finally ready to get started, few ?s

A visitherm stealth 250 watt heater is what I would get.
If you are not going with a canister filter I would go with an AC110. You will need several inches of clearance behind the tank however. Or another option is a couple of smaller hobs. That way you always have spare if one goes down or you want to seed another tank.
Fifty pounds of sand should be more than enough.
No need for aquarium salt. Regular noniodized table salt could be used in the event you need do treat for parastites in the future.

I forgot to mention you certainly need some dechlorinator. Prime and Amquel are two that work well.

gmh said:

No need for aquarium salt. Regular noniodized table salt could be used in the event you need do treat for parastites in the future.

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Table salt will work as stated here however whether it has iodine in it or not it shouldn't matter. I have been using table salt with iodine in it to treat ich (which is actually going really good) and have had no losses what so ever. Any additive in the salt will be in such small quantities there isn't much chance of it hurting your fish.

Iodine in salt is a complete non-issue, although one of the enduring myths of fishkeeping. Like the pH myths, it's interesting how the industry makes money out of them all. One wonders if they originate them.

Canister filters generally sit below the tank rather than perched on the lip as are hang on the back filters. They take up more space and are more expensive but they are very good at filtering the water. You may want to post a new thread on canister filters if no one responds here. I don't use them myself.
As for salt, noniodized costs the same as iodized salt so that is what I use. You do not need the extra iodine in your diet, so why add it to the tank if you don't have to?

I have a 46 bowfront also...I use a visitherm stealth heater and it keeps my tank's temp stable all the time (forgot the wattage, it's been a long time. But I think I just went with the one recommended for a tank size just over mine). I also use the AC 110 HOB filter and have had no issues. I also use sand, and the AC's flow does cause it to shift, so I keep a piece of driftwood under the outlet to redirect the flow. If you go with the AC, I would also recommend covering the intake with a sponge or just using one segment of the tubing to keep your intake shorter, to prevent sand from getting sucked up and ruining you impeller. Also rinse the sand really well first to remove the finer particles, and unplug the filter when you do water changes/stir the sand. It's a really quiet, easy to maintain, reliable filter, and you don't have to keep buying filter inserts for it . Prime's the best dechlorinator out there, in my opinion, and salt isn't necessary for most species unless you're treating for ich.

Heater for a 46 gallon would be about 200 or 250 watts.
A canister filter is a sealed container that sits lower than the aquarium and contains all of the filter materials. You get water to and from it by connecting hoses that hang over the back or side of your tank. Water drains by siphoning into the filter canister. It goes to the botttom of the filter and rises through the various containers full of media. At the top of the canister there is a pum ping device called an impeller that pushes the filtered water back through a hose into your tank.
The various canisters are distinguished from each other by the materials they are made from, the ease with which they can be cleaned and primed, the perceived longevity of their components and the flow rates that they develop. Choosing a canister means looking for one rated for your size tank that you are willing to pay for. There is no difference at all in terms of how well they work as a biological filter because you can take media from any one of them and use it in another. The baskets that hold media are missing completely in some of the big name filters like the Eheim classic series but they are still considered good filters. Most of the newer filters come with baskets and have internal flow paths from top to bottom and then the flow enters a plenum at the bottom before returning to the top through the media. The classic Eheims actually connect directly to the bottom plenum area and so they get to claim no bypass flow because with no internal passages there is no way for a drop of water to go from the inlet hose directly into the impeller. All other filters seem to use various methods to seal most of the flow into the desired internal flow path but some small percentage of the water isn't filtered the first time through.

An Eheim 2224 would be perfect for you .