Advice on helping me with my 29 gallon tank

[mattt6511]

Hello all!!! well i would like to say you have all been very helpfull sofar and i thought i would run this past you.. I have a 29 gallon tank im doing a basic fish only saltwater tank. I went to the store today this is what he told me to get, 15 lbs of crushed coral for my base, a penguin 350 biowheel filter "its good up to 75gallon tank", a seaclone 100 protien skimmer, and my 100 watt heater, and my stock florescent light.... Thats it... does that sound right thats all i need? i really wanted to put a small amount of live rock like 10-15 pounds he said i will get nasty green slime algea everywhere with my stock light, and my only option would be to buy an expensive powercompact lighting system..
Im planning on just putting 2 small fish in this, maybe 3, nothing fancy.. PLEASE HELP ME! lol any advice would be greatly appriciated, do i need a powerhead for this setup or since its fish only is it not as important, also i dont have a undergravel filter for the crushed coral is that ok? thank you very much

 

[No_Floaters]

If this setup will always be a fish only tank, this is enough to get by with a miniumum of money spent. Be absolutely sure this is all you want out it before you get it.
If you even think that someday in the future you'll want to add live rock, sand and corals, all you'll be able to use from this setup is the tank.

 

[steve-s]

Use sand not crushed coral especially in a system mainly for fish. CC traps a fair amount of detritus and is lousy with phophate. Besides, a decent 1½-2" sandbed using a good oolitic aragonite will help with denitrification. The HOB filter with the biowheel is a good option if you don't add live rock. Since there will be little baterial surface area without the LR, you'll need a decent place for nitrification.

If you do opt for the LR (even dry base rock) you won't need the biowheel or HOB for that matter unless you have no area's to run carbon. I see no reason not to add the LR, it is head and shoulders above any equipment you could use in terms of effective biofiltration. What the LFS told you in terms of algae concerns is complete nonsense though. All tanks go through an algae phase no matter how it's set up. It's part and parcel with the cycle. As long as the NO bulbs are changed regularly, they should do just fine. Unless you intend on keeping coral, they will at least maintain some coralline (mainly green) but I wouldn't expect too much growth or pink.

As far as the skimmer, the Seaclone is absolute junk. It needs far too many mods to get it working efficiently. For that tank size I would suggest either a BakPak II (I use one on my 27 gal) or a Aqua C Remora with Maxijet 1200.

Don't use a UGF for a marine tank, they are not long term friendly. You will still need to be sure your flow is upwards of 10x the volume of the tank to keep detritus from accumulating too much and aid in keeping pH in the upper regions. 2x Maxijet 900's would be good, placed near the surface for aeration. The HOB and skimmer will cycle water downwards and the two powerheads will cycle the top areas of the water keeping a good overall flow.

Cheers
Steve

 

[mattt6511]

hello i already put a small amount of crushed coral in my tank 15lbs, can i mix in some sand with that or is that not a good idea, would it be best for me to get live sand or just normal, also should i mix in a small amount of aragonite? thanks

 

[steve-s]

Personally I would remove the CC altogether. If mixed, the smaller grain sizes (sand) will migrate to the bottom with the CC on top. Eventually creating the problem sand only would have eliminated for the most part.

As far as sand types, just get the dry stuff. Live sand is an absolute waste of money and of no benefit. Oolitic aragonite being the best option but try to keep the particle size under 1.2 mm on average. This will help promote denitrification within the sandbed.

Cheers
Steve