my very first reef tank 29gallon

[Tx Medic]

Hey folks im new to saltwater after having freshwater for quite some time. I have 29 gallon with 25lbs of live rock about 2in sand bed and two powerheads. I also have a aquaclear 50 hob that I was planning on using to run chemical filtration so I dont have to buy a reactor of any sort. I also have 1 aquatic life dual lamp t-5 ho fixture with one actinic and one 10000k bulb, I will be getting another soon. The tank has been running for 5 weeks now everything is zero except trace amounts of nitrate. I am using kent marine reef salt and my salinity is 1.026 temp 79 and constant my ph is 8.0 I will need to use a buffer to get it up a little more. And yes I did use rodi water not tap. I just added one ocellaris and some radioactive zoas a week ago, parameters did not change I added a firefish yesterday and a montipora frag that waa given to me and will most likely be rehomed quickly necause i dont think i have the light nor experience for it. So far all seems to be well. I am going to add another ocellaris in two weeks or so if everything keeps going well. I do want to keep some softies and later on some lps corals.

 

[Tx Medic]

I'm open to any advice please feel free.

 

[NanaReefer]

Only advise I can give you is....never use a PH buffer! Don't chase your PH at all. As long as it's kept within the acceptable levels, you've no worries. 8.0 is fine

Otherwise your off to a great start and it looks awesome!

 

[Pete polyp]

Nice to see another 29 out there

Nana gave you some great advice, and I wouldn't worry about Ph unless its under 7.6 and never over 7.8. Try pointing your powerhead towards the surface for more agitation and see if it won't come up a little. Looking good so far :thumbup:

 

[Tx Medic]

Diatom started showing up again yesterday, im guessing its because of the rise in nutrience from adding my fish.

 

[Pete polyp]

No, diatoms are caused by silica.

 

[Tx Medic]

Alright no ph buffer, algea is gone and everything is testing great. Was wondering if a neon goby and a goby pistol shrimp combo could be house in my tank or if it would just be too small for the neon and another goby.

 

[Pete polyp]

I had a watchman, pistol pair in mine along with 1 ocellaris clown and 1 bicolor blenny. The died in an accident and the watchman is still there. You should be fine

 

[Tx Medic]

Just tested everything I have to test with PH 8.2, Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 0, Calcium 120mg/L, KH 8. Im guess my calcium I low because I haven't done a water change at all yet but I will when my nitrates start rising. Will I need to dose anything if I want to keep mostly softies, LPS, and one or two SPS later?

 

[Pete polyp]

That calcium reading doesn't sound right. Maybe get a second opinion on that. What are you using to test with? You don't really have to dose anything if you can keep the parameters within the recommended ranges. Dosing comes into play when you have a large consumption that you will have to supplement between water changes

Here's a good list of recommended parameters

 

[clownfitch]

As far as the monti. You would be surprised of the different lighting conditions they will thrive under. I would keep it in there and watch it grow out if I were you. I've grown monti in my softie predominant biocube with the pc lighting. Its also a good coral to learn with.

 

[NanaReefer]

Neon Goby's do not form symbiotic relationships with pistol shrimps.

 

[Naiad]

Just be sure to get a compatible pistol shrimp. Not all are really reef safe.

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

Looking good!

 

[Tx Medic]

wasn't trying to get the neon to pair up with a shrimp was asking if it would be possible to have room for a combo

 

[Tx Medic]

Just retested my calcium correctly and its at 440. Im using api test kits for everything

 

[prsnlty]

Congrats on the tank and welcome to R2R!

Advice? Get better test kits such as Red Sea Foundation. Go slow with everything. Patience truly is a virtue

 

[Tx Medic]

Everything is looking great im looking at getting a red sea testing kit soon and I have a hydor nano skimmer im setting up now. Just ordered some turbo snails and astrea snails to combat some hair algea and improve my cleanup crew.

 

[Tx Medic]

I ordered some more snails and a hammer coral form saltwaterfish.com today and ordered some reefsaver dry rock from bulkreefsupply.com. Ive started to get small amounts of hair algea on one of my rocks and im hoping a couple turbo snails will take care of it.

 

[Nicks0912]

I'm not for sure, but I think that you would have to introduce both clowns to the tank at the same time. The first one that you already put in might be aggressive towards the new clown since that tank is pretty much its territory. I may be wrong, but that's what I've been told.