First and foremost let me thank anyone who can help me in regards to my problems. I recently delved into this hobby thinking that I could get advice as how to get started and then take off running. What I didn't know is that everybody does things differently and now I am lost. Ok my set up is I have an Emperor 400 with biowheels, a Maxi-Jet 900, currently 17 pounds of live rock, and 40 pounds of crushed coral. Now what I want to get to is a two clown fish set up with an anemone. I have not purchased any specialized lighting as of yet because I am not sure what to buy. My tank is about 2 weeks old currently. Should I have a sump? And if so for the love of God how do I make one. I keep looking at pictures of beautiful and elaborate sumps but I still do not get how to make one. I know I can make one out of another fish tank but what size should it be? I am not able to drill my current tank is there a way around this? These are all the questions I have for now. Any responses that I get will be greatly appreciated.
Help on my 29 gallon setup
- Thread starter afo2046
- Start date
everl0ng
New member
hello afo2046, first thing is get rid of the biowheels. they will trap debris and become a breeding ground for nitrates. you are going to want to get more live rock. about 1-2 lbs. per gallon of tankis a good place to start since that is going to be your main source of filtration. while your tank is still in the cycle phase i would get more asap in order to get around another cycle down the road by adding more which will take longer. the crushed coral may end up trapping waste and also become a nitrate factory unless it is cleaned out on a regular basis. if you do keep it, just make sure you clean it out weekly. metal halides will do good for an anemone. i am not positive as to what fixture you would like, but i will let others help you out with the lighting as i am not very smart on the lighting ( i came here for all my 485739730475 lighting questions ha). a sump is not a necessity. a lot of people with smaller tanks do not run a sump. they are just a place to add extra water volume, hide equipment, etc... personally i have one just so i can put my equipment in it. if you do decide to make one, just buy an external overflow and run pvc from that down to a separate container/tank that will be your sump. you can add baffles that will help diffuse microbubbles before they get to your return pup and get sucked into your tank. and then you want the return pump on the other end of the sump with tubing running to your tank. waa laa...a basic sump. i will let others with more experience help you with all the small details. good luck with your setup and keep us posted, especially with pictures. those will be of a great help when explaining things. and remember to keep testing your water to make sure you are in your cycle and to determine when it's over! when i get my camera tonight, i will post pics of my setup for you to get an idea.
Before yo do too mcuh, Take out the Bio Wheels, alot of people make that mistake of buying that filter for salt water aquariums
In a SW tank Nitrates and Ammonia are a bad thing, and BIO WHEELS do nothin but hold them.
I would then get rid of the CRUSHED CORAL, it does nothing but hold debris and waste, again contributing to Nitrates.
Ok sounds like alot.... Substitute ur Crushed Coral with Some Agronite based sand, usually I like the 1-1.5mm Reef Grade Sand by CaribSea, Don't buy live its a waste, Just pour the bag in, Don't worry about Rinsing, the Excess dust will help ur Carbonate Hardness.
A sump is not necessary but I do think that You Need a Skimmer, its the most important product u can buy, People will reccomend AquaC Remoras, a good buy,
Never get the SeaClone or prism, its a piece of Junk, if ur money conscience, the Coralife Super Skimmer is a good buy, I have one, but it requires alot of tweeking
Lighting, Go for Power Compact, I Run a Coralife AquaLight Pro on my 29 now, its 130watts, and its pretty good, it has 2 65w bulbs and my Soft Corals and Lps are doing well. I willpost a pic of my current set up
In a SW tank Nitrates and Ammonia are a bad thing, and BIO WHEELS do nothin but hold them.
I would then get rid of the CRUSHED CORAL, it does nothing but hold debris and waste, again contributing to Nitrates.
Ok sounds like alot.... Substitute ur Crushed Coral with Some Agronite based sand, usually I like the 1-1.5mm Reef Grade Sand by CaribSea, Don't buy live its a waste, Just pour the bag in, Don't worry about Rinsing, the Excess dust will help ur Carbonate Hardness.
