My 29G project to date...

[Sam_Sushiro]

It all started about 9 months ago with the worst, most neglected, boring, freshwater tank. I think you will agree, this was an eyesore in my living room.
04/09/05

Now that it's winter and I basically have nothing to do I'm using this opportunity to dive into the world of saltwater. Patience is a virtue and hopefully I can give this project the time necessary to do things right.

I had seen tanks with a black background before and decided to do the same to my tank. Here's a pic just before I painted it. I also painted the stand black as well.
01/12/06

Then I masked it all up and went to town with few cans of flat black spray paint.

Here's a few pics of how it all turned out. I love how the black tank looks against the red wall that my wife and I painted last week.
01/14/06

Mixed up 29 gallons of saltwater. Measured 1.025sg (anyone know if this is good?) Here's the specs on the lights that I bought last year: (CD-16907 Orbit Compact Fluorescent Lunar Lights (30") $169.00) came FedEx today from Drs. Foster & Smith (http://www.drsfostersmith.com). This light unit has 3 lights in one it includes Sun Paq bulbs (Dual Actinic are 420nm/460nm & Dual Daylight are 6,700Ã"šÃ‚°K/10,000Ã"šÃ‚°K) I was able to copy and paste that all by myself directly from the website where I bought the lights. I have no clue what any of that means but it all sounds cool. These lights are HUGE (or at least I think so.)
01/15/06

Here's another shot with just the daylights on.
01/15/06

Added 30lbs of crushed coral to the tank tonight. Man, looks like the tank is full of lowfat milk. Anyone got some cereal and a spoon?
01/15/06

So anyway that brings us to today. At this point there is nothing living yet in the tank. Live rock is next on the list of things to buy. Now for my questions. Which is why I found this site in the first place.

• What should my temperature be? I'd like to get the water temperature right before adding live rock.
• What is the best number for salinity? I have measured my specific gravity with a refractometer and show 1.025. Is this good?
• Do I need sand with the crushed coral. I had thought about getting a cucumber, but I dont think they can eat crushed coral. I have also heard that if/when they die they are deadly to a tank.
• Where can I get test kits online? The LFS has tests for $12.99/ea I know that I'll at least need tests for pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate. Any recommendations on where to get these cheaper? Any other tests I should need?
• I'm all brand new to this and even though I have spent hours reading message threads here and other forums, I'd still welcome any feedback from you guys who are more in the know than I am.

 

[chip721]

Re: My 29G project to date...

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6514320#post6514320 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Sam_Sushiro

• What should my temperature be? I'd like to get the water temperature right before adding live rock.
• What is the best number for salinity? I have measured my specific gravity with a refractometer and show 1.025. Is this good?
• Do I need sand with the crushed coral. I had thought about getting a cucumber, but I dont think they can eat crushed coral. I have also heard that if/when they die they are deadly to a tank.
• Where can I get test kits online? The LFS has tests for $12.99/ea I know that I'll at least need tests for pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate. Any recommendations on where to get these cheaper? Any other tests I should need?
• I'm all brand new to this and even though I have spent hours reading message threads here and other forums, I'd still welcome any feedback from you guys who are more in the know than I am.

*78 - 80 is a safe temp. But it really depends on what you'll keep in your tank. Stability is the key.
*NSW is 1.026. I tend to keep my water around 1.025 and with evaporation it drifts up toward 1.026.
*Being a newbie, I mixed sand and cc too. The cc will tend to rise above the sand. Crushed coral can also be a detritus trap. I'm in the process of gradually changing mine out with sand now.
*I use Salifert test kits. Often get mine from Marine Depot. But just google Salifert and you'll find others. Again ...depending on what you plan to keep, eventually you may need Ca and Alk test. But for now what you have is fine.

 

[Scuba Oz]

The temp should be anywhere from 78-82 and like chip said, stability is the key here, you dont want it to flux more than a degree in the 24 hour period.

Most of us keep our salinity around 1.025, depends what you want to keep but 1.025 is a great place to be for corals ect. Again stability is a major key here also.

