# Another Noob.. Sorry



## dandk2261999 (Apr 29, 2012)

Alright everyone, I am new to the forum and new to saltwater. I have a 29 gallon FW cichlid tank that has been operating great for well over 6 months. I am looking to get another 29 gallon but go SW with this one. I have the FW on one side of my tv and want to put the other one on the other side (its my man cave lol). 

I have been reading on here for weeks and there is a ton of information going around with little or no specific recomendations. I know a lot goes to preference but I am the type that needs someone to say go buy THIS. 

I would like to match in style my current FW tank if I can. It is a marineland 29 gallon with LED lighting. First is this type lighting ok for FOWLR tank. The day and night LEDS are great and the power consumption is very low with no heat transfer. The link to the type tank is here: Aquarium Kits: Marineland BIO-Wheel LED Aquarium Kit

If the lights are not acceptable then please recommend a different set up. I am just trying to keep some sort of uniformity in style (so the wife won't hate it).

My next issue is that I have limited wall space for asthetic purposes and would like to have the tank as close to the wall as possible. The kicker is that I don't want to do a sump because I don't want to drill glass. 

Next question will be in regards to skimmers. While trying to keep the tank as close to possible to the wall what would you all recommend. I see that are slide in skimmers and HOB's. Not opposed to an HOB as long as its not like a foot away from the wall. 

I want to do this right and want to be set up for success. When the decision is made on the tank I will post additional questions. My overall goal is to ideentify everything I need in order to place one big order. I would like to have this stuff identified by the end of the week so I can place an order. I plan on going on vacation in June so my intent is to set up the tank and start the cycle process so I have a good tank after returning. 

My budget will be about 600.00 and I don't do DIY.
This seems to be a great forum with a lot of people willing to help. Thanks for the recommendations.


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## Reefing Madness (Jun 26, 2011)

The lights are acceptable for a FOWLR, no worries there.
Skimmer, would be a tough one for you, but, we do have a couple different options here.
Hydor USA SlimSkim Internal Skimmer for Mini Aquariums and Mini Reefs, 48-65 Gal (Hydor) - product summary - Bing Shopping


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## dandk2261999 (Apr 29, 2012)

I am glad you chimmed in I was hoping you would. You seem to be one of the go to guys around here. I did look at those type skimmers but after I posted I ran across this one that only needs 3.5 clearance from the wall. I am not opposed to it but need to know if it would be suffecient.

Aquarium Filtration & Water Quality: SeaClone Protein Skimmer

Will the lights on my tank support any type of Anemone for clownfish.


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## Reefing Madness (Jun 26, 2011)

Ah, well, its a skimmer, not one that I would recommned, as its not a very good one. Will it skim, yes, but not at all where it should. But, it will suffice for a fish only tank, I would not use it if you plan on incorporating any corals in there.
The LED unit will not support a Anemone. They are not strong enough. Perhaps Softies or Mushrooms.


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## dandk2261999 (Apr 29, 2012)

Ok, I will rethink my lighting. If I add hoods to my tanks I should be able to keep the LEDs on the FW and can go bigger LED's on the SW. How do Stunner LED's manage

Are you opposed to HOB skimmers, if not would you reccomend a good one. I saw this one
Reef Aquarium Filtration & Protein Skimmers: Eshopps Hang-On Protein Skimmers

Thank you for all your help.


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## onefish2fish (Jul 22, 2008)

if you can convince yourself to drill the tank you would be better off IMO. the glass-holes kits are great and you would never know your saltwater tank had more water volume then the freshwater one. could you post a picture of the freshwater stand? will you be using the same one for the saltwater one to match? i suggest a sump, even if its just a 10 gallon or even better a 20L tank for your skimmer and heaters ( and possible carbon/phosban reactors ) i read your not looking to DIY but it is an easy enough DIY if you can use a drill and go slow enough with it and well worth that little extra effort IMO.

welcome to the forum.


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## dandk2261999 (Apr 29, 2012)

With the stand that I planned on using there is support wood on both ends but the middle is open. If I drill the tank it would have to be in the middle. I prefer not to do it but again I am looking to do it right. 

Does anyone know of a tank that is 29g (classic demensions) predrilled that is sold. I see a lot of acrylic out there, I am just so confused lol....

I have not bought anything yet for this tank.

Thank you for the warm welcome.


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## dandk2261999 (Apr 29, 2012)

Okay, if I drill a tank of this size where would I drill approximately? I just found empty tanks for cheap online so drilling may be an option.


