n00b with a nano

M

milkit

hey everyone, my names brandon and i just got registered here. About 2 months ago me and my girlfriend got a 36g bow front freshwater tank and discovered it was something we really enjoyed. We stocked it with semi-aggressive tropical fish, then she decided she wanted a goldfish tank, so we went back to the store to purchase a small 10 or 20g tank for those.

Well, we ended up leaving with a 29g Instant Ocean Salt Tank since we both eventually want to have a huge beatiful reef tank at some point, we figured we should practice now.

We purchased the Marineland "Instant OCean" 29g kit that contained the tank, an Eclipse3 hood with filter/lighting/etc, instant ocean salt, various test kits, etc. The hood has a bio-wheel and 2x24" lights.

We then got 30lbs of "Nature's Ocean Bio-Activ Live Aragonite Reef Sand" and i purchased 40lbs of live rock from a 4 yr old aquarium setup someone was breaking down.

We set up the tank tuesday, added rock weds, and my smart girlfriend went and got 2 stripped damsel fish yesterday... a bit of a rush i might say lol. So, ive been monitoring everything very frequently, hopefully these 2 guys can survive being rushed into the tank.


Anyways, the point of my post originally.... with this tank setup/filter/lighting, I was told doing live plants or coral is probably not going to happen because the filter and lighting would not be good enough. I did want to do a few coral peices, and maybe an amoeba for a clown fish. bad idea? Obviously its not a top of the line setup and i understand that and will have to stay within the tanks boundaries. Someone also mentioned I could use a stronger/better bulb in the lights and i would be fine...but im not sure..


any help/suggestions/comments on the whole tank would be appreciated
 
you can do some leather corals and some softies, there are many corals that dont need pristine water and the best lighting. if you stay up on water changes it is usually enough. welcome to the board btw!
 
thanks wes.

Also, what should my next step be and approximatly when since the two damsels were rushed in? Should I wait a couple of weeks and then add some cleaners? How many is reccomended for this size tank?
 
Welcome aboard!

You probably have the makings for a decent FOWLR tank (Fish Only With Live Rock) there. Fish aren't picky about the lighting but usually have a higher demand for filtration. With what you have, you may be able to put a couple soft corals in there up on the rocks closer to the lights. A big concern is water movement once you go reef (adding coral). The filter/return pumps are simply for driving the filtration. Water movement or 'flow' is accomplished with stand alone pumps and powerheads. The idea there is to just point them about to get the water swirling around in the tank.

Stay with what you have - don't add any more fish or coral until you do some more reading and learning. Use ro/di water from the fish store for your salt mixing and top off - no tap water or chemical additives.

Get a refractometer, not a swing arm plastic hydrometer to monitor the tanks salinity and keep it constant. Do water changes on a regular basis with a good salt mix and ro/di water.

A good website to read through is www.melevsreef.com and the New to the Hobby area of ReefCentral. Look for a large thread on ReefKeeping 101 by WaterKeeper. It is very educational.

We hope to see you at a meeting sometime soon.
 
welcome to dfwmas!

Depending on what corals you plan to keep start planning on upgrading the lights, look for great deals in the sell forum also a skimmer makes a big difference.

And another word of advice about fish selection, It's not recommended to do alot of fish in a saltwater tank espicially a smaller tank. I would take out the damsels before someone gets emotionally attached, they may become aggressive towards any future fish purchases trust me I had a $6 damsel bully my $50 anthias to death. Needless to say he is no longer in my 29g. most fish stores will give you credit for them.

Once again welcome to the addiction I mean DFWMAS.

Oh and heres a pic of my 29
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@milkit wrote:
great looking tank! as far as corals said:
Thanks. As for the light I am assuming your tank is 30x12x18 if so there are different fixtures that will fit over it. I have the 150w metal halide sunpod and have no problem keeping any corals and love it. As far as just changing out your bulbs I don't think there's much you can do but I'm not an expert on it by any means. There is a 2x65w pc current dual sattelite that you can get pretty cheap and that's enough light for most lps (large polyp stoney) corals I had one of these but upgraded 3 months later to the metal halides.
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Smart thing finding this website. There is a lot of knowledge that passes through this place. Even more at the meetings! You should attend... If your lucky the damsels will die. :twisted: j/k


Anyways the other members above me have alredy hit up on the main things you need to know but I'll throw my 2 cents in... 3 things that are a big factor in saltwater. 1. Lighting, 2. Filtration, 3. Water movment. oh and you also want to do a water change every week. 15-20% is a Good amount. That's what I try to do. A few good store's to visit. Fish2morow, True Percula, Franks Tanks.

