Maybe I'll get into SW?
- Thread starter Ambervikings91
- Start date
If your starting from scratch - it's gonna take 6-8 weeks just to cycle the 30 gal.If you go with all dryrock possibly even longer which means your overhead expenses thru this period will be next to nothing if you so choose. We started w/ a 30 gal - 20lbs dry/base rock 10lbs Liverock and barebottomed. The liverock started the cycle and seeded the tank with coraline. We had a marineland powerhead + whisper filter pump w/ no media to move the water and a heater. Because we didn't want unwanted algae we didn't use a light at all thru cycling. Also we only topped off the water in the tank so as to let the gases generate healthy BB. We changed 10% of the water prior to adding the 1st fish (yellow tail damsel) and started using the lights 8 hours daily and then relaxed - let it cycle thru again. Point being, Slow is Good. You can throw tons of money at your new salty and the results will still be the same, the time factor doesn't change by much. So rich or poor you still gotta wait.
After this you have a Saltwater eco-system, you can add-on at your own pace. To start you will need heater, hydrometer, salt mix, some type of pump to move the water, ro/di or dechlorinated tap water, and a saltwater basic test kit. As for number crunching - go to the pet store either online or imperson and add it up. After your cycled thru the maintence isn't that much, changing like 5 gal a week costs like 2-3 bucks in salt.
After this you have a Saltwater eco-system, you can add-on at your own pace. To start you will need heater, hydrometer, salt mix, some type of pump to move the water, ro/di or dechlorinated tap water, and a saltwater basic test kit. As for number crunching - go to the pet store either online or imperson and add it up. After your cycled thru the maintence isn't that much, changing like 5 gal a week costs like 2-3 bucks in salt.
You can do it for cheap with just the basics. Shop around on craigslist and look for deals. Especially if you don't plan on getting any corals. I would set up both tanks if I were you especially if have some of the basics on hand already for the 10 gallon. That way you will have a quarantine/hospital tank all ready to go. If youre trying to save money I would recommend buying your own salt. I use instant ocean reef crystals. If you don't plan on having a reef tank you can just go with the regular salt mix. Instant Ocean works great IMO and your looking to spend about 45$ for the 200 gallon salt mix. So youre looking at less than .25 cents a gallon. Don't pay the extra money for the bucket of salt. You can buy a 10 gallon bucket with a lid and store your salt in there and save some money buying the box of salt. I would also recommend using live rock as it will help with your cycle and also and a nutural bio filter. As everyone said take your time and don't rush things it will save you lots of money in the long run.
yeah, i'm thinking i'll do the 29 gallon instead of the 10 gallon, money is a bit tight right now but the first thing i'll need is a powerhead, so, thats first on the list i suppose
Hydor Koralia makes really good power heads and they're pretty cheap too. You can probably pick one up on craigslist or find one on here even..
if your adding live rock dont skimp,get the best cured rock you can afford,will pay for it's self just in entertainment value watching all the life.poorly cured or non cured live rock will cause more headaches than it's worth and potentally set back cycling weeks
You wont regret switching to salt. I can guarantee that. Get the nicest live rock you can, not cheap LFS rock. Check out premiumaquatics.com I get all my live rock since they are local but they ship. Way cheaper than the LFS rock and its top notch Fiji live rock. Do as much reading as you can so you can weed out the good advice from the bad. If you have specific questions feel free to PM me.
not to scare you but do alot of research and plan stuff out b4 you do anything i have about 1200 into my set up its a 120 gallon tank but still its alot and i dont even have water in it yet. if you have any questions dont be afraid to pm me.
if you want a good filtration unit for a 29 gallon saltwater set up check out the H.O.T magnum by marineland. IMO its the best filter i own that isnt a sump. PetMountain.com has really nice prices and 49 and over is free shipping. also Truaqua.com has some really good products for cheap to i have 4 of there wave makers, the CP12 in my 120 but you could get one and point it at your live rick and that would be enough flow for the whole tank.
