What type of filter on a 29 gallon salt water tank?

Question

It is now a fresh water tank with one very mean fish. I'm giving the fish away and decided I'm going to make the jump to saltwater. I have been doing a little research but I'm still confused. This will be a fish only tank. Do I need live rock? Will an over the back filter work? Do I really need a sump and a skimmer? What is a sump?

Ideally I would like a nice tank with a few pieces of fake coral, two fish at the most. I'm really confused about all the filters. I understand that undergravel filters are a no-no, I'm clear on that one. I would really like to get away with just having a over the back filter. I have room in the hood for one designed up to 100 gallons.

Answer 1

My first saltwater was also a 29 gallon - I figured I'd try that for 6 months to see how it would do before making the jump to a bigger tank. Let me tell you, saltwater is contagious once you start.

I used a dual-chambered hang-on-back power filter from freshwater tank on the 29 with no problems. I still have the original set up, but use this as a quarantine for larger fish or quantity purchases now.

For a fish only (FO) tank, none of the "extras" are absolutely required, but are suggested. It will make maintenance easier and help stabilize your water quality if you have them.

Live rock makes a tank look more natural (IMO), but also provides your fish with places for hiding. The advantage of live rock is that it becomes a place for bacteria to colonize, increasing your biological filtration. But live rock can be expensive. What I've done in some of the tanks I've kept is to buy a few good pieces of live rock and use dry "base rock" behind and under it. Base rock is far cheaper, and the bacteria and inverts from the "quality" rock will spread to it in time.

A sump is another tank that's connected to your main tank to increase the water volume. The second tank is often placed beneath the main tank (inside the tank stand) and any heating, filtration, skimmer, etc. are placed here. The only things in your tank, then, are the intake and outflow tubes to the sump - this gives the tank a "cleaner" look, because you don't have all the extra equipment hanging on it. The extra volume can allow you to stock a few extra fish, plants (macroalgae) can be grown to take up nitrates/phosphates (and food for herbivores), and the copepods and other inverts can be used as an "extra" food source for your fish. If you keep plants and lights over them, using an alternate photoperiod in the sump that what's used on the main tank can help stabilize the pH - the pH increases when plants are undergoing photosynthesis because they remove carbon dioxide (which produces a mild acid when combined with water) from the tank. Many sumps gather their water from an overflow, and this can mean a pre-drilled hole in the side or back of the tank - this shouldn't be attempted by you, or you'll risk cracking the glass - buy a tank that's already drilled if you go this route.

A skimmer will remove minute particles of organic matter. Even a tank that appears crystal clear will accumulate this stuff, and it adds to the nitrate levels in your tank (proteins are nitrogen-based molecules). You'd be surprised at how much gray-green, foul-smelling stuff you can collect from a good-looking tank. a word of warning here - some medications can be removed by a skimmer, so a separate hospital tank should be used should your fish become ill.

As I said, none of these are absolutely required, but each has a benefit from using it. You should be fine with a good quality filter and testing for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrates to know when water changes are necessary. If your tank does well and you like the move to marine (and you probably will ;) ) you can add these in the future, or upgrade to an even larger tank.

Hope all this helps - I'm glad to see you're doing research first - in the long run, it will save you lots of headaches. Enjoy your tank!

Answer 2

Do some major research first and the first thing you will find out is that 29 gallon tank kit is barely passable for a freshwater tank. Please don't take offense i want you to enjoy the hobby but a salt water reef tank done right from start ot finish should cost you at least $1200-1500. A 29 gallon usually is 11 inches deep, if your using live rock your fish will have no where to swim because of how the live rock is stacked. Even with ornaments and no live rock you will see how congested things will get. I just want you to enjoy the look of your tank. Maintaining water quality in a 29 gallon will be a little tricky but i think evaporation will be a bigger problem. The filter in the kit is a joke, you will need a high gph cannister and a couple powerheads to really swirl the water. Bio-wheels are noisy ugly useless money sucking devices and if the wheel sticks it will crash your tank and kill everything overnight (unlikely though). There is no proof they work any better but i will admit i like the fact the bacteria gets good contact time with air to invigorate feeding but in the end buy it cause you like it not because you think it works better. If your going reef the ballast is out, you will need at least a GLO T5 HO twin ballast and a protein skimmer so thats another $350- 500 together there. the canister is $225 $100 in live sand $240 in live rock $ 50 for powerheads plus the cost of your tank and stand You can go Fish only Fish only with live rock Reef these are your choices in order of cost and entertainment A good starter size for a saltwater tank is 65 gallon. yes the bigger the tank the easier it is. Aswell corner tanks make excellent salt water tanks as you can stack the liverock in the back corner and still allow tons of swimming room and visabilty. want to see a challenge look up mini bow 5 or 7 nano reefs. just ask tons of questions. but really study tank dimensions and you see which ones are lemons especially if there throwing in tons of goodies. See how much free stuff you get with a 46 gallon bow front (None) because the tank sells itself. good luck

Answer 3

Welcome to salt water!

No you do not NEED live rock. no tank needs it. Some people use the live rock to "cycle" their tank more quickly, some so corals can be added. Live rock can be added at any time so no worries there. An over the back filter as you put it will also work fine. (In addition to may other salt tanks, I have a 30 that has no skimmer, no rock etc. and it has been running for years) No you don't need a sump or a skimmer. I will warn you however, not having a skimmer, even with two fish is a little more work and water changes are a must on a schedule to control proteins and nitrates.

Word of advice: PATIENCE
As for a sump it is simply A collection container mainly used in marine tanks. As the water leaves the tank, it is delivered via gravity to a sump, which is often nothing more than a small aquarium. From there, it is pumped through the filtration system and delivered back to the aquarium.

I do not run a sump even on my 250. They are really not needed if you have other filtration systems.

Your top rear filter will work. I will advise pulling out the carbon filters and adding just filter pads no carbon. Carbon will become saturated with salt almost immediately and become useless within a few days. Undergravel filters are fine in a salt tank. There is nothing wrong with using them IN ADDITION to another filter. (I use one)

Sounds like you are on the right track. Don't forget your hydrometer, salt, test kits for a salt tank heater.

If you have any other questions regarding your new salt tank, I'd be happy to help.

Good luck and welcome again to salt water.

Answer 4

Over the back filter is fine, but you do need a protein skimmer and a biolgical filter. You can never have too much filtration. I have a 65 gal saltwater tank with two large canister filters below a combination twin bio wheel/ mechanical filter over the back and a combination protein skimmer/ mechanical filter over the back and of course a couple of power heads with pre-filters.

When starting up your tank be sure to purchase only damsels until you are sure your water conditions are right.

Answer 5

over the top emperor filters work the best! we have them on our saltwater tanks. no undergravel is true and we have a protein skimmer. your best bet is to find a reputable saltwater fish store. we have live rock in both of our tanks...but no coral. some fish eat that, it also depends on what type of fish you get. also with saltwater make sure you have the right lighting for what you have in the tank. they are expensive to start up, but not so expensive after...they are beautiful! good luck!

Answer 6

No you don't NEED live rock BUT it is always a PLUS to have some, It will help with the biological filtration and is a place for bugs (FOOD) to hide and propagate.
An Emperor 400 would be a great filter, I am using one on a 30gal.Seahorse tank, I don't use the carbon pads, I use the refillable cartriges with CHEEP filter floss and fill the rest of the resivoirs with SMALL pieces of live rock, it almost acts like a refugeum for small critters to grow.(food and filtration)
Works AWSOME.

Answer 7

over the top filters are best. not only do they filter but they provide movement to the water in the tank.