What have I done....
 

Ok, I'm here for a reason. I impulsively set up a 29 gal fowlr and I'm only 45% sure I'm confused and 87% positive about the 45%.
29 gal
250 gal hob, empty
100 watt heater
25lbs naturals coral and 10lbs pfs mixed in
11 lb live rock
I need to buy lighting, skimmer??powerhead, fish! Fish! Def pair of clowns an anemome so my gf can tell all her friends it's just like the movie;) something for the bottom? Would a pajama cardinal be pushing it? I know this is all cliche but it's my first salty money pit and I want what I want haha.

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Step 1, stop.
You will need 1 lbs per gallon of both sand and rock. If that is crushed coral, return it and get sand. You will be better off in the long run since food and poop just collects in that stuff.
Ditch the HOB. If you want an anemone you want pure, pristine water. Just do yourself a favor and figure out if you want to have a HOB overflow or if you want to put an overflow in for a sump. This will open up the ability to have better quality skimmer as well. Though skimmer's aren't necessary for tanks under 30 gallons, it will save you time and money over having to do large water changes on top of the weekly 10% to address any issues.
Lighting...anemone need the most intense lighting on the market. The 'best bang for your buck' is usually the chinese LED panels you can get off ebay and amazon. Previous vendor was taotronics, but there are many others from other sellers now. Get a unit that you can dim so you can add new livestock without giving them light shock.
Powerheads are needed. Bubblers cause issues in saltwater and you'll need powerheads to replace them for CO2 exchange. I normally suggest two per system for a more 'randomized' flow pattern. You want to aim for a turnover between 10-50x the water column.
And finally, welcome to the salty money pit.

I stopped, I stopped, so it's nature's argonite sand mixed with pool filter sand, approx 35lbs total. I was hoping I could add dead rock as live rock is quite expensive. The hob is on there for flow until I get the power heads in, 2 Hydor 450's should work?? If I keep the hob and just load it with phos gard and purigen, it will have no ability to catch/trap detritus?? The Marsaqua 165watt dimmable led panel is where I'm leaning. Good reviews and $100 is a steal right? Not sure what you mean by bubblers? Like an air stone? Using 100%Rodi off the jump. Def not doing a sump. Open to skimmer ideas.

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that's funny :lol:No need to be confused if you can handle the fresh side the salty side will be a breeze, it's not as hard as it sounds so don't get intimidated

now what type of clowns are you looking at as they grow to different sizes , Ocellaris Clownfish and True Percula Clownfish both grow to about 3 inch
and would most likely be your best choices.

PJ Cardinals grow to about 3 1/2 inch and do better in pairs . both in 29 would be just a bit crowded .

this is a easy way to look at it put a 12 x 12 sheet of paper up to the tank, that is how much room they take up then you have to account for rock and sand before swimming room , now a gobie would work and look at this little guy your girlfriend would fall in love with him .

https://www.liveaquaria.com/images/ca...71419-goby.jpg

If you do decide to go with something like him the sub-straight (25lbs naturals coral and 10lbs pfs mixed in) wouldn't work as the coral bits would cut him up . you would need to go with sand , you may want to consider the black sand it makes the fish stand out .

I know you know this part but don't forget to cycle the tank . just had to slip that in .

here's a thought since your good with planted tanks you should try a SW planted macro tank . I had a blast with mine when I had it . I still intend on another some day .

https://www.aquariumadvice.com/attac...7be4343843.jpg

look forward to seeing your new end-ever :thumb:

yes you can use dry base rock john at reef cleaners always has a good deal on it .

bubblers meaning air stones

Finally joined the dark side eh?!?!
A pair of clowns and a pj cardinal would be fine. I have a banggai in my 40 and while he's fairly good size it doesn't really move much lol. If you're gonna get an anemone capable light why not just make it into a reef tank??

I got everyone's attention!! I stink at remembering names of stuff sometimes. It's sand. It's from ft Lauderdale haha. The lfs I got the lr at has the smaller tank bred clowns, basic, most common. They look amazing to me so they're coming home, a purple dotty back caught my eye as well?? Tank will be in cycle for the next few weeks, I'm in no rush to stock, had to set it up as I havnt set a new tank up in months and I was start to shake. I've read/heard conflicting ideals on introducing an ammonia source with the lr, guy said the die off should sustain alone, I feel like a couple cubes of frozen brine in a mesh sack can't hurt? The whole raw shrimp even?? I havnt (had to) cycled a tank in a while. I was thinking using lr would the equivelant of using established media in a fw system. Enough of it and presto...

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I've joined the dark side 5 times now!! How much darker can it get? Need night vision goggles to enjoy the tank. Having spent countless dollars and hours on leds.. If it's dimmable, why not get something with potential?? I want a few soft coral for sure. Ease on in to the pitfall right?? Mars aqua??anyone?

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go for it I just picked up a pair love them
they will handle anything you throw at them

The Mars led panels?

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I just added a pict
yes the mars leds
look at the post before this

They seem highly focused??that a 90 gallon?

