New Tank Set-up Questions!!

A

annaanderic

Reefing newb
Ok so we finally have a 29g Biocube and the stand! After a bunch of reading/researching we’ve finally narrowed everything down to what we think we need to get in order to have the tank we’re looking for. But before we go out and actually purchase the rest of the equipment, we figured it’d be a good idea to run some of our plans by all the reef experts here! Ok so here’s what we’re thinking, but please feel free to let us know if there are any fish/invert/compatibility issues.


Fish (added in this order)
-Wheeler watchman goby, hopefully paired with a pistol shrimp (
-a pair of Occellaris clowns (tank raised)
-and here’s where we’re trying to find out if 1) we have room for another small fish and 2)if it would have issues with the goby. The fish (if there’s room) that we want the most is the Red Sea Mimic Blenny but we’re a little worried about compatibility with the goby even though the wheeler is supposed to be pretty unaggressive.


Inverts
-5-10 nassarius snails for substrate sifting/aeration
-a turbo snail or two
-maybe a couple bumblebee snails too!
-5-10 red-legged hermits (or blue if its possible even though some sites say they’re not so reef safe)
- a peppermint, skunk, or banded coral shrimp (maybe a couple if possible)….does anybody know which of these would be best to have with the pistol shrimp so that it doesn’t become a target?
-a couple feather dusters

Corals
-Focus on soft corrals due to lighting limitations and difficulty
-Mainly zoas and maybe a few mushrooms.
-We’re definitely open to any cool suggestions here!!
-Does anybody know of any corals (we’re not going to risk the anemones in such a small tank) that the clowns would like that would be possible/easier to care for in a small tank like this?

Water Flow
-Either two koralia nanos OR one Koralia #1 or one Koralia #1 and one Nano.
-It was hard to figure out exactly how much flow would be needed on top of the wet/dry output
-We’re probably going to get the cheaper protein skimmer that’s specifically made for the biocube just because Ive heard mixed suggestions on whether it needs a skimmer at all when there’s live rock plus the filtration that come stock with the tank, and if the skimmer isn’t enough then we can always upgrade to the better one w/only having lost $35.
-Also, do you think it’d be worth getting one of those rotating heads to attach to the output nozzle that circulates the water in different directions?

Live Rock and Substrate
-20 lbs of live rock and about 20 lbs of base rock (we’ll have a while to let the rock cycle so hopefully seed the base rock so it’s mainly an attempt to cut back on costs a little)
-the plan is to have the base rock covered with the live rock so it’s not entirely visible in the early stages
-2-3 inches of aragonite (probably about 50% live and 50% non)
-I know a lot of places have said that its either to have practically no sand or have over 4 in., but we’re torn here because we’d like to have enough sand for the pistol/goby to burrow some but 4 inches is a little daunting for a 29g and it seems like it’d really reduce the appearance of the tank. Any ideas??
 
I`ll cover the LR and substrate. Your LR and BR look pretty good. Dont worry about the LS. Just get all dry sand and maybe a cup of seeded sand from your LFS. I`m really having problems believing the live sand in a bag thing.
 
Yea I had to double-take when I saw live sand in a bag in petco (dont worry i was just killing time, not actually shopping for fish supplies there). It seems a little strange but what do I know. So are most LFS's willing to give over a cup of live sand?
 
You can fit 4 small fish like that in a tank that size. But you are right, the goby and blenny may not get along. Maybe they will, but you don't know for sure unless you try, and it's up to you if you're willing to try or not. You should add fish slowly -- I'd start with the blenny or goby, and then add the clown pair 3 to 4 weeks later. Then let the tank run for another 3 to 4, and you can decide if you want to add the 4th fish.

Your clowns will probably host in hairy mushrooms if you add those to the tank, and that will be perfect for your lighting. Clowns will also sometimes host in xenia (mine don't).

I'd skip the coral banded shrimp -- they are opportunistic hunters and will catch and eat your inverts and sometimes even fish. But you could have a peppermint and one other, maybe a pistol or cleaner.

Check out ricordea mushrooms. They are probably my favorite corals of all time, and they come in every color of the rainbow. Those would be awesome in your tank. You can also keep some of the lower light LPS corals like candy canes/trumpets, frogspawn/hammer/torch, blastomussa, etc.

I'd skip the rotating head on the powerheads. I don't really know of anyone that uses those. But you are right on about probably needing two powerheads.

Your sand and rock numbers sound fine to me.

It sounds like you've got a really great plan -- you've done an excellent job of researching things ahead of time! It's a nice change to see that once in a while, as opposed to "I set up my 29 gallon tank yesterday, and now my three tangs are acting weird" hahaha.
 
Thanks a bunch for the responses! Thats great that we can probably fit 4 small fish because we've been torn on what fish we can get the most out of with such a size limit! Yea we tried to find a blenny/goby combo that has the least amount of conspecific aggressiveness, but in a small tank I wasnt sure if it really mattered and they werent going to get along no matter what. Do you know of any particular blenny that could go with the wheeler watchmen b/c I think we're pretty set on wanting atleast that one?

Thanks for the mushroom suggestions! I'm definately open to them b/c I havent seen a whole of specific mushroom info but they're definately enticing.

So on the powerheads, do you think a two #1's would be too much water movement or should we mix it up with one of each?
 
Idk why but we were under the impression that the bicolor blenny might be a little too big to have as the 4th fish but if it isnt then thats definately a good possibility!

Hmm no I dont think I've seen/heard of the duncan corals but now I'll def. check them out! Since we wont have any anemone it'll just be nice to find a coral that the clowns can host in that dont mind it too much.

