new with questions

[hatinabox]

I have a 29 Gallon salt water crushed coral aquarium...only thing its missing is the fish and a filter. Other than that I have everything I need. I plan on getting Leopard Puffers for the tank as well. This is my first actual fish tank. I dont count having Goldfish swimming in a bowl. But since I'm a beginner I wanted to know if there are any low maintance filters or equiptment out there...

-Cyrus

 

[mray]

Crushed corals as a substrate is going to be a problem especially with messy eaters such as a puffer. Detritus will get trapped and you will have tons of nitrates being released.

 

[Rtam3185]

Welcome Cyrus, As Mray had said before Crushed Coral = Trouble. Learn from my past mistakes. The first tank I started I used CC on top of live sand and a canister. The biggest problem I had was nitrates. Shortly after I began adding fish and feeding (small clowns..) The nitrates shot up to 30 and I couldn't bring it down for my life! I would recommend you to remove the CC and just use live sand. As for a filtration system.. if you can build a refugium a sump would work too since you are going fish only. Don't forget to invest in a skimmer. Don't skimp on it. I did that during my beginning and I ended up spending 80 bucks for a crap skimmer that did nothing but produce green tea.

 

[NYreefNoob]

A REMORA NANO OR REGULAR REMORA FOR THE SKIMMER IF YOU PLAN TO STAY WITH THE 29G, ALSO IS THE TANK DRILLED ? YOU CAN ALSO JUST GET A HANG ON BACK REFUGIUM, GOING TO NEED A POWERHEAD OR 2 ALSO, ALOT DEPENDS IF YOU PLAN TO STAY WITH KEEPING THE 29G TANK FOR AWHILE OR UPGRADING SOON AFTER LIKE MOST OF US HAVE DONE :irked:, NOT SAYING BUY THE BEST OF EVERYTHING, BUT DONT SKIMP ON THE EQUIPTMENT, OTHERWISE YOU WILL BE BUYING TWICE, ALOT EASIER TO DO IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME AND BE DONE

 

[nanchil]

Agree. Dont make the mistakes most of us here did.

ALOT DEPENDS IF YOU PLAN TO STAY WITH KEEPING THE 29G TANK FOR AWHILE OR UPGRADING SOON AFTER LIKE MOST OF US HAVE DONE :irked:, NOT SAYING BUY THE BEST OF EVERYTHING, BUT DONT SKIMP ON THE EQUIPTMENT, OTHERWISE YOU WILL BE BUYING TWICE, ALOT EASIER TO DO IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME AND BE DONE

 

[georgelc86]

Is a 29G a bit small for a puffer when it reaches maturity.

 

[Rtam3185]

I would say yes. But I didn't do my homework on puffers.

 

[h20 freak]

get rid of the CC, if anything run the tank bare-bottom.

Definitely dont skimp on skimmer and get an ro unit.

 

[jejton]

Before investing in any equipment or livestock, invest time and money in books and research on sites like this and others. you'll save a lot more money, headaches and livestock in the future by doing so.

After having done all that, decide what kind of tank you want to keep and your budget. That will dictate the equipment you need.

 

[Aquatic Life Direct]

A REMORA NANO OR REGULAR REMORA FOR THE SKIMMER IF YOU PLAN TO STAY WITH THE 29G, ALSO IS THE TANK DRILLED ? YOU CAN ALSO JUST GET A HANG ON BACK REFUGIUM, GOING TO NEED A POWERHEAD OR 2 ALSO, ALOT DEPENDS IF YOU PLAN TO STAY WITH KEEPING THE 29G TANK FOR AWHILE OR UPGRADING SOON AFTER LIKE MOST OF US HAVE DONE :irked:, NOT SAYING BUY THE BEST OF EVERYTHING, BUT DONT SKIMP ON THE EQUIPTMENT, OTHERWISE YOU WILL BE BUYING TWICE, ALOT EASIER TO DO IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME AND BE DONE

Rick you dont have to yell at people to get your point across.... :lol2:
Caps Lock Stuck?

 

[ellebelle]

(1) I had a 29g tank with crushed coral substrate. I didn't have the problems with nitrates that a lot of people have had, probably because I way overstocked a cleaning crew to deal with the detritus that stuck between the substrate. More importantly though, if you are going fish only (no corals), your nitrate levels are less important. However, it does start to look ugly relatively quickly and I have gone with sand in subsequent tanks and I like it much better. There is a school of thought that says that barebottom in the way to go - you can do a search and see what people have said. I think it's a matter of taste and what looks best.

(2) You are going to want a skimmer. Hang on back (HOB) skimmer would be fine - I would stay away from the SeaClone, CPR Backpak or Prizm filters.

(3) A refugium is not a necessary component of a saltwater tank. Some think that the macroalgae you put in them reduced nutrients but there have been a lot of anecdotal evidence around here that show that a refugium can actually add nutrients to a tank. If you are going with a simple fish-only set up, I think it's probably unnecessary.

(4) What do you mean by "Leopard Puffers"? I have never heard of them, so I did a quick google search. The only leopard puffers I came up with are either freshwater or brackish. Most saltwater puffer species get too big for a 29g tank. If you have your heart set of puffers, you will need a larger set up.