Setting Up A 29 Gallon Fowlr For Now

[kj23502]

Well, I have 3 20lb bags of sand in the basement. I'm thinking of getting a yellow head jawfish later after it's been running awhile. Is that feasible for my size tank? I don't want to put in 5 or 6" of sand right away if it's not

Thanks
Kj


We're getting the panels to stain. Probably cut those and get them on this week mabye??

I'm going to talk to my bro in law and see what he has to get rid of. I got some great deals from him for my cichlid tank and I'm hoping he'll have some other stuff that he wants to part with.

I know he has some dead lr that I could use for base rock. I'll check w/him and see if he has a 600gph power head and things like that. Or if he has anymore heaters laying around.

Kj

 

[kj23502]

New question.

Is is feasible to make a refugium out of a whisper power filter? It's a Whisper Power Filter 30. Just for cheato and that's pretty much it. Hoping it'll grow some pods, but mostly for cheato to suck any algea friendly nutrients out of the water.

If I have good cheato would I still need to use Rowaphos? I'm thinking....maybe not.

in advance.

Kj

 

[kj23502]

Bought a refractometer off ebay today. $35 including shipping. Crossfingers that it arrives ok. Guy is a powerseller and has 99.7 feedback rating so all should be well

 

[kj23502]

Bouught some more things today:
Dip and Pour Fish Specimen Container - Large---2 for $12.98 total
ROWAphos Phosphate Remover - 100 mL---------------$17.49
Lettuce Clip - Clown Fish----------------------------2 for $5.78 total
Grid Feeding Clip ------------------------------------------$2.19
Glass Canopy - 30 in. x 12 in. ---------------------------$18.99
AquaSafe Water Conditioner - 16.9 oz. ---------------- $7.89(for my other tanks)
Visi-Therm Stealth Heater - 150W - ---------------------$21.99
Koralia 2 ---------------------------------------- 600 gph $29.99
Saltwater Liquid Master Test Kit -------------------------$16.99
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
____________________________________Total was $134.29 I had a promotional discount to get free shipping also.

 

[seffieuk]

You have been busy - I buy loads of things off ebay and never really had any problems

Seffie x

 

[kj23502]

I've only had 1 problem. And that was partially covered by the shipping insurance.

 

[kj23502]

OK here's the items I bought. I don't have the glass cover yet. They are on back order and will send it when it comes in

I'm hoping the specimen containers will be usefull for acclimatizing as well as holding a fish. They are the large ones 8 3/4"H x 3 3/4"W x 5 3/4"L
I bought 2 clown clips so I'll have 1 for my large tank, too.

 

[CageUK]

You sound like a kid at christmas

It looks like it's all coming together though KJ.

good luck

 

[kj23502]

We just cut the last board, which is the main one the 29g will sit on. My hubby took it over to his parents for sanding, staining and clearcoating. It has a few coats on it now. I measured that one...lol that was fun. I measured on large side and my hubby had to keep shaving spots off to get to fit around the side walls. Probably rand downstairs to cut it about 10x. Probably the last time he'll have me measure I said I wasn't good a this stuff.

I bought a skimmer from a guy in my lrc. It's the Dual Bak Pack 2 for $85 ($239 here http/www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod...amp;pcatid=4409 ). He put lr in the middle chamber, instead of the blue floss stuff shown in the picture. He said he used the skimmer for about 6 months. It looks to be in good condition. He said he'll come over and help me with it when I get to that stage. My lrc is a good group of guys

I bought some paint to paint the back of the tank. It's rustoleum:

Was told on RC that it was a pretty good one to use. I'll try and then report on it

I was told not to use my glass top, but use eggcrate and then suspend the light somehow. Problem is this tank is sitting underneath a 75 gallon so it's going to be a challenge to try to suspend them. I read on wetwebmedia to use the glass top??? What do you experienced sw fish keepers think on this one???

 

[kj23502]

I am eventually get one of these:
http/www.drsfostersmith.com/produ...22&pcatid=13922

150 watt clip on halide. It'll be hard to get a fixture that will work. It's hard to hang since this tank is underneath another one and there's not a whole lot of fixtures that are 30". Most are 24" or 36".

 

[SkiFletch]

Yup, the 29g is a real pita of a tank to work with. the tall nature coupled with 30" long is a real bummer. A 150watt clipon halide is really your only other decent option to hanging one

Oh and ditch the glass top, over heating will be a problem in the summer if you use the glass...

 

[kj23502]

That clip on light says to be used with a glass top How shall I cover the light? It's been suggested in my lrc to use SE bulbs instead of DE. But the clip on's only come w/DE. Asked if one of them know where to point me to SE clip on's and one said they aren't sure if there is any. Go figure So Ski, whats your take...SE better or DE better and why? RC thought this light would work ok....but don't know that they knew about having it covered.

Thanks much

ps. I actually thought of going w/a 36" tank, but then my 2 filters for the top tank wouldn't fit on that shelf very good.

 

[SkiFletch]

SE is "better" for two reasons. First, there are MANY more bulb choices; not to say that there aren't enough but going DE would be like limiting yourself to only GM cars, while going SE would let you go with a car from any GM/Chrysler/Ford/VW/Honda/Toyota/etc. Second, DE reflectors are not as efficient as SE reflectors so while the little place where the light is made may be equiavalent between SE and DE lamps, the SE reflector usually reflects light down just a little bit more.

Your LRC guys are correct, there is no clip-on SE fixture to my knowledge. You can find some more "compact" SE pendant setups, but they're all gonna be at least about 12x8x8" dimensions. So if you're limited in physical space or DIY abilities, you really don't have much of an option, DE it is

As for the glass top thing, the idea is to prevent fish from jumping or splashing the lamp while it's really hot and running. If so the rapid cooling of the glass can cause it to shatter and destroy the lamp, not great . Eggcrate should be just fine though at keeping fish away from it. Glass tops aren't needed.

 

[kj23502]

I might have about about 12" between the top of the tank and the top part of the stand(from a quick rough measurement). Since the reflection isn't as good with the DE should I look at 250watt? or do you think the 150w will be sufficient?

I'm going to further check into switching up my filtration for the tank on top of the stand. Maybe only do 1 canister with a hob. Then could fit a 30 gallon breeder under there. 36" x 18" x 12" That would make it a lot easier to find a light setup and would give me 4 extra inches of clearance from the top of the tank.


Plus, I'd still have this tank as a QT tank then. I'll see what I come up with. Thanks for the help Ski. Much appreciated.

 

[SkiFletch]

the 150 should be plenty