New to Marine Hobby - Starting 29 Gallon

[zmazza]

I have a 29 gallon and a 40 gallon tank. I have two parrots, some loaches, and an eel in the 29 right now, and a few cichlids in the 40. I'm thinking of moving the blood parrots, loaches, and eel to the 40 gallon to give them more room, and turn the 29 into a salt water tank.

Right now it's got a HOB heater that keeps the temperature stable, and a P-200 filter. I'm going to move the filter over to the 40 gallon tank. I've probably got 20 something pounds worth of live rock in my 10 gallon right now 'curing.' No fish life or inverts or anything, I just put it in there the other day. I've got 5 good sized pieces. The lighting on the 29 is just the basic light that came with the wal-mart kit. I've got a Maxijet 600 power head on order to go into the tank, whether it's the 10 gallon or the 29 gallon. I may order another if I decide to use the 29 after all.

Will pool filter sand be OK? My water comes out of the tap at 8.3. I don't have an R/O filter at the moment, but this is only going to be a FOWLR.

How much live rock do I need?

I definitely want to go with a pair of gobies or a blenny, and some other fish. I'm not sure what kind I can have. Maybe an urchin?

Can you help me figure out what my best bet is?

 

[swims withthe fishes]

swimming pool filter sand is usually a silica base and is absolutely not a good idea.

R/O water is optimal, but not entirely necessary for FOWLR.

your best bet is to can all the FW fish and setup the 40 for saltwater, and use the 29 for QT.
you will eventually do it anyway...

trust me we all did.

 

[zmazza]

So no pool filter sand for the saltwater tank? Why is it a bad idea just out of curiosity?

I'm going to buy a 55 gallon in the future, and I'll use the 29 as a QT at that point. Can I use live rock without a substrate in the tank?

 

[ajs349]

spend the money now on marine sand, save a lot later...

you could use live rock without any subtrate at all, just a matter of appearance and opinion

 

[zmazza]

I've got just enough pool filter sand to cover the bottom of the tank.. will it really hurt that much? I'm just using it for appearance. What does a silicate sand do to a marine tank? I've used the sand that is in my 29 gallon now (about 20 lbs or so) in my freshwater tanks for months. I just transfered it over.

 

[just_in_time]

I would put about 30 pounds of live rock in your tank. Especially in a FOWLR...Also I would get some live sand because it will help your tank cycle A LOT faster IME. Any more questions just ask. I set up a 29 reef. I enjoy the size and do not plan on upgrading.

 

[just_in_time]

Oh yeah also you might want to add another MJ 900 for flow. I have 2 MJ 900's and plan on getting another MJ600. JMO

 

[zmazza]

I've probably got more than 30 lbs of live rock. I have 8 pieces total and most of them are HUGE! They completely filled up my 10 gallon (my holding area for live rock.) I'm going to purchase a 600 today, and then go with a 900 a bit later when I add fish. I'm thinking of going with a pair of small clown fish, a pair of gobies, and a tiger pistol shrimp. Would that be OK or is that too much?

Maybe a single goby if I have to. Also, would that leave room for hermit crabs, snails, etc?

 

[zmazza]

I bought 20 pounds of arag-alive crushed coral yesterday. I'm going to pick up a few more pieces of base rock and live rock. I'm aiming for two ocellaris clowns, a skunk cleaner shrimp, and two hi fin red banded gobies. Also, a cleanup crew.

What do you guys think?

 

[mastocker]

From what I have read, people who have used crushed coral have had complaints about their nitrates being abnormally high down the road. Personally, I think sand not only looks a lot better than the crushed coral, but it seems to do better for the chemistry of the tank overall. :beachbum: