29 Gallon set up

[jahdisp25]

Hello all great site!

I recently bought a 29 gallon rectangular tank with hood and stand. I want to set up a salt water aquarium, I'm just fascinated with them.

Anyways here is my plan to start:

20 pounds sand (Not Live)
30 pound mixture of live rock and baserock
100 Watt Heater
Korilla Hydor 2 power head

I am going to use my whisper HOB power filter for time being, I'm not going to use a protein skimmer right away, and since I will not have corals right away, Im just going to use my florescent lighting until I can afford to upgrade later.

Anything I may be missing? Will this work to start?

Also my local fish store suggests using their water at a cost of $1 per gallon? Can I just use my tap water dechlorinate it and mix it myself with salt??

Thansk so much

 

[Smitty]

Sounds like you're off to a great start, and have been doing some research...if you don't want to buy the salt water from the lfs, you could buy your own ro water from them or most grocery stores, or even walmarts, and mix your own saltwater, it may be cheaper in the long run...but you do not want to use tap water!
Welcome to the site...glad to have you

 

[Ted]

welcome to the site. No tap water. If nothing else at least use a good faucet mount filter. Ro/do is best

 

[yote]

Welcome aboard.
You know your about to get into THE most addictive hobby there is,right?:D
Smitty's right about the tap water.Its probably got stuff in it that you don't want in your tank.
The Whisper filter will be alright,as long as your anal about cleaning it on a weekly basis.Which would also get expensive when changing the cartridges every week.
JMO,But I think you'd be better off to go ahead and invest in a good HOB skimmer.
Also plan on adding another one of those K2s at least.I'd probably even go with the one K2 and a K3.You want enough flow to detritus in suspension so your skimmer/filter can remove it from the water column.

 

[jahdisp25]

If I use a HOB skimmer do I still need some kind of filter? or does a skimmer act as a filter? Kinda confused about that

 

[yote]

With the skimmer,you DONT need the filter.Filters just trap waste within the media,they dont remove it from the water.Therefore its still breaking down and releasing excess nutrients into the tank.
A good skimmer completely removes the waste from the water.The foam carries the crud into the cup,then you just empty the cup out.

 

[Smitty]

Your skimmer will act as one of your filters...live rock is also considered biological filtration

 

[Bifferwine]

Everyone's got you pretty well covered. You can buy RODI water from the grocery store or Walmart for a lot less than your LFS is selling it. Then just mix in the salt yourself. It will save you a bunch.

Also, skimmers are superior to filters. If you have a skimmer, you do not need a filter.

It sounds like you've got a good plan figured out. Keep us updated!

 

[dcantucson]

Welcome to the site!

 

[sen5241b]

I have a 29G tank also. You did say where you live and that is relevant. If you live where it gets very hot in the summer you will have over-heating problems. Can you put the tank someplace cool (basement?) and away form direct sunlight? Chillers are very pricey. You might have to turn on A/C more often in the summer. I use a 150 watt heater when it gets cold but I think a 100 watts should be okay unless it gets very cold in your house.

 

[jahdisp25]

What is RODI water? I dont recall seeing that at wal mart? Is it with the drinking water?

As for my location, I am in Pennsylvania. In winter time I keep my thermostat at aroudn 70 and in summer I use AC so I dont forsee my ambient room temp. being a major issue. From what I read water temp shoudl be around 78 or 79 correct?

 

[ltljokersbetterhalf]

RODI ater is the water that you fill your own empty water jugs with at walmart, thats the water they ar talking about. Ipersonally have a wwater store that i go to to get my water the LFS are alot higher than a water store or walmart. and a heater wont be necessary if you can keep a consistant water temp without one, i use one due to the fact in CO the temp can vary in the house even with the heater on due to snow and where the tank is located in my house

 

[ltljokersbetterhalf]

alot of temp changes happen from where the tank is placed in the house but thats just my :twocents:

 

[Jschoon]

When I started I used filtered tap water and had many algea problems. Started to buy from my local Wally Mart and and saw a great improvement. Lugging water got to be a pain so I ended up going to Filter Direct and ordered an RO/DI with drinking water seperater and now make my own. It was well worth the money and the savings in time, gas and aggrevation, it has paid for itself...

Joe

 

[daugherty]

i dont use a heater in my tank but i do have one just incase i need to get a controller and hook the heater up and my fans to the controller to try and get the temp more stable.

 

[PufferGuy]

Also make sure you get some kits to test your water for Nitrite, Nitrate, Ammonia and pH for now.. if you get corals later you can get kits for alkalinity and other stuff later.

 

[dcantucson]

From what I read water temp shoudl be around 78 or 79 correct?

Any temperature between 76 and 80 is fine as long as you keep it stable with no more than +/- 2 degrees during the course of 24 hours. In PA you will probably need a small heater especially during the winter months.

 

[jahdisp25]

Well today I set my tank up...will post pics soon.....its lookin good an taking shape nicely

I laid down a 2" layer of argonite reef sand as my substrate, for my flow I am using 1 seio 320 prop pump for now, I may end up using 2 pumps to boost my flow better. I added about 10 pounds live rock for now.

Now that everything is up and running, how long should I wait before testing my levels? I have seen anywhere from a week to 30 days???

Also once my levels zero out, should I do a partial water change prior to adding fish or not? Or shoudl I add a clean up crew? Kinda confused where I go from here.

 

[dcantucson]

Once everything levels off and you begin seeing growth on your rocks then I'd add a CUC and wait approx. 2 weeks and then add one fish every 2-3 weeks until you reach your limit or goal. It's a slow process but you will have better success if you don't rush. Take the "wait and see" approach when adding something.

 

[jahdisp25]

Ok thanks, in regards to lighting, right now I just have a standard florescent lighted hood, what are some affordable options as far as replacing that hood or bulb that woudl accomdate corals and such? Can I just replace the bulb, or do I need a whole new hood?