Totally New to the Scene(Have a few questions)

Midus · 06/03/2007, 12:03 AM

First and foremost, hello to you all. I'm pretty much completely new to this hobby(and on a budget....).

Anyways, I'm working with a 29G tank and am looking to make a FOWLR style set up. I have everything that I need, I'm just waiting to get paid before I send in for my Live Rock. I had a few questions though and this seems like a great place to ask them.

1. I'm using a glass top. I heard that this is looked down upon for various reasons including temp. issues. Thus far, my temp. has stayed between 75 - 76 degrees F with everything turned on. Should I still reconsider the top?

2. I've been really debating since I have a Fluorescent strip now with a 50/50 style tube, but was thinking of going Compact Fluorescent. The current strip just goes right on top of the glass top while what I'm thinking of buying obviously hangs over. Should I invest in the upgrade?

3. Right now I'm using one Power Sweep style powerhead. It seems kind of dinky though. I can't really tell if its even doing anything. Should I buy another(and should I think about buying more than one?)

Thats pretty much all for now. I'm sure I'll have plenty more once I actually put something in here....

nctommy · 06/03/2007, 12:17 AM

To Reef Central
First off the top could keep heat in but if it seems to be stable then it maybe ok. Just keep and eye on it. Secondly the flourescent strip would be ok for a fowlr but if you want to upgrade I would upgrade to vho (fowlr) or T5 (possible reef). Thirdly, the power sweeps I have used in the past tend to stop working by themselves. I use Rio seio's in my tank you could get one of the 620 and it would be more than enough for you tank.

Billybeau1 · 06/03/2007, 12:27 AM

Also welcome, If you are going to keep fish, a glass top is necessary. Some fish are jumpers. I'd rather deal with the temperature issue than finding one of my fish on the floor in the morning. It happens.

Scuba_Steve · 06/03/2007, 09:50 AM

glass tops dont let much air in, so oxygen levels are lower than open tops. Personally i recommend cutting a piece of egg crate (light diffuser) to size and use that instead. Your lights are fine for fowlr. If you wanted to start keeping corals the pc would let you keep low light ones. T5 and you could do alot more. Power sweeps are pretty much garbage. I like maxijets with hydor rotators on the end. Koralias would work well too.

Midus · 06/03/2007, 01:53 PM

Hmmmm, well I'm somewhat convinced to go open top. Turned off the Central air in my house today and the temperature inside the tank rose fairly quickly. Thanks for the advice thus far.

Midus · 06/03/2007, 05:02 PM

Hmmmm, sorry, but I don't know if there is a rule against double posting or not. Please tell me if there is and this will be the last for me.

Sigh, I really need patience. Been too anxious to get things started and I'm flip flopping too much XD.

My final question for awhile. How many inhabitants would I be able to fit in a tank of this size? I'm more of an intvertebrate person(Love crabs, Snails, Urchin, Shrimp, etc...) and wanted a bit of a ballpark number. Fish wise, I'd be happy with 1 or 2 I guess....

I'm also interested in plants.

sabbath · 06/03/2007, 06:36 PM

I like my tanks topless as well. Better for the light I think. I have a MH and it up about 7" so it stays clean for a while. Nice for just walking up to it and just reach in.
You can't beat the MH natural shimmer affect. IMO Look at both, live 1st, I say.

Billybeau1 · 06/03/2007, 11:46 PM

Midus, You can post as many times as you want to.

As far as your question, I'll give you 2 websites that will guide you though the invertebrate and plant information.

They sell invertebrate kits for specific size tanks and recommendations.

liveaquaria.com (which is Ds Foster and Smith)

and

marinedepotlive ( which is Marine Depot)

They both have salt water plants too.

Midus · 06/04/2007, 12:21 AM

Thanks. I've been going to liveaquaria for awhile now. Its where I'm planning on getting my LR from.

I have another question though. Whats the different between liveaquaria.com and www.etropicals.com?

Midus · 06/06/2007, 02:28 PM

Has anyone bought Live Rock from Jacks Pets and Aquariums before. I just called and found out that they sell it for $6.99 a pound(Is this a good price?).

I'm wondering if I should buy from here or order online somewhere. I would prefer not ordering online because I don't really have access to a credit card.