Thanks on the powerhead advice! It's really hard to find a good estimate on just how much a tank that size would need, but now atleast we can get those ordered and on their way!
 
Where you might actually luck out with having the 4 fish is that the clowns will not take up much space; they're not like damsels that act like they own the entire tank, rather, clowns will stick to the same 6inch radial area and OWN that. My suggestion...add the goby first, then the blenny (or vice versa), and then the clowns last (make sure if you buy a pair, that they are already paired before you buy them...save yourself some headache). The key thing about adding the clowns last is that you'd be allowing the blenny and the goby to find their hiding spots and get comfortable first; thus, when the clown wrecking crew comes in, they're the new booty and will typically leave the other guys alone.

...but that's just my :twocents:
 
I use the Hydor rotating attachments on powerheads. I like em a lot in my 30g high tank. It moves the water around pretty random as it spins and the water bounces off rocks and overhangs. But they DO reduce flow about 40%, so get a good sized powerhead if you plan to use one.

I'm using a MJ1200 (300gph) with a Hydor in the 30g. It's on a timer. 15 minutes on - 15 minutes off - 15 minutes on - 15 minutes off. It does that all day from 9am until 9pm. It's off at night between 9pm - 9am and then it starts all over again at 9am the next day. 15 minutes on - 15 minutes off ............

All the other advice is good. It's REALLY nice to see people do some serious research and come up with a very reasonable game plane BEFORE actually putting tap water and 3 tangs in the tank. LOL!! Good one Biff!!

All I can add is get an RO/DI unit. Get the BEST one you can afford. Tap water is for fresh water tanks. Tap water causes dead livestock and algae problems in saltwater tanks. Just get the RO unit. You'll thank me later.

May I suggest:
http://filterdirect.com/product_info.php?cPath=21&products_id=29

Thats what I use. Needs a booster pump. Most RO units need a booster pump to work right. It takes about 50-60psi to force the water through the membrane with any efficiency. Most houses don't even have 30psi, so it takes all day to barely drizzle 2 gallons out of an RO unit with no pump.

This pump works great:
Filter Direct Online Store (C)

I just plug it in when I need to make RO water. Unplug it when you're finished. No need for fancy automatic shut off valves or auto top off crap on a little 29g tank. Get your empty bucket, set it in the sink. Turn on the valves to run the water through the RO unit. Plug in the pump. Couple hours later, come back and unplug the pump. Put a lid on your bucket of fresh water. Remove it from the sink. Done!!
 
definately go with 2 K1s. i have 2 K1s plus a nano in my 30gallon, and i want to upgrade to a K1 and a K2.

as for the sand- i have about 3 inches in my 30gallon and at first i wish i had less, but after a while it really doesnt detract at all...especially after the cyano is gone and the coraline starts to grow. nice white sand looks like it should be there and everything else in your tank brings yours eyes away from the giant pile of sand at the botttom...your goby will be happy.
 
Wow thanks everybody for the advice! Looks like two K1's to start with on the powerheads! We're actually going to be leaving for Indianapolis in abt an hr to try and find the best LFS to call home since there's not a whole lot to choose from in Bloomington (only petco :/ )!

Thats a good idea abt adding the blenny and goby one after the other so that they dont get picked on by the clowns. Atleast they'll have a little more space in the tank to pick their spots w/out being bothered by the clowns.

For the water, would it be unreasonable to purchase the big jugs of RO/DI water (for top-offs) or already mixed saltwater (for the initial fill-up and partial water changes) since its not a very big tank?
 
I didn't but I wish I did, then again, I was on a budget and tried to save every where I could. Here's the problem though, if you don't have your own jugs to take with you, you're gonna have to buy them at the LFS and then you're gonna have 4 extra jugs that you may never need again, so be sure to ask, if you plan to go this route, if the LFS will take back the jugs that you will no longer need after the initial set-up. I only keep two 5-gallon jugs for saltwater and one 5-gallon for fresh. Also make sure you have an suv or something if you plan to get the water there as a 5 gallon jug is only 1-1.5 square feet, but you're gonna need 6-7 jugs to start (for a 30 gallon I would get all 30 gallons of salt, even though you won't need to put it all in there for the first fill, and 5 gallons of fresh for your top-offs, don't forget to add some PH Buffer as typical fresh water has a PH of 7 and you need 8.4-8.7)
 
If you have the money to pay for pre-made saltwater, then that's fine. It's not too expensive for a small tank -- my LFS sells RODI water for 25 cents a gallon and saltwater for 75 cents a gallon.
 
Ok so one the most popular LFS in Indy has 5 gallon jugs of both RO for $2.95 and pre-mixed Saltwater for $4.95 but theres a $10 deposit on the jugs which isnt bad since I'll get it back. It just makes the initial set-up kind of expensive, but now I think we're just going to go buy the jugs right before getting the live rock (or at the same time) and then return them the next day so we arent out $100 in deposit money and it can be spent on other supplies!

I was unaware about the pH buffer, thanks for telling me!
 
annaanderic said:
OI was unaware about the pH buffer, thanks for telling me!
Click to expand...

No worries, just test the freshwater first to see what the PH is, then add the buffer and re-test; once the PH is where it is where you want it to be, you can leave that Fresh water to the side somewhere ready to add to your tank when it's running low. The last thing you would want to do is add buffer when you don't need it.
 
Ok so now that thats shored up, whats everyone think about the bioballs in the biocube filtration unit? Ive read some complaints about them possibly being too good at what they do so the nitrates would be too high, but could this be avoided by maybe taking out half of the balls or something? A lot of people seem to remove them altogether, but its still alittle unclear to me what I'd replace them with....

Any help or personal experience on this would be greatly appreciated!
 

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