29g SW Tank Plan

[Nooooooooob1]

You have a great plan, but one I think I want to warn you about is the risks of live rock. Wherever you get it from, very carefully inspect it for pests before putting it in your tank. Once they're in your tank, there's virtually no getting it all out for a lot of them. This is why I prefer to go with dead dry rock and take the extra time to let it establish itself. But if you have a trusted, clean source, then you will be ok!

 

[Erin O]

You have a great plan, but one I think I want to warn you about is the risks of live rock. Wherever you get it from, very carefully inspect it for pests before putting it in your tank. Once they're in your tank, there's virtually no getting it all out for a lot of them. This is why I prefer to go with dead dry rock and take the extra time to let it establish itself. But if you have a trusted, clean source, then you will be ok!

I am starting to lean towards dry rock instead, especially since I need to QT my crabs, shimp and snails for such a long time. Would you suggest live sand? Bacteria in a bottle? Should I feed my tank, or is it acceptable to add pure ammonia? (I have seen using ammonia as an option for cycling, but I couldn't tell if it is a commonly used method)

 

[Nooooooooob1]

I am starting to lean towards dry rock instead, especially since I need to QT my crabs, shimp and snails for such a long time. Would you suggest live sand? Bacteria in a bottle? Should I feed my tank, or is it acceptable to add pure ammonia? (I have seen using ammonia as an option for cycling, but I couldn't tell if it is a commonly used method)

Yeah you could use live sand. For example, to keep costs down in my tank, I went with 80lbs of dead dry sand and then 20 lbs of live sand to seed the bacteria. Then I dropped in a piece of raw shrimp and dosed a bottle of bacteria for a week. Things took off after that. You could use the pure ammonia in place of the shrimp if you want though. I would pick one or the other. Raw shrimp or pure ammonia or ghost feed.

 

[Erin O]

Yeah you could use live sand. For example, to keep costs down in my tank, I went with 80lbs of dead dry sand and then 20 lbs of live sand to seed the bacteria. Then I dropped in a piece of raw shrimp and dosed a bottle of bacteria for a week. Things took off after that. You could use the pure ammonia in place of the shrimp if you want though. I would pick one or the other. Raw shrimp or pure ammonia or ghost feed.

Thank you! I'll probably just do the ammonia. That way I have more control over the cycle. Do you have a suggestion as to how much sand I should use?

 

[Nooooooooob1]

Thank you! I'll probably just do the ammonia. That way I have more control over the cycle. Do you have a suggestion as to how much sand I should use?

No problem! You'll most likely need more than 20 lbs but less than 40. I would buy two 20 lb bags and you'll probably end up using 1.5 of them.

Live sand usually comes in 20 lb bags, dry sand in 40 lb bags.

 

[BeejReef]

You can use established live rock to, more or less, insta-cycle your quarantine tank. You still want to watch it and test it to be sure. Those seachem ammonia badges are pretty standard.

The live v dry rock debate is a real trade off. Your tank will mature and develop a LOT faster if started with even 20% live rock. Anecdotally, seems like a lot less of a struggle with some early common issues like cyano and dinos as well. On the other hand, hitchhikers aren't a made up concern. I was less than discriminating with the rock I started with and have a little bubble algae and a few aptasia.

The tank itself looks like it's 2yo though (corals aside). Covered in coraline and all sorts of snails I didn't buy breeding like crazy... sponges, a few bristle worms, spaghetti worms, feather dusters, and... yeah, a few vermetids as well.

In my Very Humble opinion, a brand new aquarist (and I'm basically talking about me) has almost zero chance of keeping some of these common pests out of the tank the first go round anyhow. Even with a coral qt, you just don't know what you're looking at IF you even manage to see it.

 

[Magellan]

I used Dr Tims for bacteria and 20lbs of CaribSea live sand. I don’t have ANY harmful/aggressive pests. (Never put LR in my tank).

To double down on that: every time I have purchased a coral that was fragged on LR, it’s come with some sort of hitchhiker. (Fortunately neutral ones!). My most annoying place in the tank is some pesky GHA that came in on a piece of LR that my mini zoas were on. (Only grows there!) My ricordea mushroom has this little white star polyp. Goni came with pineapple sponges. I iodine dipped everything, but BeeJReef is right it’s essentially impossible to keep your tank completely sanitary.

 

[Erin O]

Thanks to everybody for your advice so far! You've been so helpful!
Where can I find a list and pics of the different kinds of Watchman Gobys? Are there any that would not be suitable for my tank?