Well I'm back

[Mg4life0331]

Hello everyone. My addiction is starting to dig back at me. After a graduation, promotions and more moving than I wanted to, I can finally get back to my love of marine life 6 years later.

Starting small with my 29g that I never really invested much in before. I have plenty of my rock that died, so I'll be using that and get some live sand. Maybe a bottle of bacteria but I'll cycle it like a champ for sure. It's the one thing I remember doing correctly back when I first joined this site.

The hood on this thing always kinda ticked me off. Glad to see ideas on removing it and getting some LEDs. I'll be doing that for sure. Looking for some suggestions on this.

Skimmer? I see small ones that fit in the back or a hob one. Anyone have a preference or one they hated?

I made my own water with a bulk reef 5 stage but the damn canisters got busted. Should I start over or just rebuy the canister and filters?

Does anyone really need to dose or run reactors for sps in small tanks?

Open to all suggestions and thanks ahead of time for responses.


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[Oldreeferman]

Hi, yes dosing & a skimmer is pretty essential down the rd. once the tank is mature & everything is growing.

I take it you do not have a sump? If not then you are doing what i'm doing with an in tank skimmer ( a modified AquaticLife mini skimmer) & a large HOB filter, i change the HOB filter every 3 days or so like you would on a sump sock works great.

IO Reef salt worked great until my coralline & stony corals began growing then i had to begin dosing 2 part calcium & magnesium additionally daily as well as ALK dosing.

I also had to begin dosing Red Sea No-Pox after i added my SPS since water changes would not lower it below 25, the dosing lowered it to .25 & the tank is showing a much better look clearer & everything is growing better & happier especially My Montipora digita and my Jack O lantern leptoseris.

Make sure to use as clean a water as you can make or purchase too very importaint. Id avoid tap water like the plague. I only do a small water change once a month at just 2 gallons, so i use distilled water for that & for my top off water that way i do not have to test or worry about bad water ever.

I run T5HOs for my lighting so someone else will have to chime in on LEDs.

That is about all i can think of ATM hope ive helped. have fun!

 

[Sk8r]

If you harbor soft corals, they don't mind a weak skimmer: they prefer 'rich' water and absorb the nutrients, and don't need calcium. They can be colorful and fast growing. Definite nix on untreated water. In a 29 g you could use supermarket ro water without too much labor.

 

[wsboyette]

As for a HOB skimmer, stay away from the Instant Ocean unit as it is a piece of crap. I tried one on my tank and ended up getting my money refunded. I highly recommend the Aquamaxx HOB Filter/skimmer combination unit; it has lots of room for biological filtration and comes with some biological media. It has a large compartment for additional biological and/or chemical filtration media, too. The skimmer works great; I am totally satisfied with the unit's performance. It's aesthetically pleasing, too. The only caveats I have concerning this unit are its rather large size; it measures 17.25" Length x 3.94" Width x 14.18" Height; and pay attention to the caution in the instructions which says not to overtighten the mounting screws. Aquamaxx also makes HOB Skimmer only units as well if you want to go for more of a Berlin approach.

Features

Convenient hang-on design
Efficient protein skimmer built-in
Easy to access, drop-in media cartridge
Spacious customizable filtration chamber
Probe Holders x 3
Dosing Tube Holders x 3
Cord/tubing management cut-outs on lid

Specifications

Filtration rating: 60 Gallons (light bioload) or 20 Gallons (heavy bioload)
Housing dimensions: 17.25" L x 3.94" W x 14.18" H (excluding collection cup)
Refugium section dimensions w/o media cartridge: 10" L x 3.5" W x 11.5" H
with media cartridge: 7" L x 3.5" W x 11.5" H
Media cartridge dimensions: 3.125" OD x 9.75" H
Cartridge top brace: 3.5" L x 3.25" W
Fits probes: 1 x 0.625" Diameter and 2 x 0.5" Diameter
Fits tank rims: up to .75"
Wall clearance required: 4"
Requires approximately 5.5" of clearance to remove collection cup
Pump(included): Shark 1.0 (modified Sicce Pump)
Pump power consumption: 11 Watts

 

[Mg4life0331]

Thanks all for the suggestions. I'm gonna start buying tomorrow.


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[Hellsangelbx]

Welcome back to reef central