Crushed coral will work, but it will require more maintenance from you to keep the nitrates down and keep it looking clean and healthy. All sand would have been better and I think it looks better also. (Just my opinion though)

I would use FAST or salifert kits. Marine Depot, Premium Aquatics and even e-Bay are good starting places for the kits.

Good to hear you are reading up on this project, and I wish you happy reefing. Let us know where and when the rock is coming

 

[TekCat]

Temperature varies.. some have it at 78F, some at 80F, some at 82F... as long you don't cool it lower than 76F and no higher then 86F - you should be fine.
1.025 SG is good.
As chip mentioned: "Stability is the key", so whatever you pick - maintain it!!!
Lose crushed coral!!!!!!! Instead get fine grained sand 0.2 - 1.5 mm, IMO. Don't bother with Live Sand that they sell in bags, it has only bacteria in it, and noone knows how much of it survives there. When you add LR your sand will become LS, LR will seed it on it's own.

Just few things that might be usefill:
- use RO/DI water, never tap (even treated tap water)
- run two heaters (one will be your backup)
- get a good protein skimmer (I use AquaC Remora)

 

[Scuba Oz]

I forgot to ask, what skimmer you plan on using? CPR BakPak and Remora C are good hang on the tank skimmers. Also where are you getting the rock from?

 

[TekCat]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6515383#post6515383 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Scuba Oz
I forgot to ask, what skimmer you plan on using? CPR BakPak and Remora C are good hang on the tank skimmers. Also where are you getting the rock from?

I've heard that CPR skimmers getting some bad reviews... so much more research for you Sam_Sushiro

 

[Sam_Sushiro]

There is a great LFS here, I plan to get the LR from them.

I hadn't thought of a skimmer. What does a skimmer do? I have my old filter (Penguin 125) from the FW tank for now just to get some of the silt out and make some movement.

 

[TekCat]

Protein Skimmer is a foam fractination type of filter. Basically it removes organic matter, proteins and stuff, before they start decomposing to ammonia and other nasty things.
Berlin type of setup base for bi-filtration is live rock (at least 1 lbs per gallon) and a protein skimmer. IMO, stay away from wet/dry or other types of bio-media type of filters (sponges included). Over time they will become nitrate factories.

 

[Sam_Sushiro]

Did I really just waste $40.00 on crushed coral that I didn't need? I really dread taking it all out and chucking it and getting $40.00 of sand. If I were to chuck it all, how much sand should I have in a 29g tank? While we're on it, how much LR should I have?

 

[chip721]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6515920#post6515920 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Sam_Sushiro
Did I really just waste $40.00 on crushed coral that I didn't need? I really dread taking it all out and chucking it and getting $40.00 of sand. If I were to chuck it all, how much sand should I have in a 29g tank? While we're on it, how much LR should I have?

The crushed coral isn't a total waste ...just not the best choice. If you dread taking it out now, imagine having 30# of lr sitting on it too. I even asked myself this common sense question "When you go to the beach, do you step on crushed coral or sand ...hmmm?" How much sand depends on whether or not you're trying to do a DSB. Othewise, mirror what you have in cc. As TekCat said, don't waste the extra money on live sand. Generally 1.5# of lr per gallon is adequate. Don't go overboard. You want to leave some swimming room. If you can buy good lr locally, then do it. Being able to hand pick pieces is better and cheaper than mail order. Keep us posted with pics of your progress. You're off to a good start.

 

[TekCat]

Here is another moneysaver (I wish someone told me that before I bought rocks): get half or 75% base rock and the rest LR. Base rock is really a dead LR, it is way cheaper. It will become LR in no time. So, base rock + LR = lots of LR However coralline algea will not be growing on base rocks for a little while, but usually after 6 month, you won't see the difference.
... my $0.02

 

[porkbullet]

Regarding the substrate base, I think it depends on what beach you go to. I have been to beaches that are definitely fine sand (So Cal and gulf side of Florida, Carribean, etc.), but there are also plenty of beaches in the world's oceans that are more crushed coral (anyone ever been to Sanibel Island in Florida? All crushed coral). So it really depends on your personal preference. I think there are pros and cons to both, I personally went with a 50/50 mix and it works just fine. It's up to what you want to keep and what you prefer to look at.

