[kimmy275]

Hi all! I'm so glad I found this forum! I had been going to another one and I like this format alot better!

Anyhoo, I'm very new to the saltwater business. I have sucessfully kept freshwater fish for about 6 years now, but after falling in love with Nemo, not to mention listening to my kids beg, I have decided to try my hand at a saltwater tank.

I hoping to soak in all the opinions/advice I can get. I'm sure at this point I want to stick with fish only. I have been reading up for about a month now and this weeked I made the trip to the LFS. This is what I purchased:

29 gal tank & stand
Emporer 200 filter
Seaclone 100 protien skimmer
Whisper 10-30 heater (came with tank, will get better one if needed)
About 4 1/2 pounds of live rock
20 pounds of live Reef sand

What are your opinions on these things? I'm almost sure I need more rock than what I have. I had more than that but then they ran my total at the LFS and I freaked so I had them put some of it back. I'm starting to see now that I will probably need some more so I will try to dig up some money (in the back yard haha) and go back tomorrow and get some more. The tank looks really bare. There's one decent sized one in one corner and 3 or 4 smaller ones piled in the other corner.

What do you think about the heater? Should I get something different?

I think I read that I should let everything run for about 2 weeks before adding any fish and that will start the cycling. Is that correct? What would be some good fish to start with that have a good chance of surviving the cycling?

I think that's all for now, I don't want to drive you all nuts with my questions just yet.

Thanks to anyone who is still reading!

Hugs,
Kim

[Penguin]

Since you are running the Emperor, that will take care of your biological filtration. You don't have to add more live rock now, it's more a matter of what looks pleasing to you. You can always add more later when you have more cash.

The SeaClone skimmer generally gets very poor reviews from people on the board. You may want to invest in a better one eventually. But it's ok to start with.

Not familiar with the heater.

I would let the tank cycle without fish for at least 6 weeks, then test the water. However, you'll need to add something to produce ammonia and get the cycle going, like a small cocktail shrimp or piece of seafood. Cycling with live fish is unnecessarily stressful.

HTH

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by kimmy275

Hi all! I'm so glad I found this forum! I had been going to another one and I like this format alot better!

Hi Kimmy275, welcome to Reefland!

Originally Posted by kimmy275

29 gal tank & stand
Emporer 200 filter
Seaclone 100 protien skimmer
Whisper 10-30 heater (came with tank, will get better one if needed)
About 4 1/2 pounds of live rock
20 pounds of live Reef sand

What are your opinions on these things?

I don't particularly like the SeaClone skimmer for anything larger than 20 gallons but it's better than nothing. I guess.

I agree that you will need at least another 20 lbs of live rock.

I have never heard of that particular heater, so I can't comment.

Originally Posted by kimmy275

I think I read that I should let everything run for about 2 weeks before adding any fish and that will start the cycling. Is that correct? What would be some good fish to start with that have a good chance of surviving the cycling?

NEVER use fish to cycle a tank. Ever. It's cruel and completely unnecessary. If you add another 20 lbs of live rock, that will be all that you will need to cycle your tank. The cycle has already started with the 4.5 lbs of live rock and the small sand bed that you have now but more live rock would be much better for lots of reasons. As suggested, you could even throw in one or two raw shrimp right now to speed up the cycle but they wouldn't be necessary at all if you add some more live rock.

Do not add any livestock of any kind until your ammonia is undetectable and your nitrite is almost undetectable. It would be a good idea to hold off until your nitrate is down to less than 100 ppm. What you add depends on what sort of fish you plan to keep. You could start adding a few hermit crabs and a few snails before you start adding fish but only if you are not planning on keeping any fish that eat hermit crabs and snails. Clownfish do not eat crabs or snails and would be an excellent choice as first fish for a 29-gallon aquarium. You might want to consider a pair of Nemo's (Amphiprion ocellaris) after your tank has settled down. This will probably be three to six weeks from now. Please do not add a Dori to your 29-gallon tank. Tangs are a very, very poor choice for 29-gallon tanks for lots of reasons.

I'm not sure how deep your sand bed is now but you might want to consider whether you want to make it a little deeper. For your size tank, you should probably consider 2"-3" as a minimum depth for the sand bed. There are lots of different opinions on the best depth for the sand bed, so that's an area that you have to research for yourself. I personally prefer deeper sand beds but some people do not.

Good luck with your new tank!

[kimmy275]

Originally Posted by Ninong

Hi Kimmy275, welcome to Reefland!


I don't particularly like the SeaClone skimmer for anything larger than 20 gallons but it's better than nothing. I guess.

I agree that you will need at least another 20 lbs of live rock.

I have never heard of that particular heater, so I can't comment.


NEVER use fish to cycle a tank. Ever. It's cruel and completely unnecessary. If you add another 20 lbs of live rock, that will be all that you will need to cycle your tank. The cycle has already started with the 4.5 lbs of live rock and the small sand bed that you have now but more live rock would be much better for lots of reasons. As suggested, you could even throw in one or two raw shrimp right now to speed up the cycle but they wouldn't be necessary at all if you add some more live rock.

