Need advice on a Reef Aquarium?

Pretty much im looking for someone to tell me whats wrong with my tank. I have a 29gal tall tank. It has a sufficient heater, 3 power heads, 2 high in tank that rotate and one lower. I have a PC with 2 65 watt bulbs. I have about 55 pounds of live rock. About 20 pounds of live sand. Now i have a bio filter with just mesh and a filtering substance. Do i need that? Or should i replace it with a protein skimmer? Is the lighting enough? I just got a frog spawn and it doesn't seem as happy as it should? i have 3 damsels, a clown, 2 bengai cardinals, some snals and crabs, a lobster, some xenia, toadstool, star polyps, and that about it i think. Hopefully ill get a picture up. So any ideas to make it better let me know please its only been going for about 3 months now. Okay thanks

2009-06-27T18:27:56Z

You think its overstocked? I thought it was okay. Eh this is my first attempt at a reef. The tank looks awsome if you ask me, im just worried. Ive been think about the skimmer for a while. I actually just took everything out of the filter and just put live ruble in it i think this will be sufficient. Any ideas for the best skimmer for this tank with a good price that is. HOB okay?

2009-06-27T19:52:53Z

Okay okay. Just to say i do not use anything but Distilled water for the tank. I add supplements and really i dont think much is actually wrong with the tank. I have a decent amount of fish but i have an abundance of live rock, which helps a lot right. Especially with three power heads and a filter that does 280/hr.

Anonymous2009-06-27T18:46:24Z

Favorite Answer

certain corals like frogsawn require intense light. pc isnt exactly that. corals like that do best with metal halide. i would recomend a protien skimmer for any saltwater setup as it will help keep phosphate and other waste low. protien skimmers do not remove nitrogen compounds from tank that is a widely believed misconception. most reef keepers keep only a couple fish per setup as this will help keep nitrates low. you want to keep nitrants low especially in a reef tank because with your pc you risk an algae bloom wich can grow over corals. oh and despite what frank thinks frogspawn REQUIRES INTENSE LIGHTING to stay healthy. preferably metal halide. phosphates do not cause direct problems for coral however high phosphat will dissipate calcium and other things such as oxygen. keep phosphates low to prevent blooms of certain microalgaes.

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Iliana M2009-06-27T18:01:41Z

you should definitely get a protein skimmer. especially for a reef tank, where almost no amount of waste can be tolerated.

It also sounds like your tank is a bit overstocked. Even if you are using live rock and live sand, it sounds like you didn't wait very long to stock the tank to it's density. In this case, a protein skimmer would help with the waste load as well. With any reef tank, the sensitive reef organisms must take priority over fish in order for them to survive. Your lighting sounds good to me. If it looks like the reef isnt doing well you may need to test the water for calcium and other mineral content and add supplements if necessary.

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Anonymous2009-06-27T19:42:44Z

Frogsprawn is actually a low light coral. The light is not your problem.
Your problem is more than likely phosphates. Will a skimmer help? sure, but so will running phosphate removing media.

More important than a skimmer is RODI water. If you are using tap water invest in an RODI filter first then the skimmer. You could also buy RODI water from a walmart, supermarket or a good fish store. Most tap water has a good supply of Phosphates and silicates in it. You will be fighting an uphill battle if you do not use RODI water in a reef tank.
Here is a link to a cheap one for home .
http://www.airwaterice.com/product/1MMDI/Mighty_Mite_50GPD_with_DI_Added.html

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