New tank questions

[rica5tully]

I have a few questions about my new saltwater tank I'll set up in the next couple of weeks (I'm relatively new to saltwater)

1) If I buy sand at HomeDepot or Menards for substrate, what kind do I buy? Is there a special type I need? Will it look like ocean sand (i.e. really "white")?

2) How much live rock do I need in the tank to get away with not having a power filter? I am going to have 1-2 Maxijet powerheads in the tank as well as an Aqua C Remora skimmer with a Maxijet pump.

3) Does anyone know if AllGlass is discontinuing their 55-watt powercompact lights? I was going to buy one (because I already have one and just need a second- cheaper) but I heard everyone is switching to 65-watt stuff. What do you think?

Thank you very much!

 

[latazyo]

1) If I buy sand at HomeDepot or Menards for substrate, what kind do I buy? Is there a special type I need? Will it look like ocean sand (i.e. really "white")?

It is highly recommended to use aragonite sand, however, I, as well as many others, have used silica sand and had success. It is speculated that silica sand will cause algae blooms, HOWEVER, I had a tank with silica in it that had a lot of algae, the EXACT same tank, with exact same livestock with EXACT same lighting/equipment is now a bare bottom tank and has the same exact amount of algae in it, so I have come to the conclusion that it is the lighting to blame. Avoid crushed coral, and you don't need to buy sand labelled "live sand". Just get normal aragonite sand, and seed it with sand from someone else's saltwater tank.

2) How much live rock do I need in the tank to get away with not having a power filter? I am going to have 1-2 Maxijet powerheads in the tank as well as an Aqua C Remora skimmer with a Maxijet pump.

I rock an ahsupply.com/hellolights.com combo and I love it. I can not comment on the all-glass situation though.

HTH
I usually go with 1.5-2 pounds per gallon. This is very good and with the powerheads you definitely will not need a power filter of any kind, especially with the skimmer. Good choice with MJ powerheads, they work very well.

3) Does anyone know if AllGlass is discontinuing their 55-watt powercompact lights? I was going to buy one (because I already have one and just need a second- cheaper) but I heard everyone is switching to 65-watt stuff. What do you think?