I need Help to start it back up

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
See posts with no answers
M

mannyfern09

Aquarium Advice Regular
Joined
May 7, 2008
Messages
93
hey guyss ive had my 29 gallon tanks for about 3 years now.. i have moved around the live rock and taken some out and have added new live rock. i really havnt done things right. I baisically did everything the lazy way. Currently in my tanks i have a blue damsel a clown fish and a blue tang, all three fish have been in tank for over year and a half and have had no problems. i havnt tested my waters in forever or done a water change. Dont hate me please lol. i have a regular hang on the back filter. and i am pretty shure i got 30 inch 96 watt compacts. i also have a little xenia that has survived. i am done with my college baseball career and currently working again so making some money. i actually work at a offshore fishing store lol. i need some help on what i should get like a wet/dry protein skimmer or maybe lights as well. i want to start my tank over baisically take everything out and start from scratch but keep my fish... and maybe that xenia if not return it the LFS. Any help would be awesome ill post a picture of my tank in a little

I forgot to mention i want a reef tank.. after everything is set up I prolly will add a coral every weekend.. :)
this is what my tank currently looks like!
img_939571_0_08c33a710987e387b73338a06381044c.jpg


this is what it used to look like b4 i moved and gave away all my fish
img_939571_1_5f12ac40a37a3eedc613dc8d1a152fba.jpg
 
Well, for starters, that tang will not be happy in that sized tank. They need waaaay more swimming room.
I'm really surprised that your LR isn't more colorful, is it new?
As for the corals and lighting, what type of corals are you looking to add?
 
I new i would get that on the forum.. but the fish has been in there for over a year and a half... the rocks have been there ide say for over a year as well but i have not payed much attention to my tank due to the fact that i was playing college ball.. i want to add polpys xenia and soft corals not hard coral b.c. i am not planning on spending the extra money for the metal halide.. any other question? any good for the money wet.dry or protein skim?
 
everyone here is going to tell you to get rid of that tang. Just because he has survived a year and a half doesnt mean he belongs there. People can survive in small spaces as well, we just dont appreciate it either. I hate to be the one to break it to you but if you shuff off peoples advice they are very disinclined to keep answering your questions as are the rest of the people who will read through the thread. That being said...

With 96w PC, you will be fine to keep almost any soft coral. Anything more then that will be pushing it. your most colorful options are things like nice mushrooms, zoanthids, and green or yellow star polyps. But also you can do things like xenia and if your willing to watch your water conditions you could do toadstools or leathers.

I would suggest upgrading to a T5 fixture, they arent nearly as expensive at MH and will keep your electricity bill down as well. With a nice fixture you would be able to do all soft corals and a decent amount of more medium light corals. You will also get a lot better color response out of all your corals.
 
I'll have to let the reefers chime in on the corals and lighting. I do know zenia (while they are super cool) can take over your tank.
 
I totaly understand. I guess when i buy my protien, wet dry and new lights i will try and sell the tang back the lfs.. on ebay they have 30 inch 130w lights will that be a better buy? and any idea on the other 2 things?

sorry about the fish, i will remove it when i buy the other things, and i trust me i will listen i want to do my tank the correct way this time and actually pay attention to it and watch everything reproduce, once i buy everything i plan on doing a log on the forum so everyone can see my progression thank you!
 
Really if your going to upgrade you want to steer clear of the power compacts. T5's are an all around better choice. The difference isnt totally about the wattage, PC bulbs will degrade much faster, which means you have to replace them every 6 to 8 months to keep the proper light spectrum for your corals.
T5 bulbs cost 2x as less and only need to be replaced every 1.5 to 2 years. plus you have more room to change out bulbs for different spectrums to suit what you like in your tank.

roka64 is totally right, xenia is really cool, but it will just keep splitting and splitting. some reefers find it incredibly annoying to constantly prune back. Just so you know what your in for down the road. Green Star polyps also are very aggressive growers.

Glad you came round on the fish, its the right thing to do and so often on here it seems that people just get too stubborn and refuse to do what is right because they want a "dori" soooo bad. Your on the right track! constant research and questions is the way to success, and dont ever think that you have learned it all.
 
yeahh thats what happend to me i wanted the FINDING NEMO CREW lol everyone comes over and starts yelling look dory look nemo lol.. w.e any suggestion on where to find T5S for a good price? and any info on the other stuff for a 29g tank??
 
Its been awhile since i ordered lights, you will have to do some browsing. You may want to look into hang on back protein skimmers or even possibly installing a sump/refugium. other then that you can use the search tool to find other people tanks around 30 gallons and see what they did to get some inspiration.
 
JIMBO YOUR THE MAN!! I hope to make you go WOW once i have it all set up! lol thank you for everything... as of now i am making plans and saving up money...
1st : buy the wet dry
2nd: buy the protein skimmer
3rd: empty the tank try and sell back as much as possible back to LFS ..
4th: paint the back of my tank
5th: refill with water sand and LR
6th: lighting
7th: corals
8th: HAPPY!!

do these steps sound good? or should i change anything around?!
 
what do you mean by wet dry exactly? also you dont have to sell everything back, you can keep your live rock in a large rubbermaid tub/bucket with a pump in it to keep it cycled which would cut down on the total time it takes to get to happy lol.
Other then my original question the steps look good. Thx for the compliments!
 
wet/dry? like a filter or a refugium u get me? i just dont no what i should get? also somewere i can put my protein skimemr in if i dont get a hang on you get me?? is there anyother way we can talk in a quicker manner? lol i wanna get started ASAP
 
Can someone other than jimbo please tell me what type of filter I should put in pleaase?
 
my tank is 29 gallons? is that fine? and any filter you suggest because i think that goes inside a wet/dry
 
Google on HOB skimmers. I've used the CPR Bak Pak brand and was happy with it.

I'm not familiar with filters at all. Never used one, just the Hang on Back (HOB) skimmer varieties.

I think you scratch a wet/dry too.

Why consider getting rid of anyting in your current tank? You've also got a case of red slime/cyanobacteria.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

B
When to start over?
Replies
3
Views
319
Andy Sager
Andy Sager
bluepandas
Heater started melting...?
Replies
4
Views
316
bluepandas
bluepandas
N
Getting back into fish life
Replies
1
Views
257
Aiken Drum
Aiken Drum
F
Time to help my platties on their way
Replies
7
Views
368
Andy Sager
Andy Sager
J
Tank move help
Replies
2
Views
101
Andy Sager
Andy Sager

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom