Need suggestion for a 29 gallon budget setup !!

F

Flamenco-t

Hi,

I am helping a friend of mine to setup her 29 gallon tall tank with the dimension of 30 x 12 x 18 Tall

The future goal would be to have the following:

- Clown, Tang, Angel, Blennies and mandarin

- 30-40 lbs of Live rock

- Softies (leather, GSP, Polyps, Zoo, Mushroom)

Now,

I am going to help her buy a PC fixtures with 65W 10,000K and 65W Actinic

The questions:

1. Any other brighter alternatives such as T5 (which I am still clueless) ? She wants to spends in the neighborhood of $ 100-$130 (which is what the PC would cost her)

2. Filtration...since she'll be doing some softies, I want to set her up with a good skimmer and fuge setup. How are the HOB fuge ? are they even worth the money ? if I run the HOB fuge liek aquafuge, does she still need a skimmer ?

my other idea was to use the CPR bak pak and instead of using the blue plastic stuff, I am gonna put some live sand and LR rubble and some cheato.

Would this work ?

As of now, the tank is up and running, we're still cyling it with damsels, sand and LR with fluorescent light and HOB bio wheel filter.

Thansk

Stan
 
i wouldnt even of put the damsels in their.... no fun and impossible to take out unless u take the live rock out. but i know the feeling of wanting fish in their asap! i did the same thing

i would go with these t5's over pc's

http://www.hellolights.com/30aqt5dolist.html

it might only be 72w total but t5's r a lot better in performance and brightness.

eventually get a 150w MH with the pc's or t5's for actinics

u might be able to squeeze in a tang and angel but a lot of the angels peck at corals...unless u put in all ur corals and then and angel after
and the tangs are to big for a 29..

if u want a mandarin u have to have a sump to produce copepods for him to eat.. and would have to wait at least 6 months or so before u put that kind of guy in their ( im still waiting ...its only been about four months)

just given ya some opinions.... its yalls tanks so do what yall would like!!!

hope your 29 turns out great!!!
 
Thanks Evan,

I may be using a fish trap to pull the damsels out.

On the T5's, on the site it stated as 18W and 18W, Should I be looking for 2 x 18W 10,000K and 2 x 18W Actinic ?

Yeah, we're not going to put mandarin until about 6-9 months down the road...

stan
 
That's a....interesting livestock list for a 29G. The tang will quickly outgrow the tank, the mandarin is also gonna be tough to maintain unless you have a big enough, established enough refugium. I hope they meant refugium instead of sump in you comments above. It's ultimatedly your choice as to what you want to try to keep in your tank, I just ask that you consider the well being of the creatures you stuff into your little piece of the ocean. Research! research! research!
 
@bimmerzs wrote:
That's a....interesting livestock list for a 29G. The tang will quickly outgrow the tank said:
Yes, I do meant refugium to provide pods for the mandarin to feed on. I am still very scared in all honesty to get the mandarin. Of course everyone likes them, but not good enough to keep them.

I will do more research as far as compatibility and how they'll survive in our little world.

My biggest challenge is to create the refugium setup on the budget...I know this hobby does not recognize the word "budget", but I was hoping it will be a good start for her. Try to imagine me explaining about the need for refugium when she saw a mandarin....LOL...it wasn;t easy hahaha
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Does she have room for a display fuge, you could set up a sweet 20g display fuge with a deep sand bed of pulverized limestone. Tank is $35 total new, pulverized limestone is 4.50 for #50 bag, macroalgae is free from the boards. Why not get a used light setup(off the boards) and get new bulbs, they usually go pretty cheap.

Cheers!
 
that was another idea that I have too, setting up an independent fuge, but there's not enough room for 20 gallon. Maybe a smaller 10 gallon may fit, I have yet to see if it'll fit.

What kind of skimmer should she be looking at to fit inside the 10 gallon fuge ?

stan
 
@Flamenco-t wrote:
As of now said:
Since this is the second time I've seen you mention "cycling a tank with Damsels", I'd just like state that there are better ways to cycle a tank (like using a piece of shrimp) without risking the lives of the Damsels. Plus, not having to worry about removing them later.

Also, you mention having Blennies (more than one) and a Mandarin. If you're talking about Scooter Blennies, they are essentially the same fish as a Mandarin and will also help deplete the tank of pods. I think you would have a hard time supplying enough pods in the tank to keep 2 blennies and a Mandarin healthy.
Click to expand...
 
@Flamenco-t wrote:
that was another idea that I have too said:
Skimmers do not go in refugiums...I'm sure you meant inside the sump, right.... as in you plan to section off part of your sump for a refugium. I am curious as to what your stocking plans are for your 55g, when it finishes cycling. If you use a 10g for a sump/fuge setup and pack your friends 29g tank with LR, you still probably would not be able to maintain a mandarin long term. Here is a good place to start your research. http://www.melevsreef.com/overview.htm, http://www.melevsreef.com/what_sump.html

**edit**
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As far as lighting goes I personally don't recommend PC. This is an expensive hobby, and often people spend dramatically more because they had to have things right now rather than waiting a little bit longer, saving up a little more money and doing the appropriate research.

Does the aquarium have a canopy? If so, a T5 retrofit (preferably from Sunlight Supply) is a good choice. A two-bulb 24" setup can be had here for under $150. If she doesn't have a canopy, there are some nice fixtures made that would only cost a bit more.

With the kind of bioload you're talking about, a HOB refugium will definitely not be enough on it's own, you definitely need some additional nutrient export. I would recommend a reliable brand of skimmer, preferably a needlewheel as your friend is a novice. ASM and Euroreef are good choices, and I hear good things about the Octopus skimmers as well.

The tang police get a little rabid, but here's why. In the ocean, tangs swim for miles and miles and miles every day in search of food. In aquaria, they tend to get crammed in little boxes. While they certainly can be kept alive for limited periods, these animals typically become stressed and can have their growth stunted. In this hobby, I feel it is incredibly important to stress responsible stewardship - these animals did not ask to be removed from their native enviornments to satisfy our whim. As dedicated hobbyists, it is important for us to provide the most adequate environment for the creatures in our care based on their native ranges and habitats.

What kind of animals does your friend want to keep? This is a very important question that she should be asking herself before buying ANYTHING.

I would really recommend taking a brief sabbatical from setting up anything or buying any more equipment until you've done a lot more research. There are a lot of red flags going off right now. I would recommend Reef Invertebrates by Calfo and Fenner as well as Natural Marine Aquariums by Tullock. Both are indispensible in the library of marine aquarists. Do yourself and your friend a favor and do some more research.
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