A sump is not necessary but I do think that You Need a Skimmer, its the most important product u can buy, People will reccomend AquaC Remoras, a good buy,
Never get the SeaClone or prism, its a piece of Junk, if ur money conscience, the Coralife Super Skimmer is a good buy, I have one, but it requires alot of tweeking
Lighting, Go for Power Compact, I Run a Coralife AquaLight Pro on my 29 now, its 130watts, and its pretty good, it has 2 65w bulbs and my Soft Corals and Lps are doing well. I willpost a pic of my current set up
You could get a Hang on Back Refugium. Like a small tank hanging on the back of your aquarium. I have one partitioned with a skimmer on one side and 3 - 4 inches aragonite sand / Chateomorpha algae on the other under a small light. The refugium or refuge is good for tanks with fish because it gives the little sea bugs a place to hide from predator fish. It's the little sea bugs (amphipods, copepods, isopods) that will keep all of the crap cleaned. You will need 5 to 10 watts per gallon for lighting and 5 to 10 times your tank volume in pump size. Mostly, take everything you hear with a grain of salt, especially your local fish store. Most fish stores would sell you arsenic if you would buy it. Everybody tends to let pride talk for them and tell you what a great piece of equipment this or that is when in reality it is junk. Be sure to hit the forums for advice and don't do anything rash!
Thank everyone for their help so far. I am so lucky to have finally found a place where people seem to care about how others are doing with their tanks. I have another question: When should I add the skimmer to my tank? The local fish store say about 2 months after the tank cycles but i just wanted another opinion. Also I need clarification as to whether or not buying more live rock right now to bring my current total to 29 pounds would be a good idea. Thanks again for taking time out of your day to respond.
I would have at least 45 lbs. rock If I were you. That is just 1 1/2 lbs. per gallon. I have over 40 lbs mixed Caribbean / Fiji in my 20 gallon tank. If you buy uncured rock you can use your skimmer now. If it is cured then you can wait. I bought Caribbean rock from the local fish store and it was only partial cured. It came straight from the ocean....It sure has lots of stuff on it. Most of the stuff has made it and most was good things.... I put down dry reef rocks on the bottom to save money....If you put it all in now when it cycles you will be done.
I'd recommend getting more rock. For a smaller tank, a skimmer isn't really necessary. Its a plus but not necessary. Its easy to do a waterchange on smaller set ups so 20% every week or two will eliminate the need for the skimmer.
Same for the sump, its a huge plus to have but not necessary. It adds extra water volume for more stability which is key for a reef. It also allows space for a fuge which can add to nutrient export.
As for lights I recommend T5.
Same for the sump, its a huge plus to have but not necessary. It adds extra water volume for more stability which is key for a reef. It also allows space for a fuge which can add to nutrient export.
As for lights I recommend T5.
Thank you for your response. I have another question: What is T5 lighting? Sorry if that sounds newbish but again I am flying blind here. Also when should I get the new lighting? Lastly as far as water changes go I have two options on my current budget, either tap water or distilled water. Which one of these would be best? Thanks again for all the help ladies and gents.
T5 is a type of fluorescent bulb. You have NO = Normal Output, HO = High Output, VHO = Very High Output, PC = Power Compact. T5 is a HO bulb a two foot bulb is 24 Watts. A PC bulb two foot is 55 - 65 Watts. Tap water can have high Phosphates and or Nitrates and make algae control very difficult. Distilled water is OK, a short term fix but expensive long term. Be sure it is distilled and not spring water.....You can buy RO / DI water from some fish stores or buy a filter. Some people too use a Britta type water filter a DI type filter but they don't last long. RO = Revese Osmosis, DI = De-Ionized. My RO / DI filter was 160.00 dollars I think.....This Hobby is not cheap, but it has been shown to lower Blood Pressure, but not at the fish store.....
Do not use tap water!! Its best to use RO/DI but distilled will also work. In short, comparing T5 to MH, it uses much less energy, less heat, and many more color choices. You'll find a ton of info if you search for it. Theres a T5 Q&A thread in the equipment and lighting forum that has an infinite amount of info in it. Lighting really isn't needed until after your cycle.
everl0ng
New member
i just found out last night that our local meijer has RO water. i have been using tap water and now i have green hair algae that's out of control! it's so bad i dadded a phosban reactor until it clears up. i wish i would have bought an RO/DI unit in the begining, but when my taxes get here i sure am getting one.