Do not add any livestock of any kind until your ammonia is undetectable and your nitrite is almost undetectable. It would be a good idea to hold off until your nitrate is down to less than 100 ppm. What you add depends on what sort of fish to plan to keep. You could start adding a few hermit crabs and a few snails before you start adding fish but only if you are not planning on keeping any fish that eat hermit crabs and snails. Clownfish do not eat crabs or snails and would be an excellent choice as first fish for a 29-gallon aquarium. You might want to consider a pair of Nemo's (Amphiprion ocellaris) after your tank has settled down. This will probably be three to six weeks from now. Please do not add a Dori to your 29-gallon tank. Tangs are a very, very poor choice for 29-gallon tanks for lots of reasons.

I'm not sure how deep your sand bed is now but you might want to consider whether you want to make it a little deeper. For your size tank, you should probably consider 2"-3" as a minimum depth for the sand bed. There are lots of different opinions on the best depth for the sand bed, so that's an area that you have to research for yourself. I personally prefer deeper sand beds but some people do not.

Good luck with your new tank!

Thanks for the advice! I'm definately trying to dig up the cash to add some more rock. It is so darn expensive! So if I understand correctly, I should wait about 6 weeks to add any fish at all? Then I can add a couple of Nemos after the crabs and snails? What other kinds of fish would be good? My kids will be heartbroken about Dori but I understand. Everything I've read says that they get really big. Maybe someday I'll have a bigger tank!

I think eventually I might want to get into Reefs but not just yet. It's all still a little confusing even without the complicated lighting!

[kimmy275]

I'm back again! Ok, I just tested and here are my levels:

Ammonia 0.50
Nitrate 5.0
Nitrite 0
PH 8.2
SG 1.022

I'm assuming the first three will go up and then drop? Is that right?

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by kimmy275

Thanks for the advice! I'm definately trying to dig up the cash to add some more rock. It is so darn expensive! So if I understand correctly, I should wait about 6 weeks to add any fish at all? Then I can add a couple of Nemos after the crabs and snails? What other kinds of fish would be good? My kids will be heartbroken about Dori but I understand. Everything I've read says that they get really big. Maybe someday I'll have a bigger tank!

I think eventually I might want to get into Reefs but not just yet. It's all still a little confusing even without the complicated lighting!

You need to wait for your tank to cycle before adding any livestock of any kind. How long that takes depends on whether you purchased fully cured live rock that the LFS had in their tanks for weeks or uncured live rock. The uncured live rock will take longer. It would be better to wait at least four weeks before adding any fish. You may be able to add some hermit crabs and snails sooner depending on your test results.

There are a lot of possible choices as far as fish are concerned. Just keep in mind that you do not want anything too big for the size of your tank or anything that does not "play well with others." You should probably avoid the very colorful damsels. They are very hardy, very cheap and most of them are very mean.

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by kimmy275

I'm back again! Ok, I just tested and here are my levels:

Ammonia 0.50
Nitrate 5.0
Nitrite 0
PH 8.2
SG 1.022

I'm assuming the first three will go up and then drop? Is that right?

If your test kits are accurate, it appears that your 4.5 lbs of live rock was cured rock. Your ammonia reading may not go any higher than it is now. If it was uncured live rock your reading should be higher than that on ammonia. I am surprised that you are reading 5 ppm nitrate and zero nitrite. I'm not sure I remember if you mentioned when you set up your tank but you should get some measurable nitrite as the ammonia numbers decline. The nitrite reading will then decline while the nitrate reading rises. You really need at least another ten pounds of live rock to cycle your tank. That would give you 1/2 lb. per gallon which is probably a bare minimum. Then you could wait a couple of months before adding another ten pounds as long as it is fully cured and purchased locally.

I would recommend raising your specific gravity to at least 1.023 although 1.024 or 1.025 would be better still.

[kimmy275]

Originally Posted by Ninong

If your test kits are accurate, it appears that your 4.5 lbs of live rock was cured rock. Your ammonia reading may not go any higher than it is now. If it was uncured live rock your reading should be higher than that on ammonia. I am surprised that you are reading 5 ppm nitrate and zero nitrite. I'm not sure I remember if you mentioned when you set up your tank but you should get some measurable nitrite as the ammonia numbers decline. The nitrite reading will then decline while the nitrate reading rises. You really need at least another ten pounds of live rock to cycle your tank. That would give you 1/2 lb. per gallon which is probably a bare minimum. Then you could wait a couple of months before adding another ten pounds as long as it is fully cured and purchased locally.

I would recommend raising your specific gravity to at least 1.023 although 1.024 or 1.025 would be better still.

I thought that was odd about the nitrate/nitrite numbers too. I set up the tank and started the filter and skimmer running Saturday night and I put the rock in Sunday night. I do remember the fish store guy saying that the rock was cured.

I think I will be able to get another 15 lbs of live rock this weekend. Barring any unexpected financial catastrophes of course!

[Ninong]

OK, wait until three or four days after you add the new 15 lbs of cured live rock to your tank before bothering to test again. The ammonia reading of 0.50 ppm is probably about as high as you are going to get. Three or four days after you add the new live rock you should be able to measure a little nitrite, maybe as much as 1 ppm and your nitrate will probably be higher than your previous test of 5 ppm. Nitrate might test somewhere around 50 ppm.