Looking at a salt tank. Need help

[Fish love]

I am planning to turn the 29 into a saltwater in the next few years after my current fish pass and I have enough money. I know that the recommended tank size for a saltwater is a 55 gallon, but I just want to start with a 29 gallon because I do not want to put thousands into a 55 if it fails. This will be my only salt tank, I plan to stay fresh with the rest of them. I also know that there are few fish I can put in a 29 gallon because of the size and because the levels are harder to keep good in smaller tanks. I am planning on keeping live rock with maybe a few mushrooms.

Now I need some help here:
--I am looking at buying a RO/DI system to make tap water safe for the aquarium. Any recommendations? I have no idea really what it is. But I know that tap water is not safe for the aquarium. If conditioner is important, I will use Prime.
--Right now I have a 30 gallon filter on the 29 gallon. I'm going to upgrade to a 70 aquaclear. OK?
--I plan on throwing a large raw shrimp in the 29 to cycle. I will cycle for no less that 2 months. Tips?
--Is live sand needed? I have pool filter sand in all of my aquariums right now, will that be suitable?
--Heater will be an Aqueon Pro. 100 watt? I have a 150 in my 55 gallon.
--Testing kit will be a API saltwater master kit. I have a freshwater one in all of my aquariums. Good?
--Instant Ocean for salt?
--How many water changes per week and how big?
-Korlia's. Needed? I will probably buy one. What type do I need?

Stocking:
--I am looking for things that are hardy.
--Any blennies that are hardy and will go in a 29 gallon? What do I feed if they can?
--Looking for fish that are not aggressive. I do not mind having only 2 or 3 in there. 1 is also a option.
--What mushrooms do you recommend for the tank? Will be added after cycle.

Lighting:
--What lighting is needed for mushrooms and everything else? Watts and Kelvin suggestions are needed
--I plan on ordering off of amazon because I have not heard of any sites that are good with lights. If you have any sites you like, I will order there.

I know this is long, but I really need to know everything! I plan on starting to save up for everything now. I know it will be expensive, but I am committed to it.

 

[Cathic]

Aquatraders.com will supply you with a T5 lighting system that will work fine for a low maintenance tank, FilterDirect.com has good RO/DI systems for a great price.

Pool Filter Sand is not a good idea, you will need to buy some regular sand, which is cheap, and it will eventually become live when you add rock and it cycles. Instant Ocean salt, will be fine.

I would go with 10% water changes a week or 20% every 2 weeks, whichever is a better option.

2 Koralia 450's or their smallest one would work fine...

Hope that helps some. Also, this hobby doesnt have to be expensive, you can find great used equipment and liverock from places like craigslist, or local reefers getting out of the hobby.

 

[little_fish]

Hello and Welcome!!!!

For starters, we LOVE people who ask questions before they buy livestock and end up asking "why did my __ die". You are off to best start possible!

1. For RO/DI filters check out Pure Water Club, The Filter Guys, Bulk Reef Supply and some other i cant remember. You want one with at least 3 stages, plus a DI and membrane stage. What comes out of the filter is pure water so you wont need to add any sort of conditioner.

2. With a tank that small you really dont need any sort of filter, just water changes. Plus those filters are really a freshwater invention and cause more problems than they are worth in salt. But if you do want to add something, a much better option is a skimmer and refuge. Or you can mod that filter to HOB refuge. There are several threads about that on here.

3. That is great plan to cycle your tank. It might not take that long, just depends on your ratio of live rock to base rock.

4. Live sand is not needed, just get dry sand, and by the nature of bacteria it will become live in just a few weeks. Plus i have a very hard time believing that anything could be live after being in a bag for who knows how long and subject to all sorts of questionable conditions. But dont use pool sand, just agronite (sp?) based sand.

5. Sounds like a good heater, but its always good to have a back up. You will need to heat up the water when you do a water change, and they break more than any other piece of equipment.

6. Great testing kit for starting off

7. Excellent Salt

8. I would do a 10% change each week or 20% biweekly. When you are starting off i suggest the weekly changes because things are much less stable and doing weekly changes will help keep those new tank algae blooms under control. When you tank is a little older and more stable, do biweekly.

