Hey guys! I have a 29 gallon saltwater tank that is close to being cycled. I’m running a Penguin Marineland 75 filter, an Aqueon 100 watt heater, a SeaClone 100 protein skimmer, a 660gph Hydor circ pump and a Current Marine light. I’m just wondering if y’all have suggestions on equipment upgrades or if what I’m running will be good, etc. I do plan on keeping corals in the future when the tank is ready for them. Any advice, tips, etc. is greatly appreciated and thanks in advance!
Suggestions/Advice for Newbie
- Thread starter Blakelee94
- Start date
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ZoWhat
10K Club member
FILTRATION:
* Penguin Marineland 75 filter is NOT needed in saltwater applications. Any mechanical filter, like canisters....only TRAP organics and cause spikes in Nitrates that will kill sensitive saltwater fish and coral.
* invest in a skimmer that rated TWICE what your water volume is. Skimmers pull out organics BUT also OXYGENATE that saltwater by maxing the O2 avail to fish and coral. Think of a skimmer as a MASSIVE AIRSTONE oxygenating your saltwater
LIGHTING:
* depending how crazy you want to go into corals...meaning spending $200-$400 on some corals, lighting is one of the most important factors in keeping & growing corals. Corals are separated into different categories based on where they THRIVE naturally in a reef. The DEEPER the coral thrives in nature the less White (10kelvin, 12kelvin, 14kelvin) it needs. In fact, deep water corals will suffer if placed in high "white" lights. I would say "deepwater corals" are corals that thrive in nature at 20ft and deeper. The opposite are corals that thrive in shallow 5ft of water, they require a ton of "white" light.
* highly highly highly suggest you DONT buy any expensive corals until your tank is 12mos old. it takes a year for a tank to build up thousand of chemical processes with chemicals bonding, unbonding, gases being released.... a mature tank has gone thru all those chemical processes a few times and is mature enough and stable emough to try more expensive corals
SALT:
* what salt you are using makes a HUGE difference in growth and color of your corals. Three main elements to look for in a great salt: Calcium (at 450-500ppm) Alkalinity a.k.a. carbonate (at a dKH no higher than 10-11), Magnesium (at around 1500ppm)
* personally I wouldnt use a salt that wasnt engineered for reef corals.
Best choices are (in no particular order):
Red Sea Coral Pro,
IO Reef Crystals,
Tropic Marin,
Seachem Reef,
Frtiz RPM,
Brightwell
.....any salt that SPECIFICALLY talks about corals in their marketing-pitch on the container itself.
TESTING:
* if youre going to keep corals you need to regualry test the water. You test for elements: Calcium, Carbonate and Magnesium. You test for toxins that kills stuff: Nitrates (no3) and Phosphates (po4)
* Basically two mainstream testing supplies: Salifert and RedSea
* EXTREMELY important you can a consistent salinity in your water. Its the amount of salt/sodium. Acceptable range is 1.022 to 1.026. Above or below that range you will get in trouble. DO NOT buy a swimgarm to test salinity, they will fail you saying its 1.025 but its really 1.031 or smgth bc they develop "memory". GET A REFRACTOMETER. BulkReefSupply.com sells a professional one for like $35
HTH
* Penguin Marineland 75 filter is NOT needed in saltwater applications. Any mechanical filter, like canisters....only TRAP organics and cause spikes in Nitrates that will kill sensitive saltwater fish and coral.
* invest in a skimmer that rated TWICE what your water volume is. Skimmers pull out organics BUT also OXYGENATE that saltwater by maxing the O2 avail to fish and coral. Think of a skimmer as a MASSIVE AIRSTONE oxygenating your saltwater
LIGHTING:
* depending how crazy you want to go into corals...meaning spending $200-$400 on some corals, lighting is one of the most important factors in keeping & growing corals. Corals are separated into different categories based on where they THRIVE naturally in a reef. The DEEPER the coral thrives in nature the less White (10kelvin, 12kelvin, 14kelvin) it needs. In fact, deep water corals will suffer if placed in high "white" lights. I would say "deepwater corals" are corals that thrive in nature at 20ft and deeper. The opposite are corals that thrive in shallow 5ft of water, they require a ton of "white" light.
* highly highly highly suggest you DONT buy any expensive corals until your tank is 12mos old. it takes a year for a tank to build up thousand of chemical processes with chemicals bonding, unbonding, gases being released.... a mature tank has gone thru all those chemical processes a few times and is mature enough and stable emough to try more expensive corals
SALT:
* what salt you are using makes a HUGE difference in growth and color of your corals. Three main elements to look for in a great salt: Calcium (at 450-500ppm) Alkalinity a.k.a. carbonate (at a dKH no higher than 10-11), Magnesium (at around 1500ppm)
* personally I wouldnt use a salt that wasnt engineered for reef corals.
