need a few recommendations

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michealprater

Aquarium Advice Addict
Joined
Oct 3, 2002
Messages
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Location
Highland , IL
I'm going to help a freind get into saltwater. We are going to do it on kind of a tight budget. So I need some recommendations. He is going to start with a 29 gallon. I would like to see him go bigger but, like I said, we are on a budget. Now remember, the budget is not so tight we wont be able to accomplish it. Just we want to not spend too much money in case he decides he dont like it. Now, I figured we could go with a skimmer/filter combo. Skilter 400 would probably work. Is there any combos out there that are more bang for the buck? If so, website please. What size heater or heaters?(never had a 29 before, so Im not sure) Whats the best heater for the money? Probably check out Dr. Fosters and Smith. And last but not least, Is Flying Fish the best value on live rock. Were going to cycle the tank in with rock, so I figured we might as well buy it on the net. Well thanks in advance for any help you have to offer. Im up for ideas also.
 
29 gal

The Skilter will probably do OK on a 29...I wouldn't trust it on anything larger despite their claims that it will handle up to 125 gal. We have used them on 20 longs at the store with good results. Here is the link to the best online price I found on a Skilter coming in about $8.00 cheaper than Foster.
http://www.petguys.com/-025033010330.html
Some things to know about Skilters if you have never used one. They are a little finicky about air adjustment. Trash the air regulator that comes with it and replace it with a Lee inline air valve or equivalent. Also, make sure that the skimmer tube is correctly seated in the bottom of the filter box or you will have bubbles everywhere. Get it adjusted right and you'll be surprised at what that little skimmer will pull out :).
As for the heaters, I would go with two 75 watt heaters on a 29. Either a Visi Therm or an Ebo Jager. I have used Visi Therms with great success and I know many people who swear by the Ebo Jager. In this case, Dr Foster has the Ebo Jager on sale for a little over $14.00 coming in about $1.50 less than the Visi Therm. Here's the link.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?siteid=6&pCatId=3858
As to the best deal on LR, I would have to defer to others as I have never ordered any online. However, if this is a real budget project, you might want to look into making some rock. Check on www.candybass.com and www.garf.org for recipes and instructions. Also, you could, if this guy has lots of patience, start with mostly dry base rock and put a small quantity of good LR in with it. Spend the $ you saved on LR on some really good LS and a cleanup crew. It will take longer to establish, but it will work. A thought anyway :).
Logan J
 
I have a 28 gallon Via aqua and am using a 125 watt ebo jager which is keeping the temp to within 1 degree of the set temp and am using a prizm skimmer along with a penguin 170 for use as a media container and for flow also for flow I have a maxijet 900 the skimmer seems to be working great
 
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