New 29-g Saltwater tank Build

[ARTindall]

Hello,
I am ART and have purchased a 29 g glass aquarium that we are looking to make into a habitat. We are new to tanks this size and want to make sure we do everything we can to set up for success. We are looking for a wide variety of specimen to create our saltwater tank.

We would like to know the following information:

1-what type of filtration system should we have? Cartridge, power, skimmer?
2-Would it be better to start with store sand or live sand?
3-For a beginner, what type of material should we put in the tank? To begin should we use coral, live rocks, or the hiddie holes and decor in fish stores?
4-Is it better to start with premixed saltwater or to mis our own? And how often should we change the water once we add fish to it.
5-Is there any major tips you can give us or information you may have? We have done a large amount of research, but hearing from those who have done this sort of thing will help more.
6-What do you recommend for sea Life in a tank this size, we are looking for out of the box type things for our cleaner crew, and fish that are fairly easy to maintain in the begining.
7-We also would love to introduce live things such as corals, urchins, anemones, starfish or octopus, Any advice? We want to create a really unique aqaurium. We know we can’t have it all, but are looking for options and advice.


Please Help, Any info helps,

ART



aquarium bought: Top Fin® Essentials Aquarium Starter Kit | fish Starter Kits | PetSmart

 

[jason2459]

Is it an All in one (AIO)? What brand is it and what dimensions? That will determine several things.

I would get a rodi filtration unit and learn to make your own salt.

I would get some basic sand. I like Caribsea aragonite mixed with Caribsea special grade.

I wish I would have started with live rock from the ocean like from Tampa Bay saltwater or KP Aquatics.

I would let that all settle in for many months and find what kind of hitchhikers you got. That is the fun part. Determine if they are keepers for in the tank, for in the sump or get rid of and maybe the LFS will want it. Listen for snaps and pops. Watch at night with a red light. Cool things tend to come out.

During that time you can plan a stock list and eventually get them in.

Some fun things would be a tuxedo urchin, KP Aquatics common star fish, cleaner shrimp, rock flower anemone, royal Gramma, tail spot blenny, small damsel or clowns, mated pair of Banggai Cardinal fish, hectors gobbie, etc.

 

[ARTindall]

Is it an All in one (AIO)? What brand is it and what dimensions? That will determine several things.

I would get a rodi filtration unit and learn to make your own salt.

I would get some basic sand. I like Caribsea aragonite mixed with Caribsea special grade.

I wish I would have started with live rock from the ocean like from Tampa Bay saltwater or KP Aquatics.

I would let that all settle in for many months and find what kind of hitchhikers you got. That is the fun part. Determine if they are keepers for in the tank, for in the sump or get rid of and maybe the LFS will want it. Listen for snaps and pops. Watch at night with a red light. Cool things tend to come out.

During that time you can plan a stock list and eventually get them in.

Some fun things would be a tuxedo urchin, KP Aquatics common star fish, cleaner shrimp, rock flower anemone, royal Gramma, tail spot blenny, small damsel or clowns, mated pair of Banggai Cardinal fish, hectors gobbie, etc.

It is a top tin 29 g tank, all in one starter. We want to know if we need to change any equipment out.

Top Fin® Essentials Aquarium Starter Kit | fish Starter Kits | PetSmart

Top Fin® Essentials Aquarium Starter Kit at PetSmart. Shop all fish starter kits online

www.petsmart.com

 

[jason2459]

It is a top tin 29 g tank, all in one starter. We want to know if we need to change any equipment out.

Top Fin® Essentials Aquarium Starter Kit | fish Starter Kits | PetSmart

Top Fin® Essentials Aquarium Starter Kit at PetSmart. Shop all fish starter kits online

www.petsmart.com

If you are going with corals then yes that lighting will need replaced. If going fish only with some fun inverts then that lighting will be just fine.

I don't know if you're comfortable drilling holes to convert that to have a drain to a sump (if it's not tempered glass) ? Otherwise I'd do a canister filter instead of that hang on filter. Then I would fill that canister with reef rubble. AKA lots of broken up rocks. You could throw in a bag of high quality granular activated carbon (GAC) and granular ferric oxide (GFO) if needed. Fluval is one brand that seems to be pretty good. Been a long time since I've looked at those. ROX is a good quality GAC.

There are hang on back overflows to a sump too and Lifereef makes a good quality one of those. Then getting a sump opens up a lot of options like skimmers or algae turf scrubbers or refugium or tumbling chaeto or etc. Also a great place to put things like probes and heaters.

@griss would have a lot of great input here too

 

[jason2459]

And what ever you do, take it slow and have patience. It can be a fun or frustrating hobby. In the long run it's very rewarding.

 

[reefing102]

I agree with @jason2459. While some people run hang on the back filters (like what comes with the tank), I’d encourage upgrading to at least a canister filter.

If you want coral or anemones, also upgrading the light. You can do something on the cheaper end such as ViparSpectra or SmatFarm to more expensive such is AI, Ecotech, or others.

I’d stay away from Octopus as they are short lived and escape artists.

I generally start out with dry sand from the pet store, such as carribsea aragonite. However there’s nothing wrong with going with live sand.

I also always try to start with at least some live rock from the ocean as you can’t beat the diversity of small organisms.

With that size tank, you’re going to want to stick with smaller fish. Stuff like clowns, dottybacks, cardinals, firefish, etc and stay away from larger fish like puffers, tangs/surgeons, groupers, most angels, etc. This is the area I recommend you look at various sites such as Dr. Reefs Quarantined Fish or Saltwaterfish.com to see what appeals to you and find out general care/size requirements. Also some will pick at/eat your clean up crew.

You can also mix starfish, crabs, snails and urchins generally without much issue (except for crabs killing snails for their shell). Just be aware some starfish eat coral. Some larger crabs can kill fish or eat coral, etc. Again research is your friend here.

As for water changes, I believe the general consensus is about 10-20% per month but there are many that never do water changes and just supplement their tank with additives as needed.

As mentioned, take your time. Go slow and enjoy it. Ask lots of questions. We are here to help.