salt newbie 1

[eman91]

How long have you had the rock and damsels in the tank.

[saltier]

Hello peoples, I am new to the marine aquarium life but have worked fresh water tanks for several years. I converted my 29gal over to salt a few weeks ago and have gotten some pretty good advice from my aquariumist friends here in San Antonio. Right now I am running a 29 gal long (12x12.5x30) with a penguin filter (same one that I was using for the fresh water) and a heater. I was told I did not need a skimmer nor a power head for a tank as small as mine ????? I used live sand and salt, I bought a beautiful rock to place inside and I am housing 8 damsels to get the tank cycling. I have been on top of my salinity as well as the spec. gravity and they are all within proper ranges. I had some yellow algae start to grow and was told to get it off asap so I did (no other algae has started to grow as of yet). I do not have any invertebrates or coral but want some, just not sure when to add them nor how long my tank must "cycle", and when will I know when it is finished this cycle? Like I said newbie here and desire to know how to do this the right way and was told the guys here at MAAST were the best.....Any help?:hypnotyized:

[saltier]

The rock 2 weeks and the damsels a week.

[eman91]

First i would say thats too many damsels for that size of a tank. The usual cycle time of uncured rock is about 4-6 weeks, then add damsels. But since you already added the damsels just wait a couple more weeks to see how well they do. Wait at least 2 weeks then check your amonia nitrates nitrites pH and salinity, if everything checks out then i would say it would be good to get some inverts appropriate to your tank.

[blindside]

Why wouldn't you need a skimmer or a power head?

[JimD]

Did you ever treat your freshwater tank using any copper based medications while using the Penguin filter? Need to know this before we can proceed. Skimmers to remove organics and powerheads for water movement are always beneficial to any size tank...

[Kristy]

Oh wow, please do not add any more livestock or any inverts or corals to this tank. There are several problems with this current setup and you need to stop and read quite a bit before you proceed further. Tank has not had adequate time to cycle. Are you testing for ammonia / nitrites / nitrates? That's the only way to really know when your cycle is diminished and it's ok to start adding livestock. There is PLENTY of reading to do on this site and others about cycling a new tank.

Not sure why anyone would recommend not having a skimmer or powerhead for a 29g, that's a recipe for disaster in my opinion.

That's all I have time to comment on right now but I'm hoping several others will chime in with some tips. Please take the time to read wetwebmedia for some basics and ask any specific questions you have here on MAAST. I'll check back in later to offer more tips.

PS: I have a 20g that is VERY heavily stocked and it has fewer fish than you have, that were added gradually to a stable system, and we put a small skimmer on it as well as a ridiculous amount of flow. I am serious about the several different problem areas in your intro. If you slow down now, you can correct things and get on track before more money and animal lives are lost in vain.

[Big_Pun]

i think you need backup a lil, too many fish i only have 2 in my 12g nano and a good clean up crew. i started with a tank that was established for a yr but only had about 4 pounds of rock. i added 10 more pounds and that took another 4 weeks to cure and about a total of 2 months to fully cure. as for power heads ide get one, water movement is key ,my coral love it, that i added a lil more flow over the factory pump. plus i think flow keeps algae from collecting on the sand.one more thing i added a skimmer which also helped, along with water changes.

[saltier]

Eman91, thank you for that info!!

Blindside, I am not sure thats just the info I was given, thats why I am here to get good instructions.

Jim D, no I did not at anytime.

Kristy thank you for your input as well! The ammonia / nitrites / nitrates are all within ranges and the fish are still juvenile, I can reduce the number if needed without a problem. So if I read you right the only thing I have been missinformed on and am neglegent in is not having a skimmer and a powerhead and that I have more fish than the tank size can house?

[saltier]

stangchris, thanks for your input as well, that is good knowledge.

[saltier]

Are there places on this site where accessories can be purchased?

