Thinking about Saltwater...

[StingrayKid]

I'm thinking about starting a saltwater tank. I know that small tanks are for professionals so, I'm staying away from anything under 29 gallons. I've heard that the larger the tank, the easier it is with saltwater. I'm not totally new to the marine world, but I do need some advice. I only have space for a tank about 29 gallons, and I had been advised that a 29 gallon would be a minimum tank size for a person like me from a reliable source. They had a kit at a LFS I go to alot that is mainly focused on Marine tanks. I comes with everything. A filter, heater, chemicals, proper reef lighting, thermometers, hyrdometers, you name it. I was thinking of stocking it with live rock and some some inverts, but probably no fish, maybe some smalll ones. Is this size too small? I dont have the room for anything much bigger. Is there any other equiptment I need? I heard that your first Saltwater tank costs about $1200 U.S. dollars, but this package is only $230. I can afford more stuff. Thanks for any help.

 

[Navarre]

You can be successful with a tank this size as long as you accept that you are limited by the size of the tank. Its great that you readily accept that you will be able tokeep small fish in here and I would urge you to lok at such fish as clwons, grammas, gobies and blennies. I dont advise damsels as they are aggressive and would dominate the tank and harrase other fish.

As for equipment.

Skimmer.. you will need a skimmer for tha tank so find out if the tank has 1 included in the price.
The live rock... you will need roughly 1lbs per gallon of water. so a 29 gallon tank would need 29lbs of live rock. Not sure in $ how much this would cost but its probably by far the most expensive item for the tank.

I would guess that for $230 it doesnt include live rock so expect the price to increase considerably that the price youhave been quoted. )

 

[StingrayKid]

Live rock is quite pricy. For me, it would come up to about $232 more dollars, plus the skimmer. So for here, it would come out to about $600 or so. (It's $8 a pound at one of my LFS in my area, I may be able to get it cheaper). I am concerned about one thing though. Water changes. In freshwater, you take the water out, add dechlorinator, and then put it back in the tank. How do you do this with saltwater? Do you mix the salt in the bucket and then add it into the tank? I don't think that will be too hard for a tank of this size.
So, I need a pound of live rock per gallon? That seems kind of weird, because the rocks are kind of big and the tank is not exactly huge. I don't mean to sound nieve here, but, couldn't I just create a reef with the rock, like a wall or something? The rocks must wiegh a few punds each and they are like 8 inches long by 10 inches high, so I'm guessing they're at least a couple of pounds.


EDIT: I am also concerned about power outages. My family may be getting a generator, and I've heard horror stories about saltwater tanks and power outages. Power outages are not common where we live, but if they od occur, thye last for about an hour or so. If this were to happen, and we did not have the generator we're most likely going to get, will the reef and inhabitants die within this time?(We will be getting a portable generator if I do decide to get this saltwater tank).

Thanks.

 

[StingrayKid]

Also, do you absolutely need powerheads? And aren't those for Under Gravel filters? I'm kind of confused about those. )

I'm just kind of worried here because I've heard from many people that it's going to cost me anywhere from $1000-$3000 dollars, but here I am with a price around $600 not including power heads if I need them.

 

[chkltcow]

No no, you NEED powerheads. The live rock handles the biological filtration, so you need to keep good water movement around the rock for that. If you have corals or inverts that are filter feeders, or something like firefish that depend on food to float past them... current becomes more important.

As for water changes, my tank is only a 20g, so water changes are small. I buy RO water from my LFS and mix it in a bucket, then add it to the tank. He also sells pre-mixed saltwater at 1.023 SG to take out that one extra step. A lot easier than mixing water yourself.

Oh, and 29lbs of live rock isn't that much. I have 33 lbs in my 20g long..... same footprint as your 29g, just not as tall.

 

[StingrayKid]

Hmmm, so I will be ending up spending a lot on live rock. But do you need a under gravel filter to use power heads?

 

[chkltcow]

No, powerheads are just for water circulation.

 

[Fuzzy]

i have a 30 gal setup and i havent dont a water change for about 3 months and all is going good.

i have 19 pounds of live rock in it and 20 pounds of regular rock. two millinium 2000 filters, 30 watter heater(i think its 30 watts), 65 watt florecent light, and crushed coral substrate.
might be something for you to think about

 

[StingrayKid]

So, would I need like two power heads in a 29 gallon, or just one?

 

[Navarre]

The general recomendation is 10x the volume in water turnover. So if you have a 30 gallon tank then you will require circulation for at least 300 gallons per hour.

Reef life are used to huge oocean currents and even with tank currents running at 20 or 30 times the volume it still doesnt come anywhere near the sea


You mention earlier about undergravel filters. There is no need for other filtration other than the liverock and a skimmer.

 

[StingrayKid]

So, I don't need to use a filter besides the rock and a skimmer? For this size tank, I think two power heads should cover it. The model I'll most likely get is 212-228 G.P.H so a duel system should be suffiecint, right?

EDIT: If I placed the power heads behind some live rocks, would it circulate the tank?(Behind the rock wall) I'm just wondering because I would prefer that they are out of sight, but if it will effect the current, I don't mind it being in the open.

 

[chkltcow]

Behind a rock will effect the current and flow. They look ugly now, but over time they'll be encrusted with coraline algae and will turn purple, red, etc so they kinda blend in. I know they're an eyesore, but set it for efficiency and looks will fall in line.

As for filtration, the live rock will handle biological filtration and the nitrogen cycle.... and snails, hermits, etc will handle more of the "mechanical" filtration and cleanup. It wouldn't be a bad idea to have a small spare HOB filter lying around just in case you need to toss it on with carbon or some phosphate remover in it. And you're gonna want to use RO water instead of tap water... or you're gonna need that phosphate remover!

 

[StingrayKid]

I'm not clear on this phosphates thing. RO water is the water pre-mixed for marine right?

 

[chkltcow]

RO is the Reverse Osmosis... water that has been purified by running it through a rather slow filtration process It gets rid of any heavy metals and other impurities you don't want. Beneficial trace elements will be added in by the salt mix or can be dosed using things like the Seachem/Kent Marine trace elements and Reef Builder. Phosphates and silicates in tapwater lead to mucho diatom (brown) algae.

That's the gist of it... I'm sure Navarre can go into far far greater detail

 

[StingrayKid]

So, does this mean if I don't have a RO unit, I will be overrun with brown algae? This happens in my freshwater tanks, but it's not very bad. We get our water from our well and our water goes though a special filter in our basement, so there is no chlorine in it, but I'm not sure about these metals. If they are there, they are at a minimum in our water.