need advice on starter tank. fluidized sand filters?

[wantsome8]

i have a 48 inch 40 gallon tank that i plan on going sw with. i plan on keeping some clown fish fire angles cardnals gobies and live rock so far i bought a custom sea life wet dry filter a prizam protien skimer and a pump. 1 st i m wondering what is a good lighting system i have a canopy i can mount lights in or i was thinking about a power compact. 2 nd is some live rock better than others what should i look for when buying live rock so i dont buy junk. 3 rd i ve used life guard fluidized sand filters in fresh water how are they in sw

[Boogiechillin]

First, don't go crazy on the fish load. Forty gallons isn't a whole lot to work with, and you definitely don't want to be thinking about flame angels in a plural sense. :)

Second, go ahead and take back the wet/dry filter. It's redundant with enough live rock. Check www.gulf-view.com and/or www.tbsaltwater.com for some pics of high-quality live rock. Their rock is very nice and reasonably priced, even with shipping. Lighting is going to depend on whether or not you intend to keep corals or other photosynthetic life.

Skip the fluidized sand filter; it's redundant with enough live rock and a deep sand substrate.

[wantsome8]

well if i dont use a wet dry what is a good filter system is the live rock enough boilogical i don t want corals just live rock about 40lbsi have a magnum 350 with bio wheels will that work also do i need currant

[FishBait]

Yup...good live rock is a great biological filter. A wet/dry has the tendency to (overtime) increase nitrate levels to a point where it is difficult to keep them down. Since you don't plan on this being a reef, you could use the bio-filters, but again no need to. And most people end up w/reef systems in the end anyway so it's best to be prepared ;) If you want to use the Magnum, okay. I'd just use the canister for periodic carbon or micron polishing occasions. Take the bio-wheels off, as not only will they POSSIBLY lead to higher nitrates, I've known several people to complain of the metal parts rusting in SW. Good Luck!