Nabob89 · 06/06/2007, 03:41 PM

I prefer buying all of my LR locally...that way you can pick out the exact pieces that you want in the store, otherwise youre just hoping that the online guys send you good pieces.

jimbo78 · 06/06/2007, 03:47 PM

$6-$7 is what it sells for at all the LFS dowm here in miami

GoingPostal · 06/06/2007, 04:15 PM

Etropicals only carries carribbean animals. Stuff is cheaper there though. I buy my cleaner crews through them.

lpsluver · 06/06/2007, 06:57 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Midus
Has anyone bought Live Rock from Jacks Pets and Aquariums before. I just called and found out that they sell it for $6.99 a pound(Is this a good price?).

If this is an online price then no it is not good. It is good if it is already cured though. $3-$5/lb is good for uncured, delivered. You'll only need around 40 lbs for your tank so I would buy it locally and cherry pick what you want. If you have good water movement and good filtration 2-4 fish would about do it, as long as they were small fish.

E-tropicals is owned by Liveaquaria/Drs Foster and Smith. They sell only Caribbean stuff.

I'd stay away from urchins because they will eat all of your beautiful coralline algae. You can take the plastic strip off of the back of the glass top to help with O2 exchange but I agree with the previous post and like to use egg crate for the top.

Power sweeps are not worth the money and I have both a seio and a koralia and hands down prefer the koralia. Better water dispersal and less added heat (better looking too). I'd try to budget for at least power compacts and preferable T5's. More flexibility for the future. Don't place them directly on the glass though. They will transfer too much heat. Most fixture come with leg kits to stand them off of the tank.

Hope all of your questions (the one you have at this time) were answered. Good luck and have fun!

Midus · 06/07/2007, 01:14 PM

Thanks for the answers thus far. I really appreciate it.

Went to the LFS today. I feel kind of sorry for a lot of the fish there. Most Marine animals were kept in little 5G or below tanks(Even Tangs X<). They sold Live Rock, but only had 2 tanks full and it looked pretty dead(Though it didn't smell). Unsure of whether it was cured or not and the employees weren't much help.

Anyways, I picked out one 10lb. piece for now. Thinking of getting more either from here or somewhere else. Anyone ever heard of Pohnpei? My piece game with a clam hitchhiker that I'm sure is long dead...

Midus · 06/10/2007, 11:55 PM

I'm thinking of getting a BTA and Clownfish and some coral. What lighting should I go for. I was thinking of getting 2 or 3 species of mushrooms.

Heh, I really need patience. I'm starting to think that I paid for some really expensive base rock. Nothing has shown up thus far. Going to remove a bunch of the CC substrate soon and replace with live sand while adding around 20 more pounds of LR(I have 15 now).

Midus · 06/13/2007, 07:59 PM

Another question. As of now, I have a HOB(Emperor) Filter. I've heard that these are pretty much unneeded since the Live Rock and sand will act as filters and that they do a bit more harm than good(Supposedly at least). Should I get rid of it?

drummereef · 06/13/2007, 08:41 PM

I wouldn't use any bio or mechanical media in the Emperor. Just use it for flow and carbon.

nss9400 · 06/13/2007, 10:11 PM

depends on your location but in tampa fl there is a guy that sells good fiji lr for $2.24 a lb plus shipping or if you are close you can go and choose your rock for $1.50 more per lb. you can find them on ebay.

Midus · 06/20/2007, 08:31 PM

I just bought and introduced 5 turbo snails, an emerald crab, and a hawaiian feather duster to my tank(Was this too much at once...:<). Anyways, could anyone tell me how these guys would normally react upon being introduced into a new tank.

Two of the snails are stuck together with one hugging the wall. Another 2 are on the wall. The 5th touched the sand then kind of curled up and chilled there for awhile. I haven't seen too much movement yet.

I "planted" the feather duster at the base of some of my live rock near the current of the power head in the corner. Its been opening and closing itself every once and awhile(I added some filter food as well).

The emerald crab fell on its back. It flipped itself over and ran for the live rock. It found a nice spot and hasn't moved since(Even when I dropped some food).

As you can tell, I'm kind of nervous about my first entries to the tank

Henry Bowman · 06/20/2007, 08:49 PM

Wait a day or so to see how the recent additions are doing. What is / are your tank parameters. pH, alk, Ca, do you have nitrates? Did you acclimate the new additions? (slowly adding tank water to the bag the animals came in?)

Your feather duster might not like the high flow areas of your tank. Although I'd recommend against moving sessile animals frequently, I'd move him or readjust any power heads that are pointing directly toward him.

My .02 cents.........

