New Tank, New Member

[nacl-man]

Hello everyone,
I'm new to the board so I thought I'd say 'hi'.
Hi
Anyway, I'm setting up my 44 gal tank as a saltwater tank and have gotten conflicting views from my lfs and the books that I have read.
I think I want to go with a FOWLR (these acronyms make it really easy by the way), the question is what do I do now!!
What I am unclear on:
1. How much sand?
2. How much live rock?
This is the equipment I have:
Fluval 204
Aquarium Systems Protien Skimmer
any suggestions for additional equipment?

 

[newreefers]

welcome to the board! after reading here, I have learned the lfs is really after your money, we aren't, so you get much better advice here.
sand, approximately 80 lbs will give you a decent dsb
liverock, 1 to 1 1/2 lbs per gallon, so 40-60 lbs
equipment, powerheads, heater, refractometer, test kits, thermometer, magnets, nets, this is all I can think of for now, probably not all.

 

[radioactive]

newreefers hit it on the head . there is an equasion to figure out how much sand to put in , seems like a 4" - 5" DSB is sufficiant ...
also, IMO do some research on QT before you add any fish , I have lost a few fish due to rushing them into a tank that was not ready and not prepared for the parasites that fish can come into contact with .
good luck ......

 

[eeldarb21]

Be prepared to drop some major cash on this project i know i did. but in the long run i think it's well worth the money.

 

[nacl-man]

Thanks for the replies!
I've already got test kits, heaters, ect.. I've had tanks (freshwater) in the past, but am just not sure if what I have is enough filtration or not. What exactly is a 'refractometer'?
Also, I have a nice powerhead from a previous tank.. but I have heard that you should NOT use UG filters... how do you set up a powerhead without an UG filter? Or am I thinking of something else...
As far as the money is concerned, I've already prepared myself for it! I just would like to know everything needed before I start so I can budget correctly
Thanks again!

 

[radioactive]

It does the same thing as a hydrometer , just much more accurate than a hydrometer . most LFS carry swing arm style hydrometer's to measure salinity .. example sal = 1.024 .. I just purchased a refractometer for 49.00 and was well worth the money ....

 

[radioactive]

also , if you get into QT or HYPOSALINITY you will need a refractometer for the correct results IMO ...

 

[tyr-sog]

Originally posted by radioactive
It does the same thing as a hydrometer , just much more accurate than a hydrometer . most LFS carry swing arm style hydrometer's to measure salinity .. example sal = 1.024 .. I just purchased a refractometer for 49.00 and was well worth the money ....

Did you see a difference with the two different ways of doing it?

 

[radioactive]

TYr
Yes , my swing arm hydrometer was off .002 sometimes in either direction . I have a lemon peel angel in HYPO right now , if i would not have purchased the refractometer the hypo would not be working correctly ....