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im getting a 29 gallon tank set up from my bro(the 29 gal set up from walmart) and i really want to try saltwater this time because i already have numerous freshwater tanks...i just want to keep it simple..some live rock,maybe some mushroom coral,and a few fish...but i know nothing really about making the water the right amount of salt etc. so i need some help..heres my list of fish id like to have...
1 or a pair of percula clown fish
1 or so neon goby
1 firefish
1 yellowwatchman goby with a pistol shrimp
1 chromide(spelling??)
and maybe one of those really neat psycadelic manderines..

so ne help is very much appreciated because i need it

my budget for this needs to be under 275$..or around that

First, that's to many fish for a 29gal tank. Keep it around 3 total, so long as they are small.

As for salt mix, it depends on the type, I hav eonly used IO and that mixes 1 cup of salt to 2 gals of water, this will give you about 1.024 gravity.

If you want corals, mushrooms are your best choice to start, but you will need more lighting then comes with a stock tank. Try to get 2watts per gal or better, the more light you have the better your corals will be. This is the area you will be spending most of your cash.

You will need 2 powerheads and a heater. I would suggest a HOB filter, but this is not needed. A skimmer is a good idea and should be added as soon as you can get a good one, but your tank will be fine with out it, you will need to do more water changes with out one.

Dont even bother asking about SW tanks at Walmart, they really don't cover that area. You can get your hardware there, but then find a good LFS and get better advice and the rest of your supplies, such as salt and hydrometer.

As for fish, the percula clowns are a good starter fish, they will stay small and provide hours of entertainment.



Dan

Ok, I just saw your budget, corals will be out for now. I would suggest starting with a fish only tank, sand bottom, and a little live rock if you can afford it. Then over time upgrade your tank, add a few pounds of live rock each month until you have a nice pile, then upgrade your lights and start adding a few mushrooms.



Dan

so i can jsut add a few pounds of live rock to get the tank going and then i can add my fish once the tanks cycled and every other month i'll jsut get more live rock?..that sounds good..hmm nething else i shud no

One other thing... Mandarins won't survive without around like 100 lbs of live rock in the system unless you have a way to constantly add copepods to the tank. Their main diet lives in live rock, so it's hard to support one without a lot of rock.

[span class="edited"][Edited by Shinigami 2004-08-05 18:56][/span]

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

Very good point, stay away from the mandrian. most starve.

As for adding the rock, try to not add much more the 5 to 10 pounds at a time, even that might be a bit much for a smaller tank. So if you can get smaller rocks, that would be best. The die off can cause a ammonia spike.

Your best bet is add a few pounds of live rock, then wait until it's cycled. Then add a pair of clowns, if that's what you want. Then wait 4 or 5 months to add more fish. In that time work on your clean up crew, hermits, serpent stars, snails, etc.



Dan