Please help me make the most with what I got. (first saltwater attempt!)

[nonstophoops]

I was looking perhaps at this live rock to put in the tank, what do you guys think? http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/hnp/for/2790126895.html

Also I found this light, would it be suitable for hard and soft coral growth? http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/ank/for/2773737089.html

Do you guys think it would be a good deal to offer this guy for some money for just his wet dry filter? Im guessing his light is too big for my 29 gallon tank http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/hnp/for/2748522315.html

Would this be a good idea? http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/ram/for/2771766003.html or this one http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/hnp/for/2750906050.html

Thanks for all your help guys! I really appreciate it and am getting very excited about this project!

Hard to tell from the pictures, but that rock looks like lava rock and other rock that is better for freshwater, I could be wrong.

That light would be ok for softies and some LPS, but not SPS in my mind. Power Compact lighting is sort of an old technology and not very intense which is what our corals need. T5's, LED's, and Metal Halides are really the options.

Wet Dry filters are also old technology and shouldn't be used on saltwater tanks. Rock acts in the same manner without creating tons of nitrates. With that said the bioballs are really the problem, not the "wet dry" itself. If you remove the bioballs and use that as your sump you would be fine.

Both of those overflows are good ideas, but not at those prices. They can be bought cheaper online if you do a bit of research. The 600 gph would be better for the 29 gallon and the 1200 gph better for a 125. The pump you decide to use is what is going to dictate the flow however.

 

[Wiggles92]

The artificial PetCo rock in that ad is pretty terrible anyway; it's really dense and isn't terribly porous, so you need more of it in order to provide enough space for the beneficial bacteria. Going with dry rock from an online vendor such as ReefCleaners.org will cost a little more than that stuff from the ad, but it's also going to be cleaner, more porous, and lighter; these higher quality rocks will certainly look and perform better than the PetCo stuff. You could also order enough for the 125 gallon while you're at it, and you'll thereby get the rock at a reduced price per pound, get free shipping, and ensure that all of the rock will match once you upgrade.

 

[Otherone]

Your gonna get out of it what you put into it -

HOB's will work but their not really ideally designed to handle the corrosive nature of salt + Alk. Your lookin' at 2cups of salt mixed with alk per 4-5 gal of water. Ideally the pumps of choice have the impeller facing horizontally so the water flows across the seal not powered right into it like a missle. I bought a few mag drives used that are at least 15 years old and run like champs, were as the HOB I use to have on the w/c tank had to have calcium scrapped outta the inlet tube every month and the impellers/seal only lasted about 6 mo.

If your NOT gonna use Live rock as your biological filter (F/O tank as suggested by others prior) I'd strongly recommend the use of Bio-balls (125 gal) and Ceramic rings (30 gal) to insure some type of biological filtration, your also probably lookin' at larger volume w/c's probably not a big deal with the 30 but can get more costly with the 125 - to control nitrates. When you make your move to corals get approx. 1/3 rd of the tank full of rock and cycled thru prior to removing the bio-balls and/or rings.

Because lighting is so expensive for photosynthetic organisms like ornimental calms, hosting anemones, and hard corals figure out which direction your eventually gonna take and spend towards it. LEDS are down right super expensive for larger tanks, your probably not gonna be able to use a 30 gal LED to power the 125. Maybe hold off on buying a reef capable lite for the 30 and put the money towards a T5HO for the 125. The T5HO won't carry as much initial expense as MH's but the bulbs will need to be replaced far more frequently like annually or bi-annually. Also T5HO expells less heat meaning you probably wouldn't need a chiller to regulate water temp.

Good news is if you do it right your goin' slow and your in control, no worries, problems arise when you add to frequently without true understanding of your water chemistry - same can be said for freshwater.