 

[ho bag]

Im gonna go with a 70/30 mix of sand/cc. I liek the look of crushed coral but sand as well, So i figure ill do a mainly sand bed with depoists of cc here and there. Will also help break up the look of the tank.

By buddy is running a 70g With only mixed sized crushed coral with no issues. Never get nasty looking for anything.

 

[chip721]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6521432#post6521432 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by porkbullet
there are also plenty of beaches in the world's oceans that are more crushed coral (anyone ever been to Sanibel Island in Florida? All crushed coral).

...ouch! Putting my flip flops on. I stand corrected. Thanks Porkbullet.

 

[porkbullet]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6522083#post6522083 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by chip721
...ouch! Putting my flip flops on. I stand corrected. Thanks Porkbullet.

Totally, we spent one day there on a family vacation, it was miserable. Spent the rest of the trip at beaches in Naples, much more comforable.

 

[Dr. Chek]

Sam,

I started just like you... it was this time last year though.
I learned so much on here...
you are doing the right thing with your penguin.. let it run and help clear out your tank.
don't buy any fish until your tank is cycled. ( I bought a damsel, he was a pain in the butt, so i had to remove him)
Buy enough live rock like the others suggested (30 plus pounds).
definetely figure out right now if you want to have all your equipment hanging in the back of your aquarium, or if you want to hide it below in a sump (I wish I knew what I needed/wanted)
I would do a sump.
Once you decide on that you will have to get a skimmer.
I picked up a Aqua C Urchin (sump style) if you want a hang-on-the back, the Aqua C remora is highly regarded.
in summary, you need good lights, check. you will need enough live rock... a skimmer (not seaclone)... and powerheads for water movement.... those three things will set you free... oh and Reverse Osmosis water for water changes and topoffs due to evaporation...

these are things I wish I knew from the start.

 

[Scuba Oz]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6515525#post6515525 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by TekCat
I've heard that CPR skimmers getting some bad reviews... so much more research for you Sam_Sushiro

For a hang on the tank skimmer its a really nice one, I have on my 37 tall and it works great. Pull a cup load of skimmate every couple days. As for a sump skimmer, yes they get bad reviews, they are not made for big tanks and should not be used for them. On a 29g the BakPak or the Remora C would be perfect.

I would look on-line for your live rock, MUCH cheaper than LFS and the quality will be a lot better in most cases. There are ton of places for rock, just make sure you do your homework before you buy

You dont need that filter whatsoever if you are going with liverock. With a skimmer with the liverock, thats all you will need. You can use it just to run carbon, but there are better ways for that also.

You dont have to throw out the crushed coral, its just better to have sand thats all, like I said in my other post, keep it but be prepared to do a little more maintenance to keep it fresh and clean looking.

 

[NEEDMONEYFORMORESALT]

something to think about now is, if you keep your lights on before cycling or even before adding the live rock your tank is going to be the color of green.

 

[Sam_Sushiro]

New Pics 01/18/06

New Pics 01/18/06

Took some more pics last night and this morning:

Most of the silt has settled or been filtered. Now I'm about to stir it all up again and take about half of the crushed coral out and replace with sand.
01/17/06

Took a picture of my power head. Why? Because I can, that's why.
01/17/06

This is the hang on back Penguin 125 filter from my old freahwater setup. I'm just using it for now for some flow and to help get the silt out of the water.
01/17/06

Shot from the right side. Lots of (too much) crushed coral.
01/17/06

So here's the tank all settled and with the nice black background. I'm so happy.
01/18/06

Who turned out the lights? Taking a picture without the lights was not the best idea. Good thing I have a digital camera ...delete.
01/18/06

 

[Sam_Sushiro]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6523859#post6523859 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by NEEDMONEYFORMORESALT
something to think about now is, if you keep your lights on before cycling or even before adding the live rock your tank is going to be the color of green.

I've never heard of that before.

Anyone else?

Why would that happen?