Empty 29 gallon tank, what do I need for saltwater?

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

papa_bear_21

Aquarium Advice Freak
Joined
Apr 18, 2007
Messages
458
Location
Houston, TX
Ok, so I recently upgraded from a 29g to a 55g freshwater tank, and am starting my research to start up a saltwater tank. This is a standard 29g tank, was a marineland kit from walmart, the original filter was replaced with an aquaclear 30 hob filter, which was moved over to the 55 along with an aquaclear 50. I know I will need a fliter, and new substrate (any recomendations). I am not looking to start a reef tank, and this one if not built with a prefilter. I've been looking to build up a fowlr tank, but know nothing about how to begin. I am very willing to learn, and read, and will take any and all advice. I am looking to keep some puffers (not sure which one(s) yet, but possibly a porcupine if they can be kept in the small of a tank), and other fish that can be housed in a tank with puffers, and some angels. We like the flame angel, and some of the other smaller brightly colored fish, what stock would you all recomend in such a tank?

Thanks in advance for all the help and advice,

Bear

*EDIT*

Will the original light that came with the kit be enough for a saltwater tank? its a standard black plastic hood with the flourescent light strip in it. It provided enough light for the freshwater tank, but will it work in a saltwater tank as well?

Thanks again
 
Here is what I've done so far with my first saltwater, and my only death was due to a cat stealing one of my fish >.<

You will probably need a new light. They're not very expensive. $10-15 for a 50/50 bulb seems to do well with my clownfish's health and color. I don't know the specific reasons behind those bulbs, but it's something to do with mimicking natural sunlight or something. Also, a protein skimmer may not be a bad idea. It's not as crucial with fish, but it makes it easier to keep your levels down. As for a filter, I'm using a Cascade on mine that's meant for a 100 gallon tank. I always oversize my filters. It's just a habit I've gotten myself into. It might just be in my head, but it seems to help.

Naturally, you'll need some salt. Also, a hydrometer will be a good idea to make sure you have the proper mix of salt. Again, it seems with fish that it's not as big an issue as invertebrates. Also, some live rock would be a good idea as well.

That's what I have in my 29 gallon. Mind you, I only have one clownfish in there, and a couple of snails that came in on my live rock. I don't have anything else yet, and since I'll be moving in the next couple of months, I've put my tank on hiatus to make the move easier. Even so, my clown seems to be very healthy. He's very active, he has good color, he's eating well, and overall just seems like a very good fish.

So... that's what I have, and it's working out pretty well.
 
I appreciate the quick response...

I'm looking at investing in a refractometer instead of a hydrometer, and am currently undecided on the filter for this tank. We are looking to have a few fish, some angels, maybe a puffer or 2 if capable of housing such beautiful fish. I have my eye on a porcupine puffer, but I think they may get a tad big...I think there may also be a goby or 2 in the tank, so maybe a gravel substrate would be good? There was a goby that my fiance and I liked, but we cant remember the name, it would scoop up gravel and move it else where then shake it out of its gills I think...dont remember...LOL

Thanks again for the advice,

Bear
 
Coral's are a possibility in the future, just not right now, as the funds are a bit tight. I am looking to get some saltwater experience before I get into corals and such. Thank you for the reply melosu, and the reading material, off to read now
 
you really really need to read up on the needs of some of the fish you are pondering. For instance, porcupine puffers get 17-18 inches long and should be housed in a 100 gallon tank or larger. Angels are pretty aggressive and would limit the choices of your other fish. I would be checking lists of fish suitable for a small tank...

Here is a list of some that are suitable.
 
melosu58 said:
You are welcome . Any questions just ask.

You can count on many more questions from me...My first one, in regards to the surface skimmers. Aqua Clear has a product out that I saw at the LFS, that connects to an aquaclear filter, and uses the current HOB filter as a skimmer. Has anyone else seen this? I asked the lady at the LFS, and she had mixed reports, some customers liked it and others didnt. Anyone on here use it or have any other recomendations. Again, thanks for the help

*EDIT*

Finally found a picture of the skimmer setup that I saw...Aqua Clear Surface Skimmer for Aqua Clear Power Filters

Hara said:
you really really need to read up on the needs of some of the fish you are pondering. For instance, porcupine puffers get 17-18 inches long and should be housed in a 100 gallon tank or larger. Angels are pretty aggressive and would limit the choices of your other fish. I would be checking lists of fish suitable for a small tank...

