Im smart, hes not (help)

[1fast300z]

A friend of mine recently bought a 40 gallon aquarium that he is determined to make into a saltwater aquarium. He tried to run a 10 gallon fresh and the fish died two days later because he didnt cycle the aquarium. I have a good amount of knowledge about fresh and saltwater aquariums and should be able to help him step by step so it doesnt crash. What filter would you all suggest for a 40 gallon aquarium? Hang on, wet dry, canister ?
Thanks.

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by 1fast300z
A friend of mine recently bought a 40 gallon aquarium that he is determined to make into a saltwater aquarium. He tried to run a 10 gallon fresh and the fish died two days later because he didnt cycle the aquarium. I have a good amount of knowledge about fresh and saltwater aquariums and should be able to help him step by step so it doesnt crash. What filter would you all suggest for a 40 gallon aquarium? Hang on, wet dry, canister ?
Thanks.
Hang on is fine for a 40. Does he have internet? Can you direct him here?

 

[1fast300z]

Yes he does have internet. I will inform him about this website. I am going to type out everything he has to do STEP by STEP in order for this to work for him. I have been with salt aquariums for several years and have started a couple. The first was a wreck, but then I educated myself on how to make them work. Hopefully he will actually follow my steps and not fill it with saltwater and throw a fish in a day later.
What hang on would you go with for the 40? I want him to get a good workhorse filter with plenty of space for filter media and areas for good bacteria to grow at first. I plan on taking some media from my filter to help him cycle it. I only have expierence with the AquaClear's hangon's which are very cheap but seem effective.
As for a skimmer I was thinking a safe bet would be the smallest Cora-Life avaible rated for 75 gallons I believe. I have the largest model and it has been very effective since I installed it.
For water circulation I think he would be safe using 2 maxi-jet powerheads.
Any suggestions greatly appreciated.
Peter

 

[sly]

I agree on the powerheads. Those should work fine. Consider getting some live rock. It provides very good nitrate consumption.
I personally use a sump with a wet/dry and love it. IMO, canister filters are better than HOB filters but I have not used one... I've just read a lot about them. Eheim canisters seem to be the best rated.
It's kind of hard to say for sure what you should get because it all depends on what he wants to keep. If he wants a relatively high bioload then he is going to need a good downdraft skimmer and possibly a wet/dry. There are other options such as adding a refugium, ozone and UV. Each of these have different benefits and all work together to form the complete system.
Are you wanting an all in one system (like a canister) or are you wanting individual systems like a filter, seperate wet/dry, seperate skimmer, etc?