Plans to set up 29g tank

A skimmer is necessary on any tank IMO. Once you see and SMELL what it pulls out of the water you'll never run a tank without one. A Coralife Super Skimmer 65 is a good option for that size tank. I had one on my first reef tank and it worked great. You can pick them up new for around $80. I have 3 fighting conchs in my tank. I'm not sure of the dangerous nature of the species available in the hobby. As for the stars they're pretty safe. They are sensitive to water quality so they should be added once the tank has matured

A side note, I would consider running a sump. It makes life MUCH easier and the tank will look much better.
 
A sump would actually be awesome, however.... I am inheriting the tank from my roommate. I don't have a lot of money to spend so convincing her to give me her tank was a great way to make starting a reef tank more affordable. It is a glass tank and does not currently have a hole in it for the intake, which means that I would have to do an overflow box for the intake. With the number of power outages we have had at our house just in the last year, using an overflow box and a siphon is something that would freak me out. I just don't think it wise. I don't think I could afford a intake system that doesn't implement a siphon. However it is something that I will look into. If you have any other ideas of how to do one let me know. I don't want to risk cracking my tank by trying to drill a hole in the glass or by taking it in and having someone drill the whole... that would shatter my hopes of having a salt water tank for a long while (pun intended). :o)
 
Wrench said:
A skimmer is necessary on any tank IMO. Once you see and SMELL what it pulls out of the water you'll never run a tank without one. A Coralife Super Skimmer 65 is a good option for that size tank. I had one on my first reef tank and it worked great. You can pick them up new for around $80. I have 3 fighting conchs in my tank. I'm not sure of the dangerous nature of the species available in the hobby. As for the stars they're pretty safe. They are sensitive to water quality so they should be added once the tank has matured

A side note, I would consider running a sump. It makes life MUCH easier and the tank will look much better.
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I disagree with that, but hey, we all have different ways...and no, i dont use a skimmer...
 
Fromia SP of seastars are about one of the safest reef stars you can have...Mainly omnivore, they do like small meaty chunks, macro algae..I would not put one in the tank straight away, as there will be a real lack of "natural" food. Supplimenting its diet with small meaty chunks of clam is good..

Niko
 
atnixon said:
Fromia SP of seastars are about one of the safest reef stars you can have...Mainly omnivore, they do like small meaty chunks, macro algae..I would not put one in the tank straight away, as there will be a real lack of "natural" food. Supplimenting its diet with small meaty chunks of clam is good..

Niko
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Just want to make sure I'm not interpreting this incorrectly... the star will not munch on a clam if we put a live one in the tank, but will eat prepared chunks of clam, yes? Or would it snack on the clam?
 
Grins said:
I'd recommend against getting the catalina goby as they like a cooler temp.
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I hadn't realized they liked cooler water until I went and read more about them after reading your post. Thanks for the catch! :D

This might be a dumb question... actually, it is a dumb question, since there are so many variables included, but I'll ask it anyway. As a general guide, what is a "normal" temperature range for a mostly FOWLR tank, given the ideas for stocking we've been playing with, and with the potential to add a few plate corals, the clam discussed earlier, and perhaps some other relatively easy to care for coral? Liveaquaria.com seems to recommend 72-78 degrees farenheit for most of the fish we selected, but I'm prone to not necessarily trust what I read on their site.



Just a minor note for those following this thread, the sw tank may have been placed in the express lane... we got the tank cleaned out last night, and are working on cleaning the stand and placement tonight. :-)
 
atnixon said:
I disagree with that, but hey, we all have different ways...and no, i dont use a skimmer...[/QUOTE
Yep, many roads to get to the same place. I used to never use a skimmer but when I switched over to the dark side I noticed improvements in every aspect of my tank. Different strokes I guess.
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Wrench said:
Yep, many roads to get to the same place. I used to never use a skimmer but when I switched over to the dark side I noticed improvements in every aspect of my tank. Different strokes I guess.
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Ok, another dumb question... what exactly does a protein skimmer do? I know that its a form of filtration, but beyond that, I haven't the feintest clue....
 
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