GOOD LUCK!!!!


p.s. True Percula allows people to borrow fish traps. I think there is also someone on here with one. :)
 
@zjohns wrote:
Smart thing finding this website. There is a lot of knowledge that passes through this place. Even more at the meetings! You should attend... If your lucky the damsels will die. :twisted: j/k said:
from what I have read about damsels, wanting them to die might be a bit much but I definantly wont be keeping them around. They seem to be pretty evil lol.

BUT, as of right now, they are still alive and kicking.. seem happy...
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@zjohns wrote:
I was getting at how hard it will be to catch them. Trust me I know... said:
haha yeah. the gf said the lady at the store had to double net them and chase them for a few minutes even inside the tiny tank
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Before you add anything else I recommend:
You need add another 30lb. bag of livesand
another 40lbs of liverock
powerhead for flow in tank:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Aquarium-Dual-Power-Head-Water-Pump-1540-GPH_W0QQitemZ280343696185QQcategoryZ46312QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp2773.m263QQ_trkparmsZalgo%3DSIC%26its%3DI%252BC%26itu%3DFICS%252BUFI%252BUA%252BIA%252BUCI%26otn%3D39%26po%3DLVI%26ps%3D54
and either modify your hood with as many t-5s as you can
get on top of it or remove the hood and buy a
250 watt metal halide pendant.
Then you will have a tank that will sustain corals
with regular water changes and an additive regiment.
Additives I recommend are salifert,but
if your on a tight budget Kent products are good too:
Essential elements
tech M magnesium supplement
Turbo stronium
Coral vital
Iodine
And also calcium supplement Kalwasser or go to Walmart and
buy pickling lime which is the same thing only cheaper...
needs to be dripped in with a dripper or use a
1gallon water jug with a spout you can turn to get a drip.
There are higher end calcium supplements too
such as part A and part B.
Add a cleanup crew first
www.reeftopia.com
50 astrea snails
25 hermits...red legs are better,but
small or micro blue legs are ok too
2 cucuumbers uglier the better
2 fighting conchs
4 emerald crabs
1 serpenat starfish
1 brittle starfish
wait two weeks then add a couple of fish you really like,
but keep them small and make sure they are reef safe
and fish friendly or at least friendly with the fish you plan to add.
DON'T overfeed saltwater fish can go days
without eating in the ocean.
Feed daily but not more than they consume in 5minutes or less.
Tangs need to be feed 2-3 times daily but small amounts of food

wait at least a month before adding any corals and
make sure you try out a hardy coral and not too expensive
while testing out the waters...
I'll give you some test subjects when your ready.

I setup a 29 gallon tank as a quaratine 8 weeks ago and
won't be adding anything until next week...
patience is just one of the keys to success.

This is not the cheapest hobby but it is definately rewarding
once you get the proper equipment and training behind you.

(214)477-1677 lmk if you need any help/have questions or
when you are ready for some test subjects.
 
@lowincwrx wrote:
[I]@milkit wrote:[/I][quote=" great looking tank! as far as corals said:
Thanks. As for the light I am assuming your tank is 30x12x18 if so there are different fixtures that will fit over it. I have the 150w metal halide sunpod and have no problem keeping any corals and love it. As far as just changing out your bulbs I don't think there's much you can do but I'm not an expert on it by any means. There is a 2x65w pc current dual sattelite that you can get pretty cheap and that's enough light for most lps (large polyp stoney) corals I had one of these but upgraded 3 months later to the metal halides."]

I didn't realize that the Sunpod came in a 30in, I have been looking for a good fixture to go on my 37 gallon of the same dimensions but haven't been able to come up with much.
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First of all welcome to the hobby.