Midus · 06/22/2007, 02:05 AM

Everything is in the normal range besides Calcium which is a bit low(300ppm). pH is at 8.2. dKH is at around 11. Nitrates are at 5.

I didn't acclimate the snails, but I properly did it for both the crab and duster.

Anyways, after a day of having them in there all seems to be ok. The snails have moved around a lot. A group of 2 went to one piece of live rock while the other 3 are perched on another. The crab has found a home in a small crevice where he runs to whenever I enter the room. The feather duster seems pretty active.

Another question here about lighting. What do I need to use VHO bulbs? I'm fine lighting wise now since I have nothing thats dependent on it, but I'm looking forward to getting mushroom coral in a month or so as well as a BTA.

drummereef · 06/22/2007, 02:17 AM

I'd bump the calcium up a bit with some Kent Turbo Calcium. Use the calculator below to help with dosing. As far as lighting goes, depends on what you want to keep. You do know that you'll have a full blown reef once you introduce your first mushroom, right?

Shrooms, softies, polyps, etc are low light corals for the most part. What you don't want to do is limit yourself. If it were me I'd look into a T5 setup.

Reef chemicals calculator
http://home.comcast.net/~jdieck1/chem_calc3.html

Midus · 06/27/2007, 02:11 AM

Did what you suggested. My calcium levels are now at about 420ppm. The snails seem fine, though I think that I was a bit overzealous with them and bought too many. I only have around 15 lbs of live Rock. Should I buy dried seaweed to supplement? I see a bunch of algae on the underside of my rocks and the Emerald Crab has taken advantage of it, but they seem pretty lost. Not too worried there though. They're at least searching about.

I am a bit worried about the Feather Duster as well. I haven't seen it come out in around 2 to 3 days.

My final question concerns when I would be able to add anything else to the tank. I was thinking of getting a Goby of some sort soon(Possibly Goby Pistol Shrimp combo). I don't want to rush though.

Midus · 07/04/2007, 12:37 AM

Well, thanks to everyone who helped me in this topic. Been about a month and a half so far and everything is looking up. I really wish that I had pictures to show you guys. My coralline has been growing pretty rapidly and I'm seeing all types of hitchhikers that I hadn't noticed before as well as various plants that I really can't begin to ID.

06/03/2007, 12:03 AM	#1
Midus Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 95	Totally New to the Scene(Have a few questions) First and foremost, hello to you all. I'm pretty much completely new to this hobby(and on a budget....). Anyways, I'm working with a 29G tank and am looking to make a FOWLR style set up. I have everything that I need, I'm just waiting to get paid before I send in for my Live Rock. I had a few questions though and this seems like a great place to ask them. 1. I'm using a glass top. I heard that this is looked down upon for various reasons including temp. issues. Thus far, my temp. has stayed between 75 - 76 degrees F with everything turned on. Should I still reconsider the top? 2. I've been really debating since I have a Fluorescent strip now with a 50/50 style tube, but was thinking of going Compact Fluorescent. The current strip just goes right on top of the glass top while what I'm thinking of buying obviously hangs over. Should I invest in the upgrade? 3. Right now I'm using one Power Sweep style powerhead. It seems kind of dinky though. I can't really tell if its even doing anything. Should I buy another(and should I think about buying more than one?) Thats pretty much all for now. I'm sure I'll have plenty more once I actually put something in here....

06/03/2007, 09:50 AM	#4
Scuba_Steve Premium Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Pooler, Ga Posts: 1,342	glass tops dont let much air in, so oxygen levels are lower than open tops. Personally i recommend cutting a piece of egg crate (light diffuser) to size and use that instead. Your lights are fine for fowlr. If you wanted to start keeping corals the pc would let you keep low light ones. T5 and you could do alot more. Power sweeps are pretty much garbage. I like maxijets with hydor rotators on the end. Koralias would work well too. __________________ 40g DIY AIO. DT Size is 27"x18"x17" SCA-301 skimmer, DIY ATS 4"x4" 1 cube setup, Ocean Revive 120w LED, Quiet One 3000, Jager 150w TBS Rock

06/06/2007, 03:47 PM	#12
jimbo78 Registered Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: miami Posts: 3,099	$6-$7 is what it sells for at all the LFS dowm here in miami __________________ Dive with sharks? Doesn't everyone. Current Tank Info: 60 cube

06/13/2007, 08:41 PM	#18
drummereef Team RC Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: STL Posts: 14,754	I wouldn't use any bio or mechanical media in the Emperor. Just use it for flow and carbon. __________________ -Brett 180g Marineland Starfire In-Wall 278 gallon system

