Rebuilding my tank, need advice

[rdm]

So about 2 years ago I started my first saltwater tank. I bought a 46g bow front tank and also made some uneducated buys on filters, skimmers etc. the tank actually went well and I began to populate it. I ended up getting a sick fish that killed my tank. Then due to some personal issues and being a bit discouraged the tank lay dormant for well over a year now. I turned the wet/dry filter off but left all the powerheads on and replaced the water regularly. The tank had about 50lbs of live rock in it when I shut it down.
Today I decided after a bit of deliberating that I was doing to get it going again. My local, and very well respected, saltwater shop said that my water and rock should be fine. He suggested I get some new/more appropriate equipment and reseed the live rock for starters.
New stuff:
20g oceanic sump
coral life super skimmer
new 10k CF bulb
new blue CF bulb
CPR overflow
So my system is now as follows:
46g bow front with a 1-2'' sand bed and about 55-60lbs of rock (5lbs of fresh live rock from store today)
20g sump with 200w heater, coral life SS, 500gph mag-drive return and a 13W compact florescent light overhead
JBJ 190W power compact fluorescent lighting
2 maxi-jet 900's in the tank (going to be replaced with the tunze 600gph guys) The maxi-jets seem to have a very concentrated flow and I am looking to get something more gentle with greater flow.
That is about where I stand on my rebuild. I would like to make a go at a reef tank. The store guys said I have good flow in the tank plus almost 4.5W/gal so I should be able to create a decent system (obviously there are limiting factors not having MH lighting)
I have everything running and am going to go back to the sotre in the next week or so to get supplies for the sump, ie. mud, sand and plants.
My question to you guys is more of, please give me your advice on this setup. I would really like to get it going this time. I went into this the first time without the proper education but now I feel like I am at least armed with the basics.
Thanks in advance,
Ryan

 

[mie]

Welcome to the forums. It all sounds preety good, watts per gallon is not an accurate way to measure lighting. just research before you buy any corals. And research your fish before buying them put together a fish list and that will help you decide in what order to put them in the tank (this step is important). Move slow and research, research, research.

 

[rdm]

Originally Posted by mie
Welcome to the forums. It all sounds preety good, watts per gallon is not an accurate way to measure lighting. just research before you buy any corals. And research your fish before buying them put together a fish list and that will help you decide in what order to put them in the tank (this step is important). Move slow and research, research, research.
I think all the guy was trying to get at was that with my lighting there are plenty of options. But of corse there are limitations as well. Am I correct in this?

 

[mie]

Yes.

 

[walkerbrody]

You might want to look into a octopus skimmer. They are priced arround the same and work better from what i've seen. You could also look into a couple 175 mh. If your handy at diy you can use magnetic m57 ballast for parking lot lights fairly cheaply and use the online

[hr]
site (apparently the name isnt allowed) for the bulbs.

 

[mcbdz]

And welcome to SWF.
You have come to the right place.
First off, I would post your water parameters. Make sure you list your actual numbers. And during this period of time you are stablizing all your para. start ghost feeding your tank. This will let you know how well your biofilter is doing and get it ready for your livestock.
After you have done this for a week with good readings go with a good cleanup crew.
OH, Yeah, most importantly from your previuos experence you should go ahead and setup a QT tank. This will prevent a repeat of what happened before.
Good Luck and keep us posted.
ALSO we love pictures.