29 gal Fowlr Tank Set up Pics

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ShooterRick

Aquarium Advice Freak
Joined
Aug 28, 2011
Messages
221
Ok it has been 15 years since I kept a 75 gal reef tank and recently had the chance to purchase a 29 gal that had been kept as a FOWLR tank. It had ran for a year and the previous owner was upgrading to 55 gals. The tank was broke down the night I picked it up and was still wet the next day when I place the sea water and crushed coral. This is day 3 and I placed 20 lbs base rock last night and will add 3-5 lbs of live rock tomorrow to start the cycle. The rock wall back drop is made from artificial rock and was in the tank when I got it. It is not plastic and is porous to some extent. I liked it so kept it. It may hold some critters since it stayed wet to help start the cycle. I will be running a base test of t he water before inserting the like rock. Currently the tank is a stable 76 F and salinity is 31 taken with a simple float gauge. I only plan on live rock, an anemone and 3-5 fish depending on their size. The lighting is two T5s and two T1s in the modified hood. It is a Eclipse hood which I am not real fond of. I plan on adding a protein skimmer before introduceing fish. Pics below: All comments welcome. It has been awhile for me with a tank so I am sure things have changed.
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Well the good news is that in my opinion you wouldnt need a skimmer. Weekly water changes on that size tank should be all you need. I didnt run a skimmer on my 29g or my 29g cube.

The bad news is that the lighting wont support a nem. Not to mention they are best suited for established tanks, generally several months old. they need super high light and pristine stable water. :-(

I;ve never seen a background like that in a sw tank, very interesting.
 
Carey, My list of possible stock besides some cleaners is Dwarf Angel, Cardinal, Clown, Hawk. The anemone was planned for later but the fellow who had the tank had one for the last 6 mos until his upgrade and it looked pretty good when I saw it. Please detail the lighting I would need INYO to keep a nem. Thanks PS I am only planning on keeping 3 fish in this tank and all suggestins welcomed.
 
its got 2 t5s and 2 t10s? that would be enough lighting. we keep them at work under a single t8 and they grow like crazy,
 
Keeping anem under a single t8 is not a good thing. lol I had mine under a 4 bulb t5 setup and it did ok. probably would have done better with a better fixture which I now have but didnt then.

What kind of nem did he have and what color was it?
 
they do perfectly fine. its all according to depth of the tank. at work they are in shallow water. personally with rock work that high and that lighting hed be fine. IMO
 
Update from Shooter Rick

The Nem he had was white with pink tips.

Tonight I place 5 lbs of live rock to start the 1st cycle. The shop owner told me she prefered to cycle the tank 3 times before adding main stock. I had planned to seed with just 3 lbs live rock but because of some interesting shapes and deferring to athetics I purchased 5 lbs. Some feather dusters are already out after 3 hrs in the tank. Temp still 75-76 and salinity settled in nice at 31-32. Will post another pick later. Thanks for all the help.

Stock decision tenative:
Cleaning crew
Jewel Damsel
Maroon Clown (Nem buddy)
Flame Angel (dwarf)

Possibly: royal gramma basslet
 
thanks for the picks. I would say the Nem he had while I called it white was more of the creamy beige with pink tips, not a chicklet white. I will try and be more precise in the future. LOL Also I was wondering if I place a Nem un a ledge closer to the light source if that will be a benefit?
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3 cycle: I am assuming she is referring to a amonia spike at each intro of new stock. Something I think I remember from 15 yrs ago with by 75 gal. reef tank. I would like to introduce the cleaning crew and the Damsel after the intitial cycle. Do you think that is to much?
 
The nem will move to where he wants to be, lightwise and flow wise.

I would just do a regular cycle and add a fish and cuc. Then wait for the bacteria to to adjust to the new bioload ans then add another fish. If cycled correctly you shouldnt see an ammonia spike with each new addition. Unless you are gonna cycle with fish. Then thats a whole nother subject. :)
 
Live Rock update pics

Last night I place the 5lbs live rock as earlier mentioned. I have included some better pics of the tank. Monday I will test the water to see if I am generating any amonia.

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Update: Amonia levels,ph, lighting timers

Today because I was suspicious. Setting up this tank that was just broke down and still wet from salt water, I thought I may cycle quickly. I took a sample of water to the local pet store for testing. Ph was on the money for salt and amonia levels were up to 2.0. I will test again Monday and see whats going on.

I picked up two cheap light timers for the two hood fixtures in the tank. I am running the white lights 8 hrs and the actinic blue lights 6 hrs. I am not sure this is correct so feel free to chime in.
 
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