06/20/2007, 08:49 PM	#21
Henry Bowman Reefing since '87 Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Allegheny Mountains of VA Posts: 2,162	Wait a day or so to see how the recent additions are doing. What is / are your tank parameters. pH, alk, Ca, do you have nitrates? Did you acclimate the new additions? (slowly adding tank water to the bag the animals came in?) Your feather duster might not like the high flow areas of your tank. Although I'd recommend against moving sessile animals frequently, I'd move him or readjust any power heads that are pointing directly toward him. My .02 cents......... __________________ Have a good'un Current Tank Info: 90 gl SPS dominant / upgrade in the works

06/03/2007, 12:17 AM	#2
nctommy Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Wilmington, NC Posts: 181	*To Reef Central* First off the top could keep heat in but if it seems to be stable then it maybe ok. Just keep and eye on it. Secondly the flourescent strip would be ok for a fowlr but if you want to upgrade I would upgrade to vho (fowlr) or T5 (possible reef). Thirdly, the power sweeps I have used in the past tend to stop working by themselves. I use Rio seio's in my tank you could get one of the 620 and it would be more than enough for you tank.

06/03/2007, 12:27 AM	#3
Billybeau1 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Dyer, Indiana Posts: 12,010	Also welcome, If you are going to keep fish, a glass top is necessary. Some fish are jumpers. I'd rather deal with the temperature issue than finding one of my fish on the floor in the morning. It happens.

06/03/2007, 01:53 PM	#5
Midus Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 95	Hmmmm, well I'm somewhat convinced to go open top. Turned off the Central air in my house today and the temperature inside the tank rose fairly quickly. Thanks for the advice thus far.

06/03/2007, 05:02 PM	#6
Midus Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 95	Hmmmm, sorry, but I don't know if there is a rule against double posting or not. Please tell me if there is and this will be the last for me. Sigh, I really need patience. Been too anxious to get things started and I'm flip flopping too much XD. My final question for awhile. How many inhabitants would I be able to fit in a tank of this size? I'm more of an intvertebrate person(Love crabs, Snails, Urchin, Shrimp, etc...) and wanted a bit of a ballpark number. Fish wise, I'd be happy with 1 or 2 I guess.... I'm also interested in plants.

06/03/2007, 06:36 PM	#7
sabbath Premium Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Twin City's Mn. Posts: 1,771	I like my tanks topless as well. Better for the light I think. I have a MH and it up about 7" so it stays clean for a while. Nice for just walking up to it and just reach in. You can't beat the MH natural shimmer affect. IMO Look at both, live 1st, I say.

06/03/2007, 11:46 PM	#8
Billybeau1 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Dyer, Indiana Posts: 12,010	Midus, You can post as many times as you want to. As far as your question, I'll give you 2 websites that will guide you though the invertebrate and plant information. They sell invertebrate kits for specific size tanks and recommendations. liveaquaria.com (which is Ds Foster and Smith) and marinedepotlive ( which is Marine Depot) They both have salt water plants too.

06/04/2007, 12:21 AM	#9
Midus Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 95	Thanks. I've been going to liveaquaria for awhile now. Its where I'm planning on getting my LR from. I have another question though. Whats the different between liveaquaria.com and www.etropicals.com?

06/06/2007, 02:28 PM	#10
Midus Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 95	Has anyone bought Live Rock from Jacks Pets and Aquariums before. I just called and found out that they sell it for $6.99 a pound(Is this a good price?). I'm wondering if I should buy from here or order online somewhere. I would prefer not ordering online because I don't really have access to a credit card.

06/06/2007, 03:41 PM	#11
Nabob89 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Boston Posts: 477	I prefer buying all of my LR locally...that way you can pick out the exact pieces that you want in the store, otherwise youre just hoping that the online guys send you good pieces.

06/06/2007, 04:15 PM	#13
GoingPostal Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Minnesota Posts: 1,517	Etropicals only carries carribbean animals. Stuff is cheaper there though. I buy my cleaner crews through them.

06/07/2007, 01:14 PM	#15
Midus Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 95	Thanks for the answers thus far. I really appreciate it. Went to the LFS today. I feel kind of sorry for a lot of the fish there. Most Marine animals were kept in little 5G or below tanks(Even Tangs X<). They sold Live Rock, but only had 2 tanks full and it looked pretty dead(Though it didn't smell). Unsure of whether it was cured or not and the employees weren't much help. Anyways, I picked out one 10lb. piece for now. Thinking of getting more either from here or somewhere else. Anyone ever heard of Pohnpei? My piece game with a clam hitchhiker that I'm sure is long dead...

