Amber, can you double check the info on the light fixture and bulbs as well as the measurements of your tank please? Something in the info is off... compact fluorescent bulbs don't come in 90 watt sizes and a 6 bulb fixture over a 29 gallon tank wouldn't fit. Not sure what is off but would like to help you sort it out. Knowing for sure what you have is important because it will determine what animals (corals) you can keep in the tank. Can you tell me what is written on each of the bulbs? (the print directly on the bulb) There should be letters as well as numbers there. That would help me to identify what you have.
Hermits can work with crushed coral but they tend to have a more difficult time finding enough food or keeping the substrate cleaned up, especially if you are sticking to hermits that are reef safe (not all crabs are reef safe). You might want to consider removing the crushed coral and making up the difference with live sand. This can be done with a strainer where the sand can fall through but the crushed coral pieces are too big and will remain in the strainer. This would preserve the sand you have at present and then you'd only need to add to it. Also, the sand in your tank that's mixed in now will settle to the bottom under the crushed coral because it is smaller and lighter weight, so using a tube to suck the crushed coral from the surface may also be an option... depends on your ratio of each and how you are set up. I suggest this now because it will make the long term keeping of this tank much easier and because doing it now before you start adding animals also makes the process easier.
I do not suggest connecting the tanks via some kind of tunnel/tube/bridge system. In a healthy saltwater tank there is coraline algae growth that will build up quickly, that's a good thing... however, it's very hard, can get very thick quickly, and is near impossible to remove from a tunnel/tube type of situation. Put simply, it would start out looking nice but would quickly be crusted in coraline algae where you wouldn't be able to see through it and then eventually it would slow water flow/circulation as the coraline continues to build. If your intention is for the animals to be able to pass back and forth through this "tunnel" from one tank to another, again I say don't do it. There are so many things that will get up in there and get stuck or begin to grow where you have no access to remove them, it would become a nightmare situation before long. Things such as tube worms, aptasia, various forms of algaes, bristle worms, etc. would all "live" in there and make for one heck of a mess. If you know anyone who is running a saltwater tank at present, an established tank that is at least 1+ yrs old with a sump/overflow system, ask them if you can take a flashlight and peek into the overflow box for a minute or 2 and you'll quickly see what I'm talking about. If you don't know anyone where you can do this let me know and I'll try to get some photos for you on this end. It's important for you to actually be able to see what I'm referring to.
I have company due to arrive any moment now, but later after they leave I will get out my camera and take some photos for you of my saltwater tanks. One is a quarantine tank that I don't really have anything in so I just let it do it's own thing and the other is my main tank that is maintained daily. I will be able to then show you some of the things to prepare for and watch out for as well as avoid in your own tank. Every tank is different but there are some things that are common about all marine set ups... and going in unprepared can mean more work as well as more expense later. I'd hate to see that happen for you.
I'll be back later.
Dawn
--- In AquaticLife@yahoogroups.com, Amber Berglund <arberglund@...> wrote:
>
> The tank is a 29 gallon. Thanks for the tips on the crushed coral not
> being good for some critters, I will remember that. What about hermit crabs?
> I wasn't planning on getting any anemones just because they tend to kill
> some corals, and I'd really like to get some soft corals at some point.
> I have CFL (I think they are 90 watt bulbs) daylight spectrum lighting
> (aprox 6700K), right now I just have 2 running but the fixture has 6
> bulbs in it total. Since I only have a few tiny critters living on my
> live rock and some grass, I figured I didn't need super bright lighting
> yet and only have 2 bulbs running for now.
> I don't have a protein skimmer, but it's something I plan on purchasing
> ASAP. I would somehow like to connect the 2 tanks (48 gallon and my 29
> gallon), perhaps with a water bridge or something similar.
> I moved about a 1/4 of the cycled gravel from my boyfriend's tank into
> mine, as well as his one chunk of live rock and his one clown fish. I
> also set his filter up on my tank and added a 2nd filter of my own.
>
> I will update more later, have to go back to work.
>
> Amber
>
> On 9/20/2012 9:53 AM, dawnshungryeyes4u2c wrote:
> >
> > What size is this new tank? On average it is usually figured as 1 lb
> > of live rock per gallon of tank size, but the more live rock you can
> > get in there the healthier the tank will be. In saltwater the majority
> > of your filtration is going to come from your substrate and live rock.
> > I can also tell you that it DOES pay to get good quality live rock,
> > even if that means buying it a bit at a time due to the expense.
> > Quality live rock should be lighter weight (less dense) and porous.
