Grinder37's 29 gallon make over

My setup is very low budget,oddysea 130 watt pc lights,sea clone skimmer,to power heads,and an aquaclear 50 hob filter with media,phos remover,and carbon,i run my salinity at 1.024,temp at around 80,i dose occasionally with kent 2 part cal/alk suppliment and also iodine about everyother week.I have had considerable growth,but most of my corals are soft easy stuff.Now the mushrooms-IDK? I've had em for 7 months(some of my first corals)and they were no bigger than a quarter,some are freaking huge!That big blue on top can get to the size of a small dinner plate,and gets about 1" thick and they all either divide in 2 or drop babies constantly,that large rock will be completly covered in no time as there is also a family of watermelon and brown hairy shrooms on the far and back side also!!

 

Thanks - my goal is to get where you are at. Then maybe my wife will approve of this hobby.

 

How old is you tank?Mine is almost nine months total(it started in a 55,then i downsized,but was unemployed for 3/4 of that time,so it took some time to get it there,but it's nice to hear somebody say that,cause i still think that i'm a newbie.And still consider the tank pretty new as well!!Thank goodness for craigslist!!(My wife doesnt approve either!! lol !!)

 

im struggling on coral growth too... but i dont dose and my water param's arent perfect so at least i know where to start!!!

 

I beleive the iodine contributes to there growth,as well as the calcium,but it's really just begginers luck,I have no sump,7 fish(which alot of people says it's way too many,but they have been there longer than any of my corals)and don't test often,But i truly believe frequent water changes don't just refresh the water,but replaces minerals and elements that the coral and livestock use up.And i top off every day so my salinity doesnt swing so much,in a 29 a couple days evaporation can really climb the salt levels.

 

I have had it up for ~1.5 years. I think ill start with the chemicals you are doing as my setup is very similar to yours with some different results. Ill pick up the water changes. As far as your water changes what salt and how often, and with the chemicals are you going with the directions on the bottle?
BTW - i have noticed the water top off is a pain for these smaller tanks - I believe I have lost some inverts due to this. I added a auto water top off.

 

Nice lookin' tank!! I'm getting bored of my 29g...it's dimensions are very vanilla!!

 

Along with the chems,i use instant ocean reef cystals because it's supposed to have extra trace elements,minerals,mag and cal(but i'm not sure about that,my calcium tested at around 350/370 if i remember right.Now i keep my cal around 480/500 and have had good results.I usually do a water change every other week between 10 and 15% becuase of having too many fish.What's your calcium level?And are you using saltwater mix or reef mix?

 

Yea,your pretty limited on room for new additions in a 29!!;D

 

I'm using Instant Ocean Salt (not the reef type) ill switch on the next order. Also last time i checked my cal was at 400 which LFS (PetCo) said was fine but I might increase to high 400. I hope the "Kent A&B" will increase it over time. I assume you don't add any cal - you use just the "Kent A&B" to get cal at the level you need?