What am I lacking for my reef tank

[Jeremey’s reef]

So on my 29gal tank I have sand, rock, a 200w heater, hang on the back filter, luxbird full spectrum light and i am a week away from purchasing a protein skimmer and up sterilizer. What other equipment should I be looking to add if I want to achieve clear water and help my corals thrive? My tank is currently cloudy and a fair amount of green hair algae

 

[saltbubbles]

Power heads?

 

[Jeremey’s reef]

Oh crap forgot to mention the wave maker

 

[lmm1967]

Patience. You can't buy that - you have to force yourself to have & use it though.

You shouldn't need a UV sterilizer - a protein skimmer is a must. Take the money you would spend on a sterilizer and use it to increase your budget for your skimmer.

Let the tank mature & complete all of the various cycles it's going to go through. 6 months at least.

I would also re-home your sand sifting star - your tank is not able to support it. I have 1 of those in a 120 gallon tank that is 18 months old - 50% of the sand came from a tank that was running for 2 years before that. I wouldn't dream of adding another one to my tank. He will slowly starve to death - if he is able to survive the damage from the trigger.

Nobody here means to sound mean or harsh so please don't take any answers or advice in a negative way - there is a process you and your tank need to go through - listen to the veterans here (I'm NOT one) and you will have great success.

 

[jcook54]

Patience and a protein skimmer! In conversations we've had I know you like fish (bioload) and while some folks can get away with no skimmer, if you have a fairly heavy bioload, a skimmer is a really big help. I'd also get some quality test kits. I prefer Salifert but there are quite a few out there, including API. API gets a bad rep for not being all that consistent but they're good kits and they work.

The cloudy water and green algae are frankly part of the "new tank syndrome" that happens in the first year of setting up a system. We can sure help with that but will need to know the "levels." Whenever anyone talks about the level, they're usually referring to Calcium, Alkalinity & Magnesium -or- nitrates & phosphate, depending on the question being asked. Algae - what are the nutrient levels (nitrate, phosphate). Coral growth - what are the CA, Alk, Mg. These aren't the only tests to run but I've found them to be the most important.

 

[Jeremey’s reef]

Thank you guys for the assistance it is very much appreciated I will try to show patience and keep researching

 

[AquariumSchmo]

Unbalanced bacteria levels on new tanks could cause cloudiness. I've never had issues with clear water though; weekly water changes, skimmer, enough rock, mechanical filtration, going slow, and not adding too much fish will go a long ways.

A couple of things I noticed missing from your equipment list that won't necessarily help with clear water, but will make your tank better:

Do you have an auto top off to keep the salinity stable? You can manually add fresh rodi water a couple of times each day, but it is nice to have one to keep things stable and especially important if you have any vacations or trips planned where you won't be there each day.

Don't know how much coral you have in your tank, but when you get to the point that water changes begin to not keep up with the Alk and Calc demands, then you will need to start dosing, at least manually, but a doser makes things easier. For testing, I love the Hanna Alkalinity Checker; so much nicer getting a digital readout versus trying to compare colors on the chart.

Also, I highly recommend a temperature controller for your heater. Ink Birds are $35, if you need a suggestion.

 

[Adam]

A temperature controller was the first thing that was going to be on my list. A 200w heater can cook a 29 gallon tank in short order if/when it fails. When heaters fail they normally do it in the on state.

The other thing to do is read, read, read.
Natural Reef Aquariums is a great book to help you get started. The Reef Aquarium is another good one.

 

[jcook54]

Thank you guys for the assistance it is very much appreciated I will try to show patience and keep researching

And don't hesitate to call or text. You've got my number and I'm glad to help. Shoot, when I have a question I google it and no matter what I find out, I still call one of my 3 reefing amigos: @anit77 @FutureInterest @dball711 It's always nice to have online answers confirmed by someone you know. That's why I always try to answer the inevitable questions about algae. There's a few book's worth of info about battling algae scattered across random forums but there's something about having a person look at your exact situation and answer your exact question.

 

[Jeremey’s reef]

A temperature controller was the first thing that was going to be on my list. A 200w heater can cook a 29 gallon tank in short order if/when it fails. When heaters fail they normally do it in the on state.

The other thing to do is read, read, read.
Natural Reef Aquariums is a great book to help you get started. The Reef Aquarium is another good one.

