I need help to decide.

This is kind of a long question.
I want to set up a 29 gal tank.
My long-term plans are, 1 or 2 maroon clowns, a cleaner shrimp, and a snail cuc. Then after about 6-8 months, I want to add an anemone.

My budget is about $40 for the filtration.

I have come up with three options.

#1 I can make a small 2.5 gal fuge with about 3gph running thru mangroves, and cheato, And a maxi-jet 1000 in the tank for circulation in the tank.

#2 I can get this filter Walmart.com: Aqua-Tech: W/Bio-Fiber Advanced Biological Filtration Power Filter, 1 ct: Fish, take 1 cartridge out and replace it with rubble rock and mangroves, and keep the filter pad in the other side. Then I will keep cheato, and a maxi-jet 1000 in the tank

#3 just buy a couple maxi-jet 400s and let the rock, mangroves, and cheato do the rest.

 

If you have a better idea, please post it.

 

bump

 

I’m about to leave to go to the store. I need to know what everybody thinks! Please, don’t let me down VOTE!

 

I don't think you can put 2 maroons together, especially in a small tank. I might be wrong.
I would go with a small tank for a sump/fuge. I bought a 10g from Petsmart for like $10. Get a cheap return pump off eBay and some plumbing, cheap light, a piece of acylic for baffles, and a tube of silicone from HD. Should be pretty cheap for all that stuff.

 

Good idea, but the tank isn’t drilled, and an overflow box would be expensive.
I was thinking about doing that down the road.

 

I choose the filter b/c you can easily run carbon or GFO too. But IMO, you will need more then a maxi jet 1000 for circulation.

 

Eshopps Siphon Overflow Box 75 Gal PF-300 Fish D18 - eBay (item 120553741148 end time Apr-11-10 19:35:56 PDT)

you might be able to find a overflow box for $30 bucks
10g tank $10
plumbing $10
cheap return pump$15
CFL light w/ fixture $15

its going to be hard on $40 budget.

 

the filter has 330 gph, pluse the maxi-jet has 265 gph. i was thinking i Could turn one side of the filter into a hob fuge, and run a filter pad with carbon in the other side.

 

down the road, you can do a sure-flow mod to that maxi jet. I modded both of my 600's and up the flow rates to 1400gph each.

kits were $15-18 each.