Your opinions please

[gliderjohn]

Hi all,
It's been over 20 years since I had my last aquarium (saltwater - 55 gal.) and I am ready to get back into the hobby.
I'm currently looking at a 46 gal. bowface tank. I plan to start with clown fish (to please my bride!!) and, later down the road, an anemone. I plan to have LR and LS. The LFS has suggested the following:
lighting - Current Sundial 36" (no MH in it)
substrate - 45 lbs. Arag. Alive Reef Sand
rock - 75 lbs (to start) - Figi
Coral Life Super Skimmer
Heater - AP Rena Smartheater 300W
Powerhead - 1 HY Koralia Nano 256 GPH
Filter - CA CPR Aquatics Aquafuge 2 w/light
I'd like your opinions, is this an adequate system as is? Do I need the refugium at this time? Or can I add it later? Is the lighting system enough to support anemones?
Any thoughts would be very much appreciated.
Thanks

 

[nycbob]

Originally Posted by Gliderjohn
http:///forum/post/2452990
Hi all,
It's been over 20 years since I had my last aquarium (saltwater - 55 gal.) and I am ready to get back into the hobby.
I'm currently looking at a 46 gal. bowface tank. I plan to start with clown fish (to please my bride!!) and, later down the road, an anemone. I plan to have LR and LS. The LFS has suggested the following:
lighting - Current Sundial 36" (no MH in it)
substrate - 45 lbs. Arag. Alive Reef Sand
rock - 75 lbs (to start) - Figi
Coral Life Super Skimmer
Heater - AP Rena Smartheater 300W
Powerhead - 1 HY Koralia Nano 256 GPH
Filter - CA CPR Aquatics Aquafuge 2 w/light
I'd like your opinions, is this an adequate system as is? Do I need the refugium at this time? Or can I add it later? Is the lighting system enough to support anemones?
Any thoughts would be very much appreciated.
Thanks
sounds good thus far. the sundial i believe is a t5w individual reflectors and timers. i;d add more than 45lbs of ls. maybe aim for 55. the powerhead, get a koralia 3 minimum for a 46gallon. more flow if u plan to keep sps. 300w heater in a 46 i think is a lot. maybe 200w. the cpr hob fuge is nice with cheato.

 

[drew2005]

Sounds good to me too. I agree, the 300w heater is a bit much. 150w is plenty. Thats what i have in my 46 bow. I would start off with the fuge. One of the things i wish i had done in my setup. Im not an expert on anemones but they need strong lighting. If you have at least 230watts on that Sundial i would think your ok.
Good luck and welcome to the boards.

 

[fishfreak1242]

You should probably get a powerfilter or a canister filter to go with the fuge. Do you plan on having corals?

 

[m0nk]

Originally Posted by fishfreak1242
http:///forum/post/2453049
You should probably get a powerfilter or a canister filter to go with the fuge. Do you plan on having corals?
Actually, a canister would be a bad choice for saltwater, they're nitrate traps if cleaning is not kept up with in the extreme.

 

[m0nk]

I personally like the Sundial fixture, have one on my 20L frag tank. They're great for the price.
As far as what you'll be using, I'd personally skip the live sand since the only thing that really makes it live is bacteria, which will build up on it's own during and after the cycle. You can get just dry Aragonite Reef Sand and it will be about half the cost. That's just my opinion, it's a great way to save some money on the setup. I've used live sand one time out of 5 tanks that have a sand substrate and I didn't really notice any difference in the cycle.
Everything else is pretty right on, though I agree that the heater might be a bit much. If you think you need that extra power to keep temp up, get 2 heaters with lower wattage, that way if one fails you can rely on the other.

 

[dischirm]

My opinion is two smaller heaters (maybe 75w? each in case anything goes wrong with one, you still have the other to rely on. I lost a tank of fish due to a broken heater. It was no fun!

 

[gliderjohn]

Thanks for the input. I do plan to have corals. Haven't decided what yet? Should I go with a Koralia 4?
I'm sure I'll have lots more questions for you as I move ahead.