Newbie Starting here!

Okay, here are some of the prices and stuff I was told from one store to start with: (all in canadian funds)

29 Gal tank $299 (Eclipse, with hood, lighting, and biowheel)
40lb sand $40
20lb LR $100
1 bag salt (Red Sea) $20
150W Maineland Deluxe Heater $46

I bet thats not everything you're looking for, but thats all I got written down for now. I'll be going back and back again and again for more and more information. My friends think I'm a freak for going to the LFS 3 times in a week+. Lol!
 
I figured I'd keep all my questions in this one thread then opening several.

The shop next to where I work does custom cabinets. They recently did our kitchen, and bathroom, when we did some renovations. Very small shop, only 2 guys work there, but I seem them on a daily basis. I was thinking instead of buying a stand for my tank, to get him to make me one.

Several reasons, 1) cheaper, 2) custom, 3) see #1.

Also I figure I could get him to make it nice and STRONG. Anything I should maybe mention when getting him to make the cabinet? It will be just a clean and simple 2 door type of table that the tank will sit/fit onto. Nothing on the top or sides.
 
What type of sand are you using? You can use normal sandbox play sand and can get a 50lb bag for only $4 at Home Depo, or if your REAL lucky you can find Southdown which is Aragonite playsand, its the "Holy Grail" of sand and is dirt cheap compared to spending $20 on buying Aragonite live sand. What i did was mix normal playsand with Aragonite live sand and it has been working great.


Also Instant Ocean is a good brand of salt, i tried red sea before and Instant ocean got better results.


But theres 1 thing about Biowheels, they are Nitrate Factories, the Aerobic bacteria eat Ammonia and Nitrites to make Nitrates at a faster rate then the Anerobic bacteria can break down the Nitrates into Nitrogen gas. For fish only a biowheel will be fine if theres enough live rock and good deep sand bed.
 
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I would not plan on having fish in the tank for at least a month after setting it up. You must cycle the tank first, and in a small tank, using any live fish will be a big problem (they'll probably die, and if they don't, you'll end up tearing the tank apart to remove them later).

I really, really think you should look at the fish options before buying a tank. A 29 will limit you to a few fish, in both numbers and in fish selections. Look at what you want to have before getting a tank that imposes those limits.
 
Gealcath:

Haven't picked out a type of sand yet. I'll run by the stores, and see what they recommend and get the brands.

OrionGirl: What do you mean by this?

(they'll probably die, and if they don't, you'll end up tearing the tank apart to remove them later).
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Honestly, what I want to have is a fish/LR setup for now. I'd love to jump into coral, but its not something I know I should be getting into of the bat. I'd rather work slowly and have a fish/LR setup first, then maybe down the road once I save some money get a bigger tank and work from there. I really want to see if this is something I can do (which I'm sure I can! ;))

I'd probably like to have a bunch of LR and maybe a max of 4-5 fish for now. I think that should take up a fair amount of space in the 29g tank with room to breathe for the fish. If 4-5 is too much, I don't mind less.

Of course this is what I'm thinking about right now. I'm taking tons of info into consideration, specially that of all of you.

Thank you again for your help! Much apprecaited!
 
Originally posted by Gealcath
But theres 1 thing about Biowheels, they are Nitrate Factories, the Aerobic bacteria eat Ammonia and Nitrites to make Nitrates at a faster rate then the Anerobic bacteria can break down the Nitrates into Nitrogen gas. For fish only a biowheel will be fine if theres enough live rock and good deep sand bed.
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Thats one question I had. If i'm sticking with fish only, will the biowheel be okay for now? Maybe something I can upgrade down the road?
 
For fish only, a Biowheel is fine as long as you have a DSB and Live rock, or cured live rock. For a reef aquarium, alot of corals and other inverts are very sensitive to Nitrate, in most cases its required to be 0. Most fish and fish only inverts can tolorate nitrate at around 40-80ppms, which is what the average biowheel does. It is possible to get 0 Nitrates using a Biowheel, but is hard to do. With regular water changes it shouldnt be a problem. Another thing high Nitrates does is feeds brown algae (which is considerd undesirable), since Nitrates are essentially plant food.
 
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hi, im a newbi to marine also but have kept freshwater for several years, why dont you get a gift certificate at big als as they ave a big boxing day sale every year you can save yourself 25 % more off your items, say hi to Olena for me(Bob), the cute blonde at the check out, good luck


rob
 
What I meant about them dying is this: many people try cycling SW tanks with damsels. The high toxins experienced during cycling often kill the fish. Should any survive, damsels are very territorial and can be nasty tempered, so are not desirably for a small tank--they will kill other fish. So, they have to be removed and this usually entails tearing the tank apart.

Cycling the tank can take 6 weeks or more, but is a crucial step in having a successful tank.
 
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