Glocks 29 Gal. (First Try at Salt)

[Glockafella]

Ok forgive me for some of the poor equipment...lol

29 Gal. AGA
Black AGA stand

30'' Coralife Lunar PC 65WX2 w/ 2 1W LEDs
Versa-top hood

SeaClone 100 Skimmer(I know, I know...)
AquaClear 110 PowerFilter(Full of bioglass)

Hydor Koralia #2
100W heater(Set at 80F, tank runs 82F)

40 lbs(3-4 inches) Livesand
20 lbs Marshall Is. Live rock

3 Blue-green chromis
2 True Perc. Clowns
1 Spotted(pajama) Cardnal

1 Pacific Scarlett Clear Shrimp
1 Turbo Snail

2 Hammer corals(on rock)
1 leather finger coral (in sand)

small feather dusters all over the rock AND FLATWORMS! don't forget them! lol

Ammonia = 0 ppm
Nitrite = 0 ppm
Nitrate = 10-20 ppm
PH = 8.2
Alkalinity = 8 dKH

[luvmylo]

IMO your best move would be to lose the power filter. The seaclone isn't a very good skimmer but on a 29 it may do ok. Just make sure do you frequent water changes. 3 gal isn't very much to do. Also make sure you keep on top of the evap. Small tank means you can have some serious problems with salinity rising in small tank. We need pics=)

[luvmylo]

Also I would probably try not to add anymore fish to a system that small.

[Glockafella]

Yeah I'll borrow a dig cam from someone soon...

I have been doing 3 gal. water changes weekly.

My evap is minimal...This tank is sealed up pretty well.

and the tank is overstocked bigtime...but the chromis days are numbered. My percs are very young...maybe one inch and they have gotten aggressive when anyone gets near the hammers.

[dannyjames]

I'd lower your tank temp to 77 - 79. 82 is a little high and will cause algae blooms. This in itself wouldn't be an issue if you had a clean up crew, but one turbo snail and no crabs means there's a lot of detritous not get eaten.

IMHO i would get 10 hermits and another 5 turbos. They don't add to the bio-load at all and will clean up all the nasty stuff for you.

The sand bed is very very deep. Is this deliberate to create anaerobic (spelling?) areas to help dissipate nitrates? If so, cool. If not, be careful. I had a deep bed once and it harboured all sorts of grim stuff.

And don't stress about poor equipment. If they do the job, why does it matter? My wife never complains... (not true)

[luvmylo]

77-79 is an ideal temp but....... sometimes not easy to keep it that low. Mine hovers around 82 and there's no algae in my tank to speak of other than coraline. turbo snails work well but knock everything over. astrea snails seem to work around the coral a little better IMO. If you don't like hermits you can always us nassarius snails. They work pretty good too. The bio-glass can go also. You don't need it with the live rock. The Marshall IS. Stuff is pretty porous and works well

[Glockafella]

thanks guys...I really appreciate the input! other then book knowledge and fresh water exp., I am a complete newb to this salty stuff. I have nobody to come to but yall on all info and questions.

I had 2 turbos but there just isnt enough algae...My one GIANT turbo keeps my tank and rock pristine. YES he is clumbsy and knocks around my hammers causeing then to puke mucus...but I am checking on this tank every hour, unless im at work. so I get it fixed fast.

I am going to go ahead and work my temp back down to 78-79 slowly starting mon.

I am probably going to trade off one chromis and my sptted cardnal for a watchman goby soon to help keep my sand clean...even though its pretty white and doesnt look bad now(pretty good circulation)

Hopefully pics coming soon...I know this thread is probably sucking big time without a pic or two to snicker at. lol

Thanks again everyone!

[Glockafella]

oh and BTW I will show you what a modded sea clone can pull from a 29...pretty dark green nasty stuff! I think its good enough...you guys can be the judge when I get pics posted.

And my DSB is for helping dissipate nitrates, also a PH buffer.

My next tank I want to go BB and use a berlin style set up for sure.

[jgordie]

how did you mod your seaclone? I have the 150 and some days it pulls off almost 1/2 cup and other days I get nothing. It should be pulling more b/c I have a big bio load and its not.

[luvmylo]

jgordie, put an airstone down in there, and cut the little tube inside the collection cup about 1/2 inch or so. it worked better for me but my system is loaded pretty good so I needed something to move more water. They work fine on smaller systems.

[Glockafella]

how big is your tank gordie?

when i first started running mine it would not collect anything...now i get a good 1/2 inch of sludge every day or so. SeaClones work better dirty from my experience. If I clean the cup and insides it wont skim well for a week. Not that I never clean it...but just noticing this.

If you are running a large skimmer like a 150 or even a 100 on a small tank you wont always get good consistant skimming from a seaclone.

set the air regulator all the way down so that you get nothing but water then turn it out until you get a large bubble or air gap on the top of the tube going down into the skimmer from the maxijet...then turn it slowly until you first start to see the bubble or air gap disappear...you will learn to hear the "sweet spot" on it and that spot on the regulator is where I get my best skimming. hope this helps u out

google: "seaclone skimmer mods"

[dannyjames]

Originally Posted by Glockafella

when i first started running mine it would not collect anything...

That's because when you first set up a tank, the water is clean and so there's nothing to skim. Skimmers are very difficult to get right when you first start a marine set up. They take constant attention until they are consistently doing the job.

This is why I use Miracle Mud and Caulerpa. Much less hassle.

[Glockafella]

well i bought a new heater today...100W Stealth...theres no light or anything on these to let me know its working or not?

anyways...I am working my temp back down 1 degree every 3 hours.

[luvmylo]

if the stealth don't work for you get a won bros titanium. it has an external thermostat and light.

[Glockafella]

i didnt buy that one because i read it wasnt very good...from what i have read stealth is most reliable.


I got it down to 78 and am going to stop at 77...