown over the years and I decided I would like to follow in their footsteps and start the hobby up plus I've always been interested in marine biology. I was recently gifted a 29 gallon standard (20x18x12). I have about 15lbs of live rock and a small red legged hermit from the prior owner and a standard mechanical filter (marineland 150) I'm currently using to cycle with some chemipure elite. I'm thinking about shopping amazon for a protein skimmer and wave maker. I also need to invest in a light, I know I need at least 4 watts per gallon and I can't skimp here since it's imperative for my coral to thrive once my tank is ready for them to be introduced; looking more towards LED lighting since its cheaper in the long run and less of an impact on my utility bill. any ideas/advice on which products to use? some examples of fish /coral/inverts i'd like to someday have in the tank are clowns, gobys, zoas, mushrooms, shrimp, hermit crabs..

 

[Reef Frog]

15 pounds of live rock may be a little light for 29g, but is fine for lighter bio loads. LR is your main source of filtration and the most important. I'd ditch the trickle filter & get a decent Protien skimmer.

Chemipure isn't needed during the initial cycle. Also, X watts of light per gallon is old advice and does not apply to today's LED fixtures. Any light fixture is likely to be OK for a fish only aquarium. If you ever intend to keep stony corals, you'll need to choose carefully as many el cheapo LED fixtures are not suitable for stony corals. GL

 

[Sk8r]

Likewise: 15 lbs more rock. That tank should suffice for soft coral and a clown pair, or small gobies/blennies/gramma/pep shrimp, etc.

 

[Anfo42]

@ Sk8r getting more live rock this week Thank you for the advice! @Reef Frog I will definitely look into a decent protein skimmer instead of the trickle filter and as for LEDs I'm looking into Reef Radiance; my LFS mentioned how good they are. Thanks for the tip!

 

[Shawn O]

If you are starting your cycle, might want to have someone else look after your hermit until it's over.

 

[aquaticaddict]

Welcome to reef central!

 

[HB Fash]

I'm no expert, far from it, however in my nano 15 gallon which has been running for 6 months has 17 lbs LR and everything is doing good. Fluval do nice powerheads that run quietly, I'm using a CP2 from their range. As for protein skimmers, I assume you have no sump as you don't mention it. Internal ones run good enough just find one that is a good enough size to do the job without taking up to much room in the tank.

Good luck

 

[Anfo42]

Thanks everyone, i appreciate the advice. @Shawn O great idea i just don't know anyone in my area yet that will take care of it for me. maybe the LFS will look after the guy for me.