Re-establishing My Aquarium, Advice Needed.

[Cassette87]

Hey guys,

About 2 years ago, I kept an aquarium (29G) with a small Niger Trigger, And A Dwarf Zebra Lionfish. I was unable to keep the fish a variety of reasons, but things have settled down again, and I would like to establish a nearly identical aquarium. My tank has been sitting in the basement with sand still at the bottom of the tank. My question is this: Is it possible to sterilize and reuse the sand? or is it best to simply toss it and purchase new sand? Also, would adding one or two more small fish be too crowded for this aquarium? Getting a larger aquarium is out of the question, as I need to make with what I have for right now. Sometime down the road, I may move to a 55 gallon, but for the time being, the 29 is going to have to do. When all is said and done, I would like to have 1-2 small triggers, 1 dwarf zebra lion, and maybe another small resident, although if this is pushing the envelope it is not necessary. Does anyone have any opinions? Is a 29 gallon aquarium more difficult to maintain than a larger aquarium? Any opinions on what I am looking to do is appreciated! Thanks In advance everyone!

 

[SkiFletch]

Well, I know very little about the requirements of Niger Triggers so I won't comment there, but a 29g is suitable for a dwarf lionfish. Just make sure that you dont add any fish small enough to fit inside its mouth

As for re-using the tank, clean it with vinegar and rinse it out 3-4 times with tapwater and you should be all set.

 

[boshank23]

to be fair i wouldn't re-use the sand, its not actually that expensive to replace it with live sand or something similar. good luck with the tank bud keep us posted on progress

 

[rhysiboy]

Isnt your tank very over stocked i heard that niger triggers need at least 55galons

Isnt your tank very over stocked i heard that niger triggers need at least 55galons. also may i ask why did you have to take down the tank before?

 

[enjoiskater158]

niger triggers can get to be around a foot long and its usally not a good idea to but one in anything less than 55 at the least but from all the online websites iv looked at they say you should house them in at least 70 gallons. you could put one in if you get him really small but once he gets bigger ull have to get a bigger tank. the lionfish will be fine in the 30

 

[Mr.September15]

Hey guys,

About 2 years ago, I kept an aquarium (29G) with a small Niger Trigger, And A Dwarf Zebra Lionfish. I was unable to keep the fish a variety of reasons, but things have settled down again, and I would like to establish a nearly identical aquarium. My tank has been sitting in the basement with sand still at the bottom of the tank. My question is this: Is it possible to sterilize and reuse the sand? or is it best to simply toss it and purchase new sand? Also, would adding one or two more small fish be too crowded for this aquarium? Getting a larger aquarium is out of the question, as I need to make with what I have for right now. Sometime down the road, I may move to a 55 gallon, but for the time being, the 29 is going to have to do. When all is said and done, I would like to have 1-2 small triggers, 1 dwarf zebra lion, and maybe another small resident, although if this is pushing the envelope it is not necessary. Does anyone have any opinions? Is a 29 gallon aquarium more difficult to maintain than a larger aquarium? Any opinions on what I am looking to do is appreciated! Thanks In advance everyone!

1. Generally triggers are not supposed to be housed in anything smaller than a 55gallon tank. But of course it also matters on the species.
2.I would buy new sand and add a cup of live sand to it to seed it, that should help with starting up the cycle.
3.L.R will help cycling it too...Since you already know that you cannot fit any trigger in your tank you might want to go with small fish like:

-Gobies
-Jawfish
-Cardinals
-Dwarf Angelfish
-Dwarf Lionfish (Be careful about what other fish you are going to put with it)
-Clownfish

 

[Cassette87]

Hey guys,

first off, thanks for all of the input, i had to take the tank down before because i was going to be away at school for an extended amount of time, and my family didn't want to deal with it, so sadly i had to say goodbye to my fish. When I had the aquarium before, the only four inhabitants, aside from some live rock, were a small (3.5"-4") Niger Trigger, a Dwarf Zebra Lionfish, and a small snowflake eel. I never had any problems with any of the three... aside from the fact that the eel was an excellent escape artist. To be entirely honest, the Triggerfish seemed to be not only the hardiest fish in the tank, but also the happiest. if you all feel so strongly against the triggers, I will reconsider, but is their rate of growth so astronomical that this would be a worry? I had my niger for nearly two years, and noticed at most a growth of 3/4 - 1". there is a good chance that I would get a larger tank after a couple of years, but nothing right now. If anyone else has some suggestinos as to what other fish would work well in this size aquarium, i would appreciate it! Thanks Guys!