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## onefish2fish (Jul 22, 2008)

it depends on what you are trying to do as to where to drill. different style overflows would require holes in different places. i suggest looking into glass-holes overflows and you would be drilling a hole a few inches from the top if you went this route. as long as you drill slowly and let the weight of the drill do the work its fairly easy to drill glass ( dont forget to also keep the diamond drill bit wet ) glass-holes sell an overflow kit that comes with a drill bit for about $100. then it wouldnt be much to pick up a used 20L tank ( or similiar ) and silicon a few baffles in place for a sump. sorry, i know i have you DIYing, lol.

what did you have in mind for fish? a 29 wont make for such a great FOWLR for large fish wise ( although there still are some great choices ofcourse )


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## Reefing Madness (Jun 26, 2011)

dandk2261999 said:


> Ok, I will rethink my lighting. If I add hoods to my tanks I should be able to keep the LEDs on the FW and can go bigger LED's on the SW. How do Stunner LED's manage
> 
> Are you opposed to HOB skimmers, if not would you reccomend a good one. I saw this one
> Reef Aquarium Filtration & Protein Skimmers: Eshopps Hang-On Protein Skimmers
> ...


 Eshopp sells a good skimmer
Stunner LED's are a good strong lighting for corals.


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## Reefing Madness (Jun 26, 2011)

dandk2261999 said:


> Okay, if I drill a tank of this size where would I drill approximately? I just found empty tanks for cheap online so drilling may be an option.


 If you were to drill, the choice would be up to you as to where you put the holes. Left, Right or Center, its your choice really.


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## dandk2261999 (Apr 29, 2012)

Okay well I will be doing some drilling. I am assuming the 700 gph kit from cuting holes.com will work. I will get my hands on the tank and stand and the hole cutting kit and then will go from there. 

Can I get away with a 10g sump. the stand that I have will accomidate that easily but I don't know about anything larger. 

As for fish, I was wanting some decent color, nothing big. i was going to research compatibles with the clown fish. I have 5 kids so I need two "nemo's". Any recomendations?


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## Reefing Madness (Jun 26, 2011)

Don't know anything about cuttingholes.com. But a 700gph over flow would do nicely.
Some ideas for fish:
Nano Fish
Dwarf Angelfish: Flame Angelfish and other Dwarf Angels
Blennies: Blenny Fish Species Including Bicolor, Striped and other Blennies
Dartfish
Pseudochromis for Sale: Splendid Dottyback Species and other Pseudochromis
Gobies for Sale: Goby Fish Species Including Shrimp Gobies
Jawfish


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## dandk2261999 (Apr 29, 2012)

Thanks for the reply. I will review the list of fish with the wife (so we ALL can be happy lol).

is there an article on how to build a sump.


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## Reefing Madness (Jun 26, 2011)

dandk2261999 said:


> Thanks for the reply. I will review the list of fish with the wife (so we ALL can be happy lol).
> 
> is there an article on how to build a sump.


 Yup:
Melevsreef.com | Acrylic Sumps & Refugiums


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## dandk2261999 (Apr 29, 2012)

In regards to LED lighting, would the stunner 24"' 12 watt, 12,000K white with the mix of 445nm blue work for this 29 gallon tank. I mind as well go for reef capable so I can go with something for my clowns. 

Aquarium Lighting & LED Lights: ecoxotic Stunner LED Strip


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## Tazman (Jan 15, 2012)

What is the width of your tank? Reason I ask is I might have a T5HO Quad Light that I am considering selling soon..


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## dandk2261999 (Apr 29, 2012)

when i buy it it will be 30in wide 12 inches deep. standard 29 gallon demensions.


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## Tazman (Jan 15, 2012)

Ok, I will know more in the next couple of days as I am upgrading my 32g saltwater to a 55g tank and have a 30" T5HO Quad which I may not need.

If you are interested in the light can come to an agreement? Let me know as I was going to add it to to the classified ads here.


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## Reefing Madness (Jun 26, 2011)

dandk2261999 said:


> In regards to LED lighting, would the stunner 24"' 12 watt, 12,000K white with the mix of 445nm blue work for this 29 gallon tank. I mind as well go for reef capable so I can go with something for my clowns.
> 
> Aquarium Lighting & LED Lights: ecoxotic Stunner LED Strip


 
Not one, you'd need like 4 of them.


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## Reefing Madness (Jun 26, 2011)

Tazman said:


> Ok, I will know more in the next couple of days as I am upgrading my 32g saltwater to a 55g tank and have a 30" T5HO Quad which I may not need.
> 
> If you are interested in the light can come to an agreement? Let me know as I was going to add it to to the classified ads here.


^^ There ya go ^^


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## dandk2261999 (Apr 29, 2012)

anybody have a trustworthy link for articles on lighting. This way I can learn first hand what the requirements are for what types of tanks.


