New tankers

[tanknoobs]

I need some questions answered about starting a saltwater tank and keeping up with it. How often should water be changed and do I just discard the old water? I do not understand why water has to be switched or recycled? Just noticed a few posts about 10% and 15% water changed weekly.
I have great water flow in the tank as I have a 15 gallon as of now, but setting up a 50 gal soon, I have two Penguin bio wheel 200's for the new 50 gal, is this enough flow? Also what are these "powerheads" I am hearing about? I also have concerns about the lighting, I have posted in lighting forum but not sure of the responses in there. I would like to know what sort of lighting system should be used for the tank for the correct daylight and moonlight settings.I read something about Tek 4x54 being a little too powerful, I don't even know what this lighting system is, but will try to do more research on the internet.
Thank you all very much,
Joe and Jasmine

 

[fishwish]

I am a newbie too, but I have learned so much by coming to this board and reading for hours. You have to first decide what type of tank you want to have- fish only or do you want to have corals, an anemone, clams as well. The type of tank determines what type of lighting you need.

 

[wangotango]

Water changes are a way to remove waste, and replenish the trace elements that are used up. Old water is discarded, and new water is added. 10-15% biweekly is the norm, but everyone has their own schedule.
The best kind of filtration for a reef, or really any saltwater system, is a sump/fuge underneath the main tank. It's basically a seperate tank that houses live rock rubble, and types of macro algae. In order to have this type of system the tank either needs to be drilled (known as "reef-ready") or have an overflow box that will drain water into the sump. A pump is used to pump the water back up to the main tank. The HOB (hang on back) filters work, but make sure the clean them every so often. The two filters alone will not provide enought flow in the tank, this is why you want to add a few powerheads:
Powerheads are small pumps that just create more flow in the tank. There are several brands and types out there, but Maxi-jet are very good and very popular..
Lighting depends on what you want to keep. If you just want to have a fish-only system, then you won't need any higher-output lighting. If you want to start a reef with live coral, then you will need more intense lighting. TEK is a brand of T5 ho fixture. As far as it being too intense, it really depends on several things. Once you know what you want to keep, there are many people here that can help you pick out what type of lighting system is right for you.
Welcome to the boards.
-Justin