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yup they work better than my old tao tronics
2 of them do the job of 3 of my old ones

So suspended 8" above a 30" tank, should look pretty nice ??


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mine are 10 inch above some go a little higher but I like no shadows it actually improved growth plus all the rock nems on the center rock love it

Should be fine. Idk much about the lights but I'm assuming they're like the eBay panels right?

the lights in that pict are set white just turned on no upward par blues about 50% from the turn on point

this is where I got them same as the galaxy model just 15 watts stronger on the site they say 165w but on the light says 170w
2PCS-MarsAqua-Dimmable
she has singles also

If I knew when I bought mine you were going to want one I would have ordered the three pack would have brought the price down to $75 a light could have saved a few bucks

This is the little guy?https://www.amazon.com/MarsAqua-Dimm.../dp/B017GWDF7E

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I'll keep them up further, start at 16". Going to make a funky little suspension setup.

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Yep yeah you can adjust it accordingly so 8" above should be fine.

I used 18 inch hanging flower pot brackets little guy huh 10 x 12 pretty good size

That's more a medium guy I guess. the "empty"hob with purigen and phos gard? Can't hurt right?

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nice part is these don't throw out a glare into the room like my old ones those needed a light shield
light goes into tank where its directed

I have a hob just for more top agitation its filled with rubble
no that will work I put mine though the sump towers I set up almost like a canister set up

Need so much rock... so much more rock..

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What acts as mechanical filtration?the rock? I have nothing to trap the poo?? It just gets blended in the flow and taken in by rock?

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The rock and sand. I'd add at least one piece of live rock to help seed the tank with beneficial critters as well. Bristle worms and pods are super beneficial for a sw tank

That's all live rock?? So said the sales man anyways??

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Overtime, all rock will become 'live'...but if it is a piece of rock out of a running system then it will likely have the beneficial critters that bribo is talking about. Personally, I don't think that it is necessary and that a tank can be set up with no seed rock at all. Save some extra so you can spend more on something else on the system IMO.

I agree with hank a system can be done with all dry rock. My 20 gallon was set up that way and is fine. If that came from a running system though that's probably already got some bacteria and live critters in it which is good. Just add some dry rock and scape that bad boy up

Yah.. 10 lbs of live I've already bought and paid for . I'd like to fill in with dry rock.

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Just checked reef cleaners, I also found this. Whatcha think?https://boston.craigslist.org/nwb/for/6020415549.html

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As mentioned Reefcleaners has always been awesome experience with my orders. He has really nice Rock and very generous with the cleanup crew orders.

Congrats on the new SW tank.

When you have it cycled...Pom Pom Crabs, Sexy Shrimp, Rock Flower Anemone,
https://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...cture70140.jpg
https://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...cture70141.jpg

Black (or Green) Codium
https://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...cture70139.jpg

Super cute, always comes over to say Hi! Where's my snack? Always photo bombs, that's adorable Yellow Clown Goby, he lived with my Clowns, was raised with them and they didn't pay any attention to him, the Royal Gramma never seen again (2 different times tried to add a fish).
https://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...cture70538.jpg

So my thought would be to add the Clowns after you have the other fish established in the tank. Thinking it was already mentioned, they are apt to be aggressive.

https://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...cture70568.jpg

Rock Flower Anemone aka Caribbean Rock Flower
https://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...cture70672.jpg

Ooh so much fun ahead!

If you're looking for a less aggressive purple fish than the dottyback look into a blackcap basslett. They're kinda shy but super purple

Dude!! Sweet!!
You should put a panther grouper in there!
Totally subscribed bro!

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They're better in pairs right ?! :p

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Woah... if someone had clued me into the utter amazing of a refractometer I would have gone swimming years ago!! I love this thing.. I'm going to bring it to work tommorow and test my boss, he's the saltiest.. has to be close to dead Sea sg.

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They are sweet, I tossed my hygrometer years ago. Make sure it stays calibrated, Rodi should read zero. There is also calibration fluid but I've never bothered.

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I zeroed it with my rodi. Tds 14, that's what absolute zero for the tank is anyways.. instructions didn't mention fluid so I'll stick with the source water. Hydrometer was actually spot on but I won't be using it any more.

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Ironically that was my experience as well, my hygrometer was very close, but I have heard horror stories.

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What is this new toy you have Brookster? I might need to look into this.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01M1...rd_i=393272011

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A refractometer, much more accurate than most hygrometers, pretty cheap too.

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aren't toys fun I've been meaning to buy me a new one since I broke mine I have been back to the cheap method .

Just wait til you see the Milwaukee digital refractometer...

Why.... why must I be made aware of these things.. to Google!!

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Meh.. I've already blown a pretty penny, the fancy "unnecessary" toys can wait.. besides the refracto is pretty fun.. like a pirate.. arrghhh this water be too saltyyyy.

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Oh I'm not disagreeing, but it sure was a mighty fine Xmas present. I've never needed to re-calibrate it. Been spot on every time. As the years go on and the more things I add to my system the more time I get to spend enjoying it.