9. Powerheads are a must. Aim for 40x your tank volume turned over per hour. Its also better to have a few powerheads than one big one. You want one powerhead making ripples on the surface at least for good oxygen exchange. I really like Korlia powerheads, but a cheaper alternative are the maxi jets. They arent as nice looking but, who really cares? All powerheads are ugly to an extent.

10. In salt you only want one fish per 10 gals, so i wouldnt go over 3 fish. But there are lots of options. Check out this site for ideas: Aquarium Fish: Tropical Freshwater Fish and Saltwater Fish for Home Aquariums Just be sure to check out what size tank each fish needs, and its temperament. Also, make sure you can properly care for that fish. Some fish have very specific needs and really shouldnt be in most tank. This also goes for corals and inverts. Research BEFORE you buy anything.

11. There are tons of great mushroom and easy coral options! Softies are the easiest corals to keep, LPS are middle, SPS are the hardest.

12. I would invest in good lighting. Its really hard just to stick with the lower end corals, because there are so many wonderful and beautiful corals out there. I would also be a little worried of buying for amazon for lighting, its hard to assure you are getting the quality you need. Also, there are many many great places to buy fish stuff online. Here is just a few:
Fish & Pond Supplies | Aquarium & Garden Pond Specialists
Aquarium Pet Fish Supplies, Tank Accessories, Products & Equipment
fish need it;lights; food;Sponge
Bulk Aquarium Supplies - Reef Aquarium Supplies | BulkReefSupply.com


Here are some other great articles you should read!
https://www.livingreefs.com/water-chemistry-t31270.html
https://www.livingreefs.com/basic-equipment-list-t19611.html
https://www.livingreefs.com/why-using-tap-water-bad-idea-t19865.html
https://www.livingreefs.com/cycling-tank-adding-fish-and-corals-t26452.html
https://www.livingreefs.com/marine-aquarium-disasters-and-prevent-them-t20514.html

 

[Sir Alex]

I am planning to turn the 29 into a saltwater in the next few years after my current fish pass and I have enough money. I know that the recommended tank size for a saltwater is a 55 gallon, but I just want to start with a 29 gallon because I do not want to put thousands into a 55 if it fails. This will be my only salt tank, I plan to stay fresh with the rest of them. I also know that there are few fish I can put in a 29 gallon because of the size and because the levels are harder to keep good in smaller tanks. I am planning on keeping live rock with maybe a few mushrooms.

A 29 gallon aquarium will work fine for small fish.

--I am looking at buying a RO/DI system to make tap water safe for the aquarium. Any recommendations? I have no idea really what it is. But I know that tap water is not safe for the aquarium. If conditioner is important, I will use Prime.

An RO/DI system is a must. I don't have one yet but I'm getting this: Filter Direct Online Store (C)

--I plan on throwing a large raw shrimp in the 29 to cycle. I will cycle for no less that 2 months. Tips?

You don't need to cycle that long. Just wait until the amonia and nitrites have stabalized at zero then do water changes to get you nitrates down to 0.

--Is live sand needed? I have pool filter sand in all of my aquariums right now, will that be suitable?

I wouldn't use that, but you don't need to get live sand. Just get dry sand, it will come to life.

--Heater will be an Aqueon Pro. 100 watt? I have a 150 in my 55 gallon.

That's fine.

--Testing kit will be a API saltwater master kit. I have a freshwater one in all of my aquariums. Good?

Not the best, but it will work.

--Instant Ocean for salt?

That's fine.

--How many water changes per week and how big?

Most people do a %20 water change every other week.

-Korlia's. Needed? I will probably buy one. What type do I need?

Two nanos will be enough for mushrooms.

Stocking:
--I am looking for things that are hardy.
--Any blennies that are hardy and will go in a 29 gallon? What do I feed if they can?
--Looking for fish that are not aggressive. I do not mind having only 2 or 3 in there. 1 is also a option.
--What mushrooms do you recommend for the tank? Will be added after cycle.

That's entirely up to you, but a few good nano fish include, clowns, gobys, blennys, some wrasses, chromises, and a few others.

Lighting:
--What lighting is needed for mushrooms and everything else? Watts and Kelvin suggestions are needed
--I plan on ordering off of amazon because I have not heard of any sites that are good with lights. If you have any sites you like, I will order there.

Amazon isn't very good for aquarium supplies. This would be a good light: Current USA Nova Extreme T5HO Fixtures

 

[Sir Alex]

Ugh, I got double ninja'd!