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## Reefing Madness (Jun 26, 2011)

dandk2261999 said:


> anybody have a trustworthy link for articles on lighting. This way I can learn first hand what the requirements are for what types of tanks.


 Yup, sure do:
What Your Coral Needs | Successful Reef Keeping
Aquarium Lighting; Reef, Planted Light Information. PAR, Bulb, Watt, Kelvin, Nanometers, MH, LED.
LED Aquarium Lights, Lighting; emitters, PAR, DIY, How they work | Aquarium Article Digest


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## dandk2261999 (Apr 29, 2012)

Alright everyone, wife wasn't happy with a 29 gallon, so we got a 50 gallon tank today. I am getting ready to place my order for stuff I want to double check that I will be ok. 

Crushed Coral- x2 40lbs bags
Florida Crushed Coral for Aquariums

RO/DI
AQUARIUM CORAL REEF RO + 2 DI 150G REVERSE OSMOSIS PUR WATER PURIFICATION SYSTEM | eBay

Protein Skimmer
Reef Aquarium Filtration & Protein Skimmers: Eshopps Hang-On Protein Skimmers

Salt
Saltwater Aquarium Salt: Aquarium Systems Instant Ocean & Reef Crystals Synthetic Sea Salt

Heater
Aqueon Pro Heater | Aquarium Heaters at DrsFosterSmith.com

I still need to find lights that will support some clown fish anemonie's. I don't want to go really expensive but can probably get away with a $200 unit. 

Please recommend some powerheads.

I will get my live rock after I get this order in. 

Anything else recommended?


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## dandk2261999 (Apr 29, 2012)

scratch the anemonie keeping. Just need the above list checked. I am doing FOWLR. to much of a pain being in the military to invest in all the lighting to just loose any coral or anemonie's in a long move.


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## Reefing Madness (Jun 26, 2011)

Aquarium Water Pumps & Water Movement: Marineland Maxi-Jet PRO
Aquarium Water Pumps & Wavemakers: Aqueon Circulation Pump
Aquarium Water Pumps & Wavemakers: Oceanic BioCube Circulation Pump
Your choice. You'll need at leats 500gph. I would recommend getting 2 powerheads.

48" Dual PRO Aquarium T5 HO Light 54W x2 Coral Fish NEW | eBay


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## dandk2261999 (Apr 29, 2012)

are two of the maxipro 600 to much or should I shoot for closer to 500 overall.

Thank you for the links


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## Reefing Madness (Jun 26, 2011)

1200gph in a 50g tank? Might blow things around a bit. Being over 500gph is a good thing, but you'll get to a point where you'll blow the substrate around. 500-900 would be a good number to hit for just a fish tank.


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## dandk2261999 (Apr 29, 2012)

Everything is ordered. Next week I should be starting the process of getting it going. Few more questions

Will base rock become alive without live rock seeding it. Again I have almost 8 weeks (vacation coming up) before I add anything swiming to the tank.

I am trying to build up a colorful stocklist. this is FOWLR, Are Coral Beauty Angels and Cherub Angels compatable.


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## Reefing Madness (Jun 26, 2011)

The Base Rock will become Live in a sense. It will get bacteria that helps the tank out. But unless you seed wtih lil feather dusters, and hitch hickers of LR, you don't get that bio diversity. One piece of Live Rock would be all you need to get the seeds to grow in your tank. But, you do not have to have LR to get it going.
You should not mix Angels of the same genre. It can be done, but you'll have to watch them for a few days to make sure they arent' going after each other.


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## dandk2261999 (Apr 29, 2012)

ok thank you. I was browsing the forums for stocking lists and found one from 2009 that was a 47 gallon bow so I was going to just use it because most of them were colorful. In a 50 how many of the cherub ones would you keep?

I plan on having

2 clowns
Hermits
Yellow watchman (kids say they look grumpy-like daddy)
some cleaner shirmp


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## Reefing Madness (Jun 26, 2011)

Just one of the same fish. Or find a male and you could keep se eral females with him. If you get 2 males they will kill each other.


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## dandk2261999 (Apr 29, 2012)

I read on here that it didn't matter what I bought as my bottom cover (crushed coral or live sand). I purchased the crushed coral, is this going to effect the bottom feeder selection for my tank.


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## Reefing Madness (Jun 26, 2011)

dandk2261999 said:


> I read on here that it didn't matter what I bought as my bottom cover (crushed coral or live sand). I purchased the crushed coral, is this going to effect the bottom feeder selection for my tank.


 No, it will not affect anything. Its using Play Sand that would have been a problem.


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## dandk2261999 (Apr 29, 2012)

ok thanks. I just saw a fish (don't know what kind) that sifts sand through it's gills and thats what raised the question.


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