When I got into the hobby a little over a year ago I bought a very similar setup to the one that you are using right now. You have had the setup for very little time yet and already people are telling you to get rid of the hood and buy a different set of lights. I agree that you are not going to be able to raise a lot of coral with the current setup, but before you go upgrading I would suggest that you stick with the hood for a little while and at least learn some of the basic things you are going to have to do different for the Saltwater tank.

You are eventually going to want to upgrade lighting and filtration and get a skimmer and probably a sump I think its unavoidable to eventually upgrade everything I don't think anybody is truly ever satisfied with what they have.

One thing that you definitely are going to want more of in the tank that the hood just doesn't give you enough of is flow. I would recommend probably a Koralia 2 would be sufficient on your 29G tank. That is what I am running in my 37 gallon with one other small powerhead. If the rock you got was established live rock from a tank that will probably help to minimize the time it is going to take your tank to cycle which is a good thing since you have already added a couple of fish.

I changed out one of the bulbs in my hood to a Actnic one and it definitely made a difference in how the tank looked and I was more than pleased that I did it. One thing I would recommend to save some money if you decide to keep the hood for a while is to not buy the filter's that the hood comes with but instead to just buy some blue bonded filter pad and cut it to fit the dimension, lots cheaper than buying the filters.

Once again just my opinions but I would suggest sticking with what you have for the time, read as much as you can about the hobby and then when you are ready to take the next step upgrade.

I'm currently in the process of adding a sump, skimmer and building a canopy to house some T5's for my tank.
 
@travis442 wrote:
[I]@lowincwrx wrote:[/I][quote="[I]@milkit wrote:[/I][quote=" great looking tank! as far as corals said:
Thanks. As for the light I am assuming your tank is 30x12x18 if so there are different fixtures that will fit over it. I have the 150w metal halide sunpod and have no problem keeping any corals and love it. As far as just changing out your bulbs I don't think there's much you can do but I'm not an expert on it by any means. There is a 2x65w pc current dual sattelite that you can get pretty cheap and that's enough light for most lps (large polyp stoney) corals I had one of these but upgraded 3 months later to the metal halides."]

I didn't realize that the Sunpod came in a 30in, I have been looking for a good fixture to go on my 37 gallon of the same dimensions but haven't been able to come up with much."]

in the 30in range there's not alot of options but I've really liked this sunpod. Sps do great in the center and since my tank is mostly lps they are all in the lower areas and the ends of my tank.

As for Docs suggestions.

I think you're fine with the amount of live rock and sand thats in your tank I only have about 35lbs myself I just don't care for the wall of rock look.

250w metal halides may be a bit much unless you plan on doing sps and even then you may have to keep it high up again my corals do great under my 150 and I have no heat issues.
Clean up crew- I have 2 astreas, 5 turbos, 4 nassarius, 1 fighting conch and 1red leg hermit with no algae. But I would suggest a skimmer, I use the coralife super skimmer 65 as a hang on back it's not the best but it was cheap and it gets the job done (With a few small mods).

If you plan on being in the Cedar Hill area you're welcome to come by and check it out just let me know ahead of time.

As doc said patience is importance. Don't give up when the algae and cyano come, they happen with the cycles, it will get better trust me.
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thanks for all the comments. I think step 2 (step 1 being to keep these damsels alive) will be to go ahead and order a powerhead(s).

then ill wait a few weeks (2-3?) and get a cleaner crew.

then if all is well ill add a few fish. as far as corals, ill probably just try some sort of mushroom just to add some color and put a single bit of it where the light is really good and just see what happens.
 
@milkit wrote:
thanks for all the comments. I think step 2 (step 1 being to keep these damsels alive) will be to go ahead and order a powerhead(s). then ill wait a few weeks (2-3?) and get a cleaner crew. then if all is well ill add a few fish. as far as corals said:
That sounds like a good plan to me, when you go to add fish you might have to remove the damsels. You should be able to keep some mushrooms without much trouble I know I have some in my tank and I have the same lighting as you do except I have a deeper tank.
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