Setting up a 29 gallon macro tank

[Fisker]

Hello!

I'm setting up a 29 gallon aquarium to house my Valentini Puffer, and maybe another fish or two (trying to decide if I want to risk it...). I definitely don't really want to risk and coral nipping, so I think I'll stick to macros only in this tank. Maybe I'll try some gorgonian frags at some point, but I've got a feeling the puffer might find the little polyps irresistible. I'm collecting equipment, and would like some advice on what I'm gathering. I'm going to be keeping a lot of green and reds, with a few browns mixed in. I'm going for a moderate flow and mid-high light set up, and will be dosing a iron and maybe calcium as needed. Nitrates and phosphates should be taken care of by a fat puffer, but I'll keep an eye on that too.

Flow - Aqua Clear 50 HOB & Koralia Nano 425
Heater - Aqueon 150W
Lighting - 4 of these: https://www.amazon.com/Philips-LED-Non-Dimmable-PAR38-25-Degree/dp/B01CAL1FEQ

Anyone see any issues with that set up? Will that be enough/too much light? Enough flow?

I probably won't be doing any sort of seagrasses, but should I mix some refugium mud into my crushed coral to help any macros that might start to grow there?

Thanks for any help you can provide! I love macroalgae, and have had some success with it before. When I decided I wanted this puffer, it reignited my interest for macros, so I'm excited to see this tank progress!

 

[Big G]

My blue spot puffer hasn't touched my gorgonians. But it has bothered my duncans and hammers to the point where I had to give them a break in a QT to recover - ugh :mad:. Completely ignores my big leather.

 

[Fisker]

Gotcha! So maybe some gorgs will make it in here.

Right now my only gorg is the basic rust colored photosynthetic gorg. I was gonna frag it out, but I ended up having a bacterial bloom in the reef tank and some flesh has receded, so I'm giving it a chance to recover. I'll definitely try it out in this tank though - I'd love to have that extra structure around the macros.

Depending on how much I get in tips today I'll probably pick up the heater tonight or tomorrow.

 

[Fisker]

So, I've begun the process of consolidating my reef tank into my macro tank. The plan will be to keep macros, gorgs, and a few softies along with the puffer and a pre-existing false perc. I acclimated my gorgonian, some GSP, and a toadstool leather last night in order to prepare for the tank transition. I also wanted to see whether or not the puffer is going to pick at the gorg and the corals, as that might drive a wedge into my plan.

Lots of stuff is still angry (and there's some algae growing on the glass...), so the pics aren't the greatest. But, enjoy!

One of the main problems I've been having has been with my slower-growing algae (namely dragon's breath and codium) growing epiphytes, or nuisance algae. I know that faster-growing algaes usually don't have that issue (especially on new growth), but I haven't been able to figure out how to solve the problem, even when scrubbing algae of my macros daily. Thoughts?

 

[acbaldwin]

That looks like Gracilaria hayi, not Dragon's Breath. Dragon's Breath and Dragon's Tongue are both Halymenia sp. and those terms are probably the most misused when it comes to macros. G. Hayi can be a decent speed grower, just need to dial in your light and nutrients in to the right spot. I had good luck with them under moderate high light with ample N/P/K.
Codium on the other hand I can absolutely not get to grow, even in a tank with fifteen or twenty different thriving macros.

Here's where some of mine was in the past, moderate flow and pretty decent light:

 

[Fisker]

That actually does look much more like Hayi, although it was sold to me under a different name. Thanks!

I suppose I could switch around lights, too, as all of my photosynthetic creatures are in this tank now.

 

[Fisker]

Moved the Wattshine 140W black box onto this tank, and the difference is pretty crazy. Which caused me to have a thought.

Yes, me. I may be a simpleton, but I do occasionally have an original thought.

I could actually just add on a second Wattshine 140W over the 29 gallon to get more full-spectrum lighting over the tank. It'd be around twice the price, but would offer more customization and probably a more appealing look the tank. Anyone got any reason why I shouldn't?

 

[acbaldwin]

Looks like a version of the usual chinese black box LEDs - I've had great results with the newest (~2016+) full spectrum models of those. Particular favorite is the marsaqua version.

 

[Fisker]

The one I'm using is full spectrum - Reds, 2700K whites, 6500K whites, purples, greens, 10000K whites, and royal blues. Gotten some good results in the past few days with this light.

 

[Fisker]

I got a Christmas Tree today!

An underwater tree.

It's actually algae.

Pretty algae.

 

[Devaji]

how's the tank coming along? I had a 20L macro tank. loved it, was a fun challenge. but got over ran with a red hair algae so i took it off line. was fun alwyas think about giving it another go.

 

[Fisker]

Pretty well! Sorry to hear about your tank.

The fish are all happy - I think the clowns have started to pair, as the larger one has become clearly dominant and aggression has died down. The puffer is fat and happy, and seems to be enjoying the tank.

Most of the macros are doing pretty well, too. Nothing's really thriving, as I just changed a LOT in the tank, but I think they're adjusting and will be taking off soon.

Same goes for the coral - they're doing alright, but still need to settle in.

I actually decided to make a thread in the nano build forum to try and get more people to see my thread. Here's the link, for more updated info:

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/fiskers-macro-focused-20-long.622333/