New tank setup questions...

[rsponder]

Hi all,
I am returning to the hobby after many years off and feel lost about what I need to start up my tank again. I have a 29G tank and want to do fish only. I've been reading for days now and can't seem to figure out what I need. I believe I need to buy Sand, some Live Rock to start the cycle and a good wet/dry filter and protein skimmer. Am I missing anything? The guy at the LFS told me to get the Amiracle SL-5, but it's $180. Do I really need this filter or is this guy just trying to sell me the most expensive thing out there? Are there other more affordable alternatives. I know you need to invest in good filtration, but is there anything else that will do the trick? Any advice for starting up would be helpful. Thanks.

[jddaniel]

Welcome back to the hobby!! I would avoid the wet/dry filter personally, why not go with live rock and a DSB? This is just my opinion, but I would get LR, DSB, and a nice skimmer and forget about any other filtration. What type and how many fish were you thinking of keeping? Good luck to you as you begin the set-up.

Josh

[rsponder]

Thanks for the advice. I haven't even thought of what kind of fish. I used to have an Angel (can't remember what kind, I think a Flame Angel), a yellow tang and a blue tang. I was happy with that, so something along those lines again I think, Cost will be the most limiting factor here. What are the parameters for a DSB? How deep, what kind of sand, etc? So you are saying I don't need a wet/dry filter? The idea is that the LR will do all of the work right? I know I can't afford 30 lb of LR though, so do you still recommend this option?

[jddaniel]

I would highly recommend against the tangs in a 29g tank... This is just my opinion, but anything less than about 75g is not suitable for tangs IMO. As far as the cost goes, pick up a 50lb bag of SouthDown play sand for about $9 at Home Depot and you should easily be able to put together 30lbs of LR. Check forums for people selling LR or used equiptment to help a little. As far as how deep the sand bed needs to be, anything over about 3.5 inches should be fine. The LR and sand will work as your natural filtration, the problem with wet/dry is that your nitrates will acumulate to very high levels over a period of time. I would put my money in a quality skimmer and nice LR for great long term results.

Josh

[Pomacanthus1]

If you have about as many pounds of LR as gallons, then you won't need a wet/dry or any other bio-filter. The live rock will perform all bio-filtration.

The minimum depth for a DSB is about 4", but 5-6 is even better. Reef Central has a "Calculators" page (link is at the top of every RC page) that has a sandbed calculator that will tell you exactly how much sand you need.

If you can afford a wet/dry filter but not 20-30 lbs of LR, then the LR is probably way overpriced. www.drmaccorals.com and www.premiumaquatics.com are some of the most popular and/or most recommended online places to buy live rock. LR online usualy goes for $3-5 a lbs.

Except for the actual tank and stand, i would buy all of your drygoods on the internet. Prices are usually much much cheaper from places like www.marinedepot.com. I'm not very familiar with Amiracle skimmers, but $180 sounds very pricey. Perhaps with the money you save buying equipment online, you could buy an AquaC Remora hang-on skimmer. AquaC makes good-quality, efficient skimmers. You wouldn't be disappointed with one.

Finally, a 29g is a very small tank for a tang, let alone 2. Most people recommend a 55g tank minimum for one tang. Others recommend even more.

[danny254]

I have a 29 with about 30 lbs of live rock and it looks pretty full. For filtration I have a CPR bak-pak. I would not get that wet/dry filter as it is overpriced and IMO is unnecesary. Please don't get tangs in a 29 that is way to small, dwarf angels are a great fish and would be fine in a 29.