Here is a list of some that are suitable.

I appreciate the link, and will use it to its fullest extent. I hadnt started started my research on live stock, am only beginning my research on equipment at this time. Again, thank you for the link, and thank you to all for the replies...

Bear
 
For filtration you can purchase an hob refugium and utilize a canister or two for mechanical/chemical filtration. Probably not look as unsightly compared to the surface skimmer, which I hear works reasonably well.

Yes porcupine puffers do require a larger tank long-term, but you can keep a smaller porc for several years if not more in a 55g depending on its dimensions. Angels of Centropyge might be doable with a porc., but puffers can be aggressive. Wrasses, hawkfish, dottybacks, and foxface's are also possible tankmates.
 
Innovator,

Thank you for the reply, and the help with the filtration aspect. What style HOB filter would you recomend to use, and would it be setup the same way?

I had a feeling that the porc puffer would be an issue, are the any puffers that could be kept in a 29 gallon tank with other fish? Also, what about sea horses, how hard are they to keep? I am looking for some color, and variety in the tank, and if there is a small puffer that would work in a 29 gallon tank, I will keep it in mind.

Thank you again for all the replies

Bear
 
I think that you might be able to house a valentini puffer or other small puffers like this (some one please verify this).

A 29 gal tank is big enough for sea horses however they need to be in a species only tank, as they require different conditions then most fish. There is some debate as to the optimal level of flow in a sea horse tank, but the main concerns are that they need to be fed often and shouldn't have any competition when it comes to eating.

If you plan to do reef then you might want to think about reef/invert safe fish. This might make the transition to reef a little smoother, and would prevent you from having to get rid of any fish if you decide to give reef a try.
 
If you have decided to go with a 29g, then an AquaClear 110 (search for AquaClear refugium in diy) would suit your needs. If you find yourself wanting more flow later on then you can purchase a couple of maxijet powerheads. There are hob maxijet modifications (super easy) that can be assembled as well. Take a search through reefcentral diy forum as their database is immense.

Canthigaster sp. should be ok. Seahorses should be maintained by someone with a general knowledge in aquarium husbandry, imo. As long as their needs can be provided for, they can be housed them with other, generally non-aggressive, fish.
 
papa_bear_21 said:
I appreciate the quick response...

I'm looking at investing in a refractometer instead of a hydrometer, and am currently undecided on the filter for this tank. We are looking to have a few fish, some angels, maybe a puffer or 2 if capable of housing such beautiful fish. I have my eye on a porcupine puffer, but I think they may get a tad big...I think there may also be a goby or 2 in the tank, so maybe a gravel substrate would be good? There was a goby that my fiance and I liked, but we cant remember the name, it would scoop up gravel and move it else where then shake it out of its gills I think...dont remember...LOL

Thanks again for the advice,

Bear

29 gallons is too small for multiple angels. You could get 1 dwarf though but then you would be pretty limited as far as what other fish you can add due to it's size. A 29 gallon in this hobby is a very small tank and therefore you're really limited to very small fish. The majority of the puffer species are quite large, you could maybe skip the angel and get a valentini puffer, but again that's going to be the majority of your fish stock. You wouldn't be able to keep more than 1 valentini because they are aggressive toward their own species. You could maybe add two small fish with an angel or a valentini.

Gravel substrate really isn't the best option as it will trap a lot of detritus, old food, fish waste, etc which will cause problems with ammonia, nitrates, nitrites. Gravel might also carry toxins or impurities based on where you get it from. If you like the size/shape of gravel you could get crushed coral which is slightly better but you'll still run into the same problems as gravel.

Depending on what goby species you get, like the sand sifter types (the one you mentioned), they won't be able to sift through gravel. If you want that goby you'll have to go with a finer argonite sand which you could get from pretty much any LFS. Also a 29 gallon is too small for more than 1 goby.

Sea horses are tough to keep unless you have a tank devoted to them. They can't have strong currents, lots of fish will pick on them, and they need a lot of corals, etc they can wrap their tail around. However, the specific corals they need have to be chosen carefully as some will deliver powerful stings to the seahorses. They are quite less hardy than most saltwater fish.
 
Back
Top Bottom