I also have a 100w heater it didn’t seem to be doing a good enough job the tank water seemed cold even though the thermometer read 78 degrees

 

[ActiveAngel]

I second all the advice on here! here’s two cheap but most vital pieces of equipment that are a must:

1) Refractometer. Amazon usually has them for $15-25; the price fluctuates a lot within this range, but get one ASAP. Hydrometers are too prone to errors, less accurate, and take longer to use.
(https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AZ1SMC2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_5-nbDbCQF96F4)

2) thermometer; I recommend a digital thermometer with a probe. Get 2 for $10 on amazon. It’s worth it to have a backup. If your heater or temp controller fails; you will want to be able to confirm Immediately (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01C6PE4G2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_obobDbDD711XE)

 

[Jeremey’s reef]

I second all the advice on here! here’s two cheap but most vital pieces of equipment that are a must:

1) Refractometer. Amazon usually has them for $15-25; the price fluctuates a lot within this range, but get one ASAP. Hydrometers are too prone to errors, less accurate, and take longer to use.
(https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AZ1SMC2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_5-nbDbCQF96F4)

2) thermometer; I recommend a digital thermometer with a probe. Get 2 for $10 on amazon. It’s worth it to have a backup. If your heater or temp controller fails; you will want to be able to confirm Immediately (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01C6PE4G2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_obobDbDD711XE)

I have a thermometer but I don’t think it is accurate, I also have a refractor in which I did get off of amazon for about 20$

 

[Adam]

I also have a 100w heater it didn’t seem to be doing a good enough job the tank water seemed cold even though the thermometer read 78 degrees

It doesn't matter if it's a 20w heater or a 500w, having it on a temperature controller will save you at some point. It will happen sooner or later.
You shouldn't ever judge what the tanks temp is by how "It feels". If you don't trust the thermometer try another not your hand.

I also noticed the book links weren't working above. I've fixed them so they work now.

 

[ActiveAngel]

I agree; Get an additional thermometer. It’s a highly important parameter, and only helps to double up on its measurement in case one thermometer fails.

 

[Cook]

Listen to the sages, great advice in these replies. Some of them I'd be wise to listen to as well. I'd see where you are after you choose your protein skimmer and get it running. The test kits are important. However, you can also use your LFS as a resource to test your water for you for the basics, if you are not doing that already, while you research and add the test kits you need. That's what I did to start. I now have my own test kits for the important ones.

What hang on the back filter are you using? I would suggest some Chemipure Blue if it will fit, the 5.5oz size will treat 35 gallons which I believe is the closest size for your tank. I have found the Chemipure Blue useful in my tank. It's no replacement for doing everything else right, but it can help while everything else runs it's course from my experience. The Blue reduces phosphates and also has carbon in it.

I am not a fan of the cheap digital temperature probes for secondary measurement. I use the old glass analog ones for a reality check, I believe mine are the JW brand. It has a green zone for 76-80F, so I can quickly verify the temp is correct without really thinking about it. When I bought my tank from someone else, they had a Coralife digital probe that read 78F, when in reality the water was actually 94 degrees. It took me about 8 hours to figure out what was going on when I set the system back up at my house. I had another digital brand I tried that started to drift within two months. Maybe someone here has a specific brand recommendation for you.

 

[ActiveAngel]

Yes; despite being the one who recommended the digital probes, I fully support all that was said. I’ve never heard of any being 16 degrees off; but they are off and my 4 digitals are all within a 1.2 degree range. My recommendation is used as a backup for monitoring relative changes quickly.

For ensuring temp is good; I second the standard glass thermometers (used in my current tanks, and had them in all of my previous 28 systems before this). Digitals are nice to see the minor variations when it changes from 78.1 to 78.2 to 78.3, and ID’ing the problem before it reaches a full 1 or 2 degrees.

 

[ActiveAngel]

Just for reference. Here are three of my digital thermometers with the probes positioned next to each other. These take a reading about every 6 seconds. My glass thermometer reads about 77° at the time.

 

[dball711]

Too dark to see.

 

[ActiveAngel]

Sorry; it may need a bright screen to be legible. I’ll type it out.

They read:
77.8
77.7
77.5

 

[Tanster2]

I saw you mentioned you were adding a skimmer soon. I have to recommend this one. https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/tunze-comline-doc-skimmer-9004.html

I have the Tunze 9004 on my 30 gallon and it does amazing work. It's super easy to use out of the box, collects skimate fast, and no micro bubbles in my case.