another annoying newbie question(s)

[GolemGrizzle]

Ive been raising freshwater fish for many years and I now think Im ready to enter into saltwater, except it seems VERY daunting, any info pertaining would be greatly appreciated. I want to use a spare 29g tank for my first saltwater setup. Ive read over many FAQs on saltwater and it is very confusing. Exactly what equipment do I need powerhead, protien skimmer, ect. and what kind of fish would be good for a 29g?

[fishboy]

Yes, you are correct on the equipment part..........only that you will need live rock ;D



Good fish for 29 gal would be like clowns, damsels, an maybe some Pygmy angels would work here is a compatiblity chart i found at http://www.thepetstop.com/fish_shop/chart.html and a place to buy some of the things you will need such as protein skimmers, filter,heater,live rock,ect. ;D

HTH ;D

GOOD LUCK
Daniel ;D

[Fish Monger]

Get a good book too.  You'll need to learn about things like specific gravity.  I can suggest a good skimmer for a tank that size... the CPR BakPak.  I had one, and it worked great.

You'll need some live rock/sand too.  Pretty expensive, 4 - 5 bucks a pound for the rock!  SW is expensive, and frustrating, but if you are patient (as I wasn't) you can have a BEAUTIFUL tank.

There's others here who could help you alot more than I can.

[fishboy]

Ahhhhh i forgot about the specific gravity meter thing :-[ ;D

[Wile E. Coyote]

Oh yes,books are our friends!!

Man, I remember some of my newbie questions. :

Keep on asking, thats how we learn.

[dattack]

For Reef setup
1. *Aragonite sand: *You can get this at home depot in certain states (mostly in the East) for $4 for a 50 lb bag. *Otherwise they usually cost 1$/lb here in the west. *You need to have a 6 inch layer of sand for it to be effective. *Being effective means for bacteria to grow. *If you have this much sand in your tank, you possibly won't need a filter at all unless you put a lot of fish. *I don't have a filter and my nitrates are 0 with the sand. *But you need to seed with live sand: *they sell this in a bag at the LFS or you can get some live sand from someone who owns a saltwater tank because the sand becomes live after awhile. *Live as in full of good beneficial bacteria.
2. *Get a skimmer. *The best one you can afford. *
3. *Get salt water.
4. *Get some live rock: *about 1lb per gallon.

You can cycle a tank without fish if you have enough rock.

For Fish only tank setup:
1. *Get sand (should be aragonite). *Crush coral and other sands may contain silica and can cause algae blooms.
2. *Skimmer
3. *Possibly a some live rock
4. *Saltwater.
5. *Filtration (canister or wet/dry).

You can cycle with some damsels or dead shrimp or do a fishless cycle if you have enough rocks.

The most hardy fish is by far the damsels. *They only cost a couple of bucks and they are equivalent to the goldfish of freshwater. *They are very common.