[JimD]

Yep!
http://www.maast.org/modules/Sponsors/index.php

[Big_Pun]

no problem only way to learn is to ask, good luck with everthing

[Kristy]

Okay, my greatest concern was that you had not finished cycling the system. The information was still split between two different threads (thank you for fixing that, Jim?) and I was trying to read the timeline then go back and respond on a different thread, etc. Glad to hear your ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates are all within "normal limits," but did you ever see a spike in ammonia, followed by the spike in nitrites, followed by the rise in nitrates? That's what indicates that you have completed the cycle.

Other than that, yes, I would think the powerhead and skimmer issue is one you might want to ask around for more opinions about, because no one else is going to recommend going without the two of those on your setup. You need the flow in the water to keep detritus from building up and you need to oxygenate the water with some movement. The skimmer will help remove excess proteins and waste.

Still think that 8 damsels is a heavy bioload for a new 29g system, but it's also too many damsels in other ways. Most end up regretting the damsels purchase because they won't be able to add any other of the beautiful and gentle reefsafe fishes appropriate for this tank because the damsels are mean and territorial and will harass and kill whatever new you might want to add later on.

Welcome to MAAST! Coming here seems to be the best piece of advice that you were given! We all made lots of beginner mistakes and will be the first ones to admit it, so please ask away if you have any questions or need anything explained. All the good and very knowledgeable folks here will be happy to offer their best insight to further this hobby we all love.

[saltier]

Kristy....you rock!!! I have not seen those spikes yet so I will keep them monitored closely. I have a place to resale my damsels when I get the tank properly set. Thank you for all your help and assistance, I have been looking online for an inexpensive skimmer and a power head. I wanted to start small so I can actually see just how extensive the process of operating a marine environment can be. My desire is to operate a 55 gal Hawaiian reef with only fish, coral and invertebrates indigenous to that area as I lived there for 6yrs.

[Kristy]

Hey, thanks for noticing that I rock :)!

Keep checking your levels daily. An ammonia spike will kill those fish, which is not cool, even for damsels. Better idea to get rid of them now.

There have been lots of new and gently used Koralia powerheads in the "for sale" forum the past few days, so I'd recommend you check there. Koralias are inexpensive and convenient powerheads and a good option for you. Your 29g would do well with a K#2 or even a #3 probably (anybody with a 29g cube want to offer up what size they would recommend?). We tend to overkill on flow, and had 2 K#2's on our 20g hex in order to point one up to agitate the surface water, good oxygenation and keeps pH up then one pointed more downward and bouncing off the front glass to diffuse flow throughout the tank. Worked well for us, but considered overkill by most.

You cannot post in the for sale forums until you have had 50 posts or pay the $25 for a charter membership, but if you want to buy something in the for sale forums, you can just send the seller a pm about it.

There are also some hang-on-back skimmers and other inexpensive skimmers to look at in the for sale threads. Cannot recall if you have a sump to put a skimmer in, but if not, the hang-on-back (or HOB) is a good option for you.

[vman181]

Hey, thanks for noticing that I rock :)!

Keep checking your levels daily. An ammonia spike will kill those fish, which is not cool, even for damsels. Better idea to get rid of them now.

I second on get rid of the Damsels now. You don't need them to start a cycle or to help it. Your tank will do it on its own over the 4 to 6 weeks. Just keep checking your water a few times a week. You'll see the change.

[saltier]

Thanks vman

[Bill S]

I second the skimmer (I have a CPR bakpak on my 55), and powerheads. By now, you should see something - ammonia, nitrites or nitrates. If you haven't, you might have a bad test kit. With that stocking level, you pretty much HAVE to have something.

[saltier]

Ok peoples!!! Just got a maxi-jet 600 powerhead and my skimmer is enroute! I purchased Kent marine "purple Tech" to assist with purple coralline and green calcareous micro algae and dropped down to just 5 damsels. So far things are looking good, so how long after I put the powerhead on should I test my water? And can I or should I check it during the time frame (over whatever the period of time for the purple tech to work) I am adding the purple tech?