 

[SkiFletch]

Here's some things I know about Niger Triggers... Niger triggers are some of the calmest temperment triggers. Nigers also grow slower than most other triggers. And their maximum size is not as big as some other triggers.

Here's some things I know about people... People are caring and compassionate and enjoy providing a home for pets. They can become so attached to a pet that they may even neglect its safety just to keep the pet. And people's situations in life (especially monetary) can change quickly.

Since I know all those things about people and niger triggerfish, I say this. You CAN keep a baby niger triggerfish in a 29g while its young. As it outgrows the tank, how willing will you be to put the animal's needs before your own emotional needs?

 

[Ranger]

Here's some things I know about Niger Triggers... Niger triggers are some of the calmest temperment triggers. Nigers also grow slower than most other triggers. And their maximum size is not as big as some other triggers.

Here's some things I know about people... People are caring and compassionate and enjoy providing a home for pets. They can become so attached to a pet that they may even neglect its safety just to keep the pet. And people's situations in life (especially monetary) can change quickly.

Since I know all those things about people and niger triggerfish, I say this. You CAN keep a baby niger triggerfish in a 29g while its young. As it outgrows the tank, how willing will you be to put the animal's needs before your own emotional needs?

Very well put ski.

You don't need all live sand. As september said, many choose to just buy a cup of livesand and put it in with their normal aragonite sand. Some (myself included) don't even go that far, and just let the LR seed the sand. The choice is yours, but as ski says "you can't tell me there is anything living in that bag after its been sitting on a wherehouse shelf for 3 months and then in your LFS for another 3 months".

Rock on Ski

 

[Cassette87]

Hey Guys, Just thought I'd say thanks again for the input, and give an update:

I've got the tank set up and cycling with two scarlet hermit crabs, and about 15 lbs of new live rock and 8-ish more pounds of rock that was from my old set up. I've attached some pictures for you guys to check out and comment on, I would like to pick up some more live rock, however I don't want to over do it, you guys think i'll be okay with another 10 pounds or so in the near future? any comments or suggestions are appreciated! Temerpature is floating around 77-78, ph is right around 8.0, and salinity is floating at 1.021-1.022. So far so good guys, any other input as i said is appreciated! Thanks!

 

[Ranger]

Your going to need at least 1 pound of liverock per gallon. Thats a minimum, many people have more. Remember that you can never have too much filtration. So I would recommend getting atleast 15 more pounds in addition to your current 15. A little more if you have the money.

 

[Mr.September15]

Wheres your powerhead?? It looks great so far, very nice and clean. Is it not too early to add anything??Or am I being ignorant and not reading everything

 

[mr.dark-saint]

Personally I would've used the sand (was it crushed aragonite?). I would've just poured it in to the water and wouldn't even have bothered to rinse (that is if nothing like house hold cleaners and muck didn't fall in there). At most a quick rinse to dust it off . By doing this you could've saved a few bucks when you added "Live Sand" since whatever "Live" would colonize in the old sand and become "Live". But what is done is done.

I don't know about the One pound to One gallon rule since you're looking to keep a trigger. If I were doing fish only tank with live rock I'd just get enough to hide the gear. To tell the truth I'd get Bull Rock or some Calcium Base Rock instead of spending the cash on LR.

 

[SkiFletch]

Looks great Cassette, well done. I agree that a little more LR would benefit you. You're off to a greatstart though

 

[cedyced]

You tank looks good. But you will need a powerhead..