06/10/2007, 11:55 PM	#16
Midus Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 95	I'm thinking of getting a BTA and Clownfish and some coral. What lighting should I go for. I was thinking of getting 2 or 3 species of mushrooms. Heh, I really need patience. I'm starting to think that I paid for some really expensive base rock. Nothing has shown up thus far. Going to remove a bunch of the CC substrate soon and replace with live sand while adding around 20 more pounds of LR(I have 15 now).

06/13/2007, 07:59 PM	#17
Midus Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 95	Another question. As of now, I have a HOB(Emperor) Filter. I've heard that these are pretty much unneeded since the Live Rock and sand will act as filters and that they do a bit more harm than good(Supposedly at least). Should I get rid of it?

06/13/2007, 10:11 PM	#19
nss9400 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 102	depends on your location but in tampa fl there is a guy that sells good fiji lr for $2.24 a lb plus shipping or if you are close you can go and choose your rock for $1.50 more per lb. you can find them on ebay.

06/20/2007, 08:31 PM	#20
Midus Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 95	I just bought and introduced 5 turbo snails, an emerald crab, and a hawaiian feather duster to my tank(Was this too much at once...:<). Anyways, could anyone tell me how these guys would normally react upon being introduced into a new tank. Two of the snails are stuck together with one hugging the wall. Another 2 are on the wall. The 5th touched the sand then kind of curled up and chilled there for awhile. I haven't seen too much movement yet. I "planted" the feather duster at the base of some of my live rock near the current of the power head in the corner. Its been opening and closing itself every once and awhile(I added some filter food as well). The emerald crab fell on its back. It flipped itself over and ran for the live rock. It found a nice spot and hasn't moved since(Even when I dropped some food). As you can tell, I'm kind of nervous about my first entries to the tank

06/22/2007, 02:05 AM	#22
Midus Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 95	Everything is in the normal range besides Calcium which is a bit low(300ppm). pH is at 8.2. dKH is at around 11. Nitrates are at 5. I didn't acclimate the snails, but I properly did it for both the crab and duster. Anyways, after a day of having them in there all seems to be ok. The snails have moved around a lot. A group of 2 went to one piece of live rock while the other 3 are perched on another. The crab has found a home in a small crevice where he runs to whenever I enter the room. The feather duster seems pretty active. Another question here about lighting. What do I need to use VHO bulbs? I'm fine lighting wise now since I have nothing thats dependent on it, but I'm looking forward to getting mushroom coral in a month or so as well as a BTA. Last edited by Midus; 06/22/2007 at 02:20 AM.

06/22/2007, 02:17 AM	#23
drummereef Team RC Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: STL Posts: 14,754	I'd bump the calcium up a bit with some Kent Turbo Calcium. Use the calculator below to help with dosing. As far as lighting goes, depends on what you want to keep. You do know that you'll have a full blown reef once you introduce your first mushroom, right? Shrooms, softies, polyps, etc are low light corals for the most part. What you don't want to do is limit yourself. If it were me I'd look into a T5 setup. Reef chemicals calculator http://home.comcast.net/~jdieck1/chem_calc3.html __________________ -Brett 180g Marineland Starfire In-Wall 278 gallon system

06/27/2007, 02:11 AM	#24
Midus Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 95	Did what you suggested. My calcium levels are now at about 420ppm. The snails seem fine, though I think that I was a bit overzealous with them and bought too many. I only have around 15 lbs of live Rock. Should I buy dried seaweed to supplement? I see a bunch of algae on the underside of my rocks and the Emerald Crab has taken advantage of it, but they seem pretty lost. Not too worried there though. They're at least searching about. I am a bit worried about the Feather Duster as well. I haven't seen it come out in around 2 to 3 days. My final question concerns when I would be able to add anything else to the tank. I was thinking of getting a Goby of some sort soon(Possibly Goby Pistol Shrimp combo). I don't want to rush though.

07/04/2007, 12:37 AM	#25
Midus Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 95	Well, thanks to everyone who helped me in this topic. Been about a month and a half so far and everything is looking up. I really wish that I had pictures to show you guys. My coralline has been growing pretty rapidly and I'm seeing all types of hitchhikers that I hadn't noticed before as well as various plants that I really can't begin to ID.