FOWLR 29?

[toddnbecka]

So, I have a spare 29 with a standard FL hood and stand sitting around. How much time, trouble, and expense would it be to set it up to maintain a few damsels and shrimp ( and/or random inverts hitchiking on the live rock)?
Assuming it won't break my budget, what would be the best timetable for establishing and maintaining it?

 

[TropicalNorth]

The actual epxense can vary a lot on any system, there are lots of variables.
There are ways to save money.
Firstly try and get secondhand equipment, if you chose carefully and spend some time waiting for the right thing to come up you can save a tonne of money.
Secondly you can start off with a small amount of live rock, and a larger amount of baserock. Baserock isn't live but it is cheaper and given time the live rock will seed it and turn it into live rock.

Basically if your looking to save money it will take longer.
The most amount of effort will go on research, do lots of reading on cycling and water parameters (salinity, KH, ph, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate).

If you don't want corals then you can use any light you want.

I would recommend getting all your equipment first (powerheads, heater, skimmer, test kits including a hydrometer and salt). Then set the tank up with equipment, substrate and water. Then add baserock and live rock. Then wait 4 - 8 weeks for the cycle to complete.

 

[toddnbecka]

Hardware I have some of, been keeping FW tanks most of my life. After seeing the Sulawesi shrimp I waited to see how difficult they are to maintain/breed in aquariums. Then it occured to me; I really like the SW shrimp better, not least of all because they're big enough to see without leaving noseprints on the tank.
I get the impression that SW parameters neeed to be maintained very rigidly, and inverts are more delicate than fish. I figured a few damsels would be a good start to help establish the tank, then a few months later it would be ready for shrimp.
I'm not looking to build a reef tank or house a moray eel, just prepare and maintain a tank suitable for some coral shrimp.

 

[TropicalNorth]

You are right SW parameters should be kept within a smaller range than FW. There's also salinity and calcium to check for, and alkalinity is more important.

I've found the best way to get paramaters good and stable is to set the tank up then keep testing for a few weeks until you're confident everything is remaining stable.

I have a CBS (Coral Banded Shrimp). Great little character. As far as water parameters go they are no more sensitive, in my experience, than fish but unlike fish they can't handle copper or a low salinity. They also require a slightly longer acclimitisation than fish. You should also look up Mantis Shrimp, they make great personable pets but can't be kept with other crustaceans. I'm not sure about the compatibility of damsels and some shrimp, may not work. If you just want shrimp then you can just set the tank up, get it cycled and stable then add the shrimp. As long as its set-up properly the shrimp can be the first inhabitants.

Your not going to need any fancy equipment really, just powerheads for water movement and a skimmer for filtration. The skimmer isn't essential but it does mean you can do smaller water changes, and the cost of salt can add up.

If you can get secondhand stuff it shouldn't cost anymore than a freshwater set-up really.