Best choices are (in no particular order):
Red Sea Coral Pro,
IO Reef Crystals,
Tropic Marin,
Seachem Reef,
Frtiz RPM,
Brightwell
.....any salt that SPECIFICALLY talks about corals in their marketing-pitch on the container itself.
TESTING:
* if youre going to keep corals you need to regualry test the water. You test for elements: Calcium, Carbonate and Magnesium. You test for toxins that kills stuff: Nitrates (no3) and Phosphates (po4)
* Basically two mainstream testing supplies: Salifert and RedSea
* EXTREMELY important you can a consistent salinity in your water. Its the amount of salt/sodium. Acceptable range is 1.022 to 1.026. Above or below that range you will get in trouble. DO NOT buy a swimgarm to test salinity, they will fail you saying its 1.025 but its really 1.031 or smgth bc they develop "memory". GET A REFRACTOMETER. BulkReefSupply.com sells a professional one for like $35
HTH
Last edited:
Greybeard
2500 Club Member
I've run systems very similar to yours in the past. As long as you stay with soft corals, zoanthids, palythoa, leathers, etc... you'll likely be fine. Change filter pads in your Penguin often, and try and keep that Seaclone adjusted so that it's skimming (which can be a challenge!).
Current Marine.. I'm assuming Current USA? If so, they make a variety of lights. Some are capable of keeping corals healthy, some are not. Their Orbit marine LED isn't bad, though I'd not choose that light if I were wanting to keep the more light loving varieties of corals.
The HOB penguin is more typical of a fish only system. This sort of filter isn't generally recommended for reef systems, but for corals that don't need the pristine water conditions most reefers are looking for, they can work fine.
Stability is key. If I had your system, and was trying to make it better, I'd start with an ATO system of some sort, perhaps a Tunze Nano.
If I were going to upgrade a single piece of equipment you already own, I'd likely look at a different skimmer. I've never had much luck with Seaclone skimmers. Eshopps makes a HOB skimmer that's probably my favorite of this type.
A HOB Refugeum might be something worth looking into, or a Chaeto macro algae reactor. Something to add a natural nutrient reduction method to your system.
Oh, and a 'new tank' thread without photos? Really? Come on, now
Best of luck!
Current Marine.. I'm assuming Current USA? If so, they make a variety of lights. Some are capable of keeping corals healthy, some are not. Their Orbit marine LED isn't bad, though I'd not choose that light if I were wanting to keep the more light loving varieties of corals.
The HOB penguin is more typical of a fish only system. This sort of filter isn't generally recommended for reef systems, but for corals that don't need the pristine water conditions most reefers are looking for, they can work fine.
Stability is key. If I had your system, and was trying to make it better, I'd start with an ATO system of some sort, perhaps a Tunze Nano.
If I were going to upgrade a single piece of equipment you already own, I'd likely look at a different skimmer. I've never had much luck with Seaclone skimmers. Eshopps makes a HOB skimmer that's probably my favorite of this type.
A HOB Refugeum might be something worth looking into, or a Chaeto macro algae reactor. Something to add a natural nutrient reduction method to your system.
Oh, and a 'new tank' thread without photos? Really? Come on, now
Best of luck!
I actually quite like my canister filter. Without a drilled tank it will be easier to run a canister filter than anything more elaborate. You just need to remember to clean it on a regular basis. The biggest thing that I have noticed a difference with is using Rodi water vs tap. I honestly think a lot of my problems with my tank came from using tap water. Tap water worked for me for awhile but some thing changed with it and it stopped working. An Ato is also a good tool. I don't have one set up yet but it's next on my list.
I've run systems very similar to yours in the past. As long as you stay with soft corals, zoanthids, palythoa, leathers, etc... you'll likely be fine. Change filter pads in your Penguin often, and try and keep that Seaclone adjusted so that it's skimming (which can be a challenge!).
Current Marine.. I'm assuming Current USA? If so, they make a variety of lights. Some are capable of keeping corals healthy, some are not. Their Orbit marine LED isn't bad, though I'd not choose that light if I were wanting to keep the more light loving varieties of corals.
The HOB penguin is more typical of a fish only system. This sort of filter isn't generally recommended for reef systems, but for corals that don't need the pristine water conditions most reefers are looking for, they can work fine.
Stability is key. If I had your system, and was trying to make it better, I'd start with an ATO system of some sort, perhaps a Tunze Nano.
If I were going to upgrade a single piece of equipment you already own, I'd likely look at a different skimmer. I've never had much luck with Seaclone skimmers. Eshopps makes a HOB skimmer that's probably my favorite of this type.
A HOB Refugeum might be something worth looking into, or a Chaeto macro algae reactor. Something to add a natural nutrient reduction method to your system.
Oh, and a 'new tank' thread without photos? Really? Come on, now
Best of luck!
Haha here’s a recent pic for ya!
Thanks for the advice! I’ll look into that! 
