Sumpless 29 gallon equipment options?

[fermentedhiker]

I'm in the beginning stages of putting together a 29 gallon reef tank. I'm actually planning a 93 gallon cube, but wanted to gets some practice with something smaller first, and it gives me a chance to keep some corals that might not play well with those going in the cube. It's going to be sumpless because the stand is a rack style and the bottom slot will be a QT tank so no room for a sump.

Originally I was thinking of using an Aquamaxx hob-1 and a CPR aquafuge small and a powerhead or two. I'm having second thoughts though. Doesn't really seem like the hob fuge is big enough to have much of an impact and it eats up a lot of space.

I was also considering using the body of one of those finnex air powered hob fuge's as a Hob ato reservoir. The supposedly hold 1 gallon. Add a Toms aqualifter and some controls from autotopoff.com and have a HOB ATO. Thoughts on this?

I'm still debating about the skimmer. Reading lots of opinions on whether they deplete compounds to the point that they do more harm than good on such small tanks. Most of the better quality skimmers I've found are rated for much bigger tanks than my 29 which may be part of the problem. A possible solution would be to run it on a timer so it didn't run constantly.

I had kind of been leaning(after dumping the cpr fuge idea) of getting an AC110 and using it for flow and to hold media(GAC, GFO, Purigen) and then got reading up on a couple HOB reactors............choices choices.

I guess I should post the proposed stock list so you'll have an idea what I'll be dealing with.

Thinking of 30lbs each of LR and LS from floridaliverock.com
snail based CUC from reefcleaners.org(at about 1/2 what they recommend)
Macro; Maiden's hair, Halimeda, maybe dragons breath

Coral;
Lavender Rhodactis
Florida Ric
Yuma Ric
a few Zoa/Palys
Green Toadstool Leather

Inverts;
Rock Flower Anemone
maybe a yellow sea cucumber

Fish;
Fu Manchu Lionfish

As you can see the stocking is light, but carnivores are messy so good filtration is a must.

Any thoughts or recommendations?

Thanks
Adam

 

[Sacredwrites]

I am pretty new. Working on my 29 gallon water for the last few months and just got my new light. I am going minimalist. So sump but I have a heavy duty filtration... well this is what I have now: This is what I have in my five month old or so water--29 Gal., Aquatop cf 400-UV canister filter, Fluval C2 H.O.B filter, approx. 26 lbs coraline infused live rock, crush coral substrate 15 lbs., Turbo snail, Emerald crab, Blue legged Hermit crab, 2-Narcissus snails, Astrea snail, Cerith snail, Blue damsel, four stripe damsel, and Firefish.

--NEW as of 6/5/14--Maxspect Razor r420r 120 Watt 16,000k light, two frogspawn frags, one zoanthid frag.

I get a ton of flow out of my aquatop canister because it comes with a outlet bar that I shortened and am running so the flow pushes lengthwise. I think I will try and add a small powerhead sometime soon, and of course considering a HOB Reef Octopus dh1000 protein skimmer. So far with all this filtration and relatively low bio-load I haven't needed it. I do have some cyano I am dealing with but nothing more so far than a mild cosmetic concern for me. I'll be following to see what people think would be a good start for your idea. I was told once though that your plan will always change so stay adaptable as you build. The best advice I can give is do tons of research, and get the best you can afford to start.

 

[fermentedhiker]

Thanks for the reply. It does sound like you have a good bit of filtration there. Although using conventional filters you'll have to keep an eye on your Nitrates.

I forgot to mention lighting. I'm looking at using a 12k xb fixture from buildmyled.com. I use finnex led rails for all my freshwater tanks and like them a lot, but I want a better spectrum for the corals.

 

[Force4000]

I have a 29G and have had great success with my skimmer. Im running an Aqualife 115 in tank rated for 30g. Sure its in the tank and small but it does a great job for a mini skimmer. I also have 4 fish so my bio load is a bit tense for the size. I would still recommend one. I have also heard you should have your skimmer running 24/7, not on time cycles. Its hard on the pumps to consistantly power on and off. At least this is what I have read from other users asking about timed skimmers.

 

[fermentedhiker]

Thanks for the recommendation, I hadn't noticed the Aqualife before. I'll be sure to check it out as I'm weighing my options.

I guess the first thing I have to decide is whether it's worth the effort to setup such a small ATO unit(just isn't room for anything bigger). Manually topping off such a small tank isn't a huge deal, but it would be nice to know it would be OK if I went away for the weekend or something.