> > Marshall Island live rock is one of the best if you can get it, but
> > Fiji live rock is also pretty good. Branch rock is very dense so don't
> > overdo on that stuff if you find it. It won't offer you the needed
> > filtration, and avoid claims of "homemade" live rock that is created
> > out of concrete mixes.
> >
> > Since you have crushed coral in the tank it would be wise to avoid any
> > of the bottom feeding/sand sifting animals such as gobies, sand
> > sifting starfish, etc. and the same applies for bottom dwelling
> > fishes... the crushed coral can easily damage the mouths and gills of
> > the gobies and etc. and it's too sharp for the starfish and etc. to
> > live in. This also applies to nassarius snails that spend most of
> > their time under the substrate. I never add crushed coral to a reef
> > tank because there are too many animals that can't handle it and it
> > also doesn't offer as good of a filtration bed as just sand alone.
> >
> > Other things to avoid in a small tank are anemones with the exception
> > of rock anemones since they don't move around as much on their own and
> > they don't get real big. If you intend to add corals (which I am
> > assuming since you said reef tank) be careful and choosy about which
> > ones you mix, they are not all compatible with each other, and the
> > smaller the tank the harder it can be to find the ones that will work
> > together and still be spaced enough to keep them all safe and still
> > allow room for growth.
> >
> > What kind of lighting do you have over the tank? That will help
> > determine what corals you can add.
> >
> > You didn't mention your specific gravity/salinity level? That is vital
> > to a healthy fish and healthy everything. And be sure to test calcium
> > levels regularly since all of the animals rely on calcium for proper
> > growth and body function. Too high is just as bad as too low. Target
> > area for calcium levels in a reef tank is 400 - 450. Be sure this is
> > where it needs to be and stable for at least a few wks before you
> > attempt to add your animals.
> >
> > The only other thing I can think to warn about at this point is the
> > "die off" when adding new/more live rock to the tank. Expect this to
> > happen EVERY time you add new pieces of rock. The more rock you add at
> > a time the higher the ammonia levels will spike and that means the
> > longer it will take for the tank to catch up in way of cycling. Curing
> > live rock in another tank or vat will not avoid die off once the rock
> > is moved to your tank, and the more change there is in conditions,
> > from temp to lighting, to salinity, etc. the more die off you should
> > expect. This happens any time the rock is moved to different
> > conditions. For this reason you should work to get as much rock into
> > the tank as possible and give it time (a couple of wks minimum) to
> > cure in the tank before adding any animals.
> >
> > A new saltwater tank will go through various stages of algae growth,
> > including a period of cyano bacteria in most situations. This is
> > normal and will subside on it's own during the cycling process, so
> > don't panic. Don't attempt to fix it with large water changes as this
> > will only prolong it, not get rid of it. The average saltwater tank
> > will take about 8 wks to fully cycle and get through the worst of the
> > algae stages, some can take as long as 12 wks. This, too, is normal.
> >
> > Can you list the various different equipment you are using? Filter,
> > skimmer, etc?
> >
> > Be sure to post some photos of your tank. That will help us to help
> > you and I know I would enjoy seeing the photos! :-)
> >
> > Best of luck to you and please post if you need help.
> >
> > Dawn
> >
> > --- In AquaticLife@yahoogroups.com
> > <mailto:AquaticLife%40yahoogroups.com>, Amber Berglund
> > <arberglund@> wrote:
> > >
> > > I've just recently dipped my toes into trying a Saltwater tank (reef
> > > tank). Oh and that's figuratively of course, I'd never stick my toes in
> > > a fish tank, LOL.
> > > My boyfriend had a lonely little tomato clown fish (Grumpy Jr.) in a 48
> > > gallon bowfront tank, the tank was in serious need of cleaning, and
> > > since he's working on moving into my condo we decided to move his
> > > fish/filter/and gravel over to one of my tanks until we can move his 48
> > > gallon over.
> > > There was a slight mini-cycle after the move, but things have evened
> > > back out and the fish is doing great and seems much happier in his new
> > > clean tank (even if it's smaller). I only have one large piece of live
> > > rock, so I'm pretty sure I need to purchase more, especially if we end
> > > of having 2 saltwater tanks running after he brings his over.
> > > I had a bunch of crushed coral/sand that had once been living and in my
> > > 125 gallon tank, but when I made it freshwater I changed the gravel. So
> > > I used about 1/4 of my boyfriends gravel and added it on top of my
> > > crushed coral sand to help seed the gravel with nitrifying bacteria.
> > > I'm excited to try out saltwater for a change, but nervous about
> > killing
> > > his fish somehow, LOL.
> > >
> > > Amber
> > >
> >
> >
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
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