newb with a 29 gal aq.

[EricB]

Hi, very nice forum, glad I found it.

I'm just starting into SW, and aquariums in general.
I bought a 29 gal tank with the generic lighting.

After finding a different LFS I've decided I definatly want to get some corals but would also like a number of fish also.

Currently I have a 1/2in. live sand, a WD filter, standard cheapo light that came with my tank, and a PH. Along with 1 small fish. The tank is 1 week old. The NH3 is low, and so is the NO2. I just found out yesterday that the dechlorinated tap water is very hard here, and the ?KG? is like 18 ?berlin units? . Can't remember exactly what the test was since I'm not at home.

Anyways, two multi-question questions.

First, does the KG test indicate that I won't be able to use Tap water, and I need to get distilled or reverse osmosis water? Or perhaps its "eaten by corals"? Since I thought it was a test for calcium carbonate.

Second, is the next step in moving toward a reef and fish aquarium buying LR? Do I need to buy new lighting right away? What type of lighting should I get? How do I identify good and bad LR from the LFS? Does the fact that the rock is covered in a 1/4 inch of multi-colored goo a good sign or bad sign or no sign at all.

 

[scuba_steve]

as for lighting on a 29 it depends what kind of corals you are wanting/or can keep in a tank that small !! but a good choice for that set up imo would be pc !!
as for live rock !! seeing ya live in ill take a drive to valpraso and check out harbor aquatics their lr is $ 4 a lbs and ya can pick the rock ya self so bring extra shirt lol and its some of the better ive seen imo the more life ya can see on it the better !! and have been ripped off before marinedepot for an example was not impressed at the very least with that rock !! the florida lr i got had 4x the life on it ! but i not an expert either and the marinedepot rock is still rather new so who know what might show up in time so give my 3 more months and will see whats there

 

[Salt4Us]

Welcomem to AA Eric !! We've got a 29 gallon reef, we have about 3 inches of live sand and about 30 lbs of live rock, we also use PC lighting both 55w, one white 10K and one blue 10K. We keep soft corals, like Leathers, zoanthids and also a Pipe organ coral. We use a BAKPAK 2R skimmer which works really well for us.

We only have 3 fish in the tank which works well, 1 TR percula clown and 1 blue damsel (added last) (the clown runs the tank) 1 scooter blenny. We use reverse osmosis water which works real well for us. We've had it coming up on a year and with the live rock there is constantly something new popping up.

Hope it helps you and good luck!

 

[EricB]

I live in Champaign, so Valparaiso IN is like 4 hours away, definatly not worth $90 to drive that far.

One thing I was wondering that wasn't answered though, is do I need the lighting BEFORE I can get LR?

 

[Salt4Us]

do I need the lighting BEFORE I can get LR?

Nope, you don't need the PC lights for cycling your tank or curing the LR, infact it's probably better while curing the LR not to have the lights on a lot otherwise you get some algae you'd rather not have. While your tank cycles which can take anywhere from 4 to 6 weeks it gives ya plenty of time to save for the lights.

 

[EricB]

Well, I bought 16.5 lbs of LR yesterday. 2 rocks are blocky but have good growth. 1 is larger and oddly shaped and only half of it has growth the rest is barren. Theres some bright forest green growth on one that I really like. Can I help spread that around by scraping some of it off and rubbing it into the barren potions of the other rock?

In other news, the fish has really taken to the new landscaping. Things were a little barren before and he spent all his time tucked away between the filter and the intake. It was like I had an empty tank. It acts all together different now. Thanks for all the help.