Beginner questions

[Joshua L.]

Hello everybody, this is my first post. I'm sure you all have heard the questions I am going to ask a million times. I really would appreciate any advice I can get. I have a 28 gallon bowfront aquarium. I want a saltwater setup with fish, live plants, and live rock. I plan on having a few small colorful fish and some cleaning invertabrates. I don't want any coral or reefs.

1. What filter is best?
2. What heater is best?
3. Do I need a powerhead and/or a protein skimmer?
4. What kind of lights are the best? Remember, I do plan on having live plants.
5. What are my options for live plants?
6. Where do I buy the live rock and live plants? I don't mind shopping on the internet.
7. What kind of gravel/sand is best for my setup?
8. What kind of fish and invertabrate do you recommend?

Thank you everybody for your help. This is my first aquarium and I am really excited to join your exciting hobby.

[Reefscape]

Hello everybody, this is my first post. I'm sure you all have heard the questions I am going to ask a million times. I really would appreciate any advice I can get. I have a 28 gallon bowfront aquarium. I want a saltwater setup with fish, live plants, and live rock. I plan on having a few small colorful fish and some cleaning invertabrates. I don't want any coral or reefs.

1. What filter is best?
2. What heater is best?
3. Do I need a powerhead and/or a protein skimmer?
4. What kind of lights are the best? Remember, I do plan on having live plants.
5. What are my options for live plants?
6. Where do I buy the live rock and live plants? I don't mind shopping on the internet.
7. What kind of gravel/sand is best for my setup?
8. What kind of fish and invertabrate do you recommend?

Thank you everybody for your help. This is my first aquarium and I am really excited to join your exciting hobby.


1. What filter is best? - Live rock - 1 to 1.5lbs per gallon of tank water


2. What heater is best? - Titanium


3. Do I need a powerhead and/or a protein skimmer? - Yes, both..Powerheads for circulation ( about 280 gallons per hour turnover ) and protien skimmer to remove gunk..


4. What kind of lights are the best? Remember, I do plan on having live plants. - Power compacts would be more than sufficient


5. What are my options for live plants? Not that much really, as we tend to stock corals in the reefs, rather than live plants..review the following link for some marine plants...
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/scateg.cfm?pCatId=490 (http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/scateg.cfm?pCatId=490)

6. Where do I buy the live rock and live plants? I don't mind shopping on the internet. There are many online resources like Drs Foster and Smith etc etc


7. What kind of gravel/sand is best for my setup? Aragonite sugar grade reef sand, which can be found here as an example...
http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem~idProduct~CS0930.html (http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem~idProduct~CS0930.html)

8. What kind of fish and invertabrate do you recommend? This will all depend on what kind of tank you want...whether it be aggressive, peacefull, species etc etc...


These are just some very basic and quick answers, but will give you an idea..The type of tank your having here will be classed as a Fish Only With Live Rock ( FOWLR )..

Niko

[Joshua L.]

Thanks for your response atnixon. I have a couple more specific questions:

1. Are you saying I don't need any other filter besides the live rock?
2. What wattage heater should I purchase? Is titanium the brand?
3. What is a good powerhead and protein skimmer for me?
4. What kind of bulbs do I need. How many watts? How long do I keep the lights on?
5. Will the Argonite sand be a sufficient substrate for a few plants?

Thanks again for helping me out.

[Grins]

1. Are you saying I don't need any other filter besides the live rock?
Not if you have the 1-2#s per gallon.

2. What wattage heater should I purchase? Is titanium the brand?
You want 5 watts per gallon, better to divide it into 2 heaters so you have a backup. For your tank that would be (2) 75 watts or one 150watt. Titanium is the type. Glass is the other, but titanium is recommended as Niko said.

3. What is a good powerhead and protein skimmer for me?
You'll want wide dispersed flow. You only need 10x turnover for the tank you're talking about but a higher flow won't hurt and is actually needed for some corals if you decide to keep them in the future. A koralia #1 would be great but would have 400gph or 14x turnover. Personally I'd go with that. I think you'll like how it makes your grasses wave. You don't really need a PS on your size tank but don't blame you for wanting one. Sounds like you won't have a sump and will need a HOB skimmer. For that I'd suggest the Aqua C Remora skimmer.


4. What kind of bulbs do I need. How many watts? How long do I keep the lights on?
You might ask the poster Slappy*McFish (http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/member.php?u=205) about lights. He is doing a macroalgae display as well.

5. Will the Argonite sand be a sufficient substrate for a few plants?
Yes.