46 Gal Tank

[Ferchoz]

I just recently registered to this forum but I have been reading threads for about one month now. I started with a 10 Gal SW tank. But last week I decided to buy a 46 Gal and go bigger. I am planning on having, fish, corals (soft, mushrooms, LPS) and live rock. I went to BigAl’s and bough it. The guy at the store told me that for a tank this big I didn’t need a Sump or a Skimmer. My questions is if it will be necessary to have both or at least the skimmer, what would you guys recoment? As of right now, here is a list of what I bought:
46 gal tank (glass)
Live sand (From my pevious 10 gal tank and bought new one)
Bio Wheel Power Filter (Penguin 200 gallons per hour)
Penguin 550 Power head
Shopping list:
About 20 lb of LR
Lights
Stand
Corals
Another questions is what kind of lights do you guys recommend for keeping up my anenome and being abel to buy new coral . I have been reading and havent come up with a decission yet.I was looking to buy this lights: [Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

And if I have to buy a skimmer is it ok if I buy a skimmer like this:
[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

I would appreciatle any siuggestions, thank you.

[JaredCBell]

I just recently registered to this forum but I have been reading threads for about one month now. I started with a 10 Gal SW tank. But last week I decided to buy a 46 Gal and go bigger. I am planning on having, fish, corals (soft, mushrooms, LPS) and live rock. I went to BigAl’s and bough it. The guy at the store told me that for a tank this big I didn’t need a Sump or a Skimmer. My questions is if it will be necessary to have both or at least the skimmer, what would you guys recoment? As of right now, here is a list of what I bought:
46 gal tank (glass)
Live sand (From my pevious 10 gal tank and bought new one)
Bio Wheel Power Filter (Penguin 200 gallons per hour)
Penguin 550 Power head
Shopping list:
About 20 lb of LR
Lights
Stand
Corals
Another questions is what kind of lights do you guys recommend for keeping up my anenome and being abel to buy new coral . I have been reading and havent come up with a decission yet.I was looking to buy this lights: [Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

And if I have to buy a skimmer is it ok if I buy a skimmer like this:
[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

I would appreciatle any siuggestions, thank you.

I would ditch the biowheel, get 50lbs of live rock and a good protein skimmer.

[saix88]

I would ditch the biowheel, get 50lbs of live rock and a good protein skimmer.

I would keep the biowheel and still get around 50lbs of live rock. a good skimmer to look at is the CPR Bak-Pak 2 Protein Skimmer.

[tim k]

If I was going to do a 46g it would look like this [Only Registered Users Can See Links.]
. :hmm3grin2orange:

If i was going to go sumpless It would be very simple.
Aproximately 1.5 ponds of live rock per gallon.
Skimmer rated at double the water volume.
And a couple smaller power heads and thats it.

Your rock and skimmer will be all the filtration you will need.


Best of luck.
Tim

[Ferchoz]

Just a real quick question before I buy the skimmer... is it necessary to cut the wholes in the back of the tank? Or can I just put the hose from the top? Thank you!

[JaredCBell]

Just a real quick question before I buy the skimmer... is it necessary to cut the wholes in the back of the tank? Or can I just put the hose from the top? Thank you!

ya I was wondering this too. I wanted to get this one:
[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

but it looks like you have to drill a hole for the pipe? Am I wrong? Whats a good HOB protein skimmer?

[oldhead]

You will not need to drill any holes for the skimmer.

[Ferchoz]

can you guys recomend any good protein skimmers, any links? and any good lights? thanks you so much for all the help! i just dont want to buy stuff im going to regret in the future! also can anyone checkout those two links i posted above and tell me if they are good or not???

[tim k]

I am using the same light on my 46g and its alright , not great but not bad.
I have no problem with any of my Corals growing under that light.
I did get a bad bulb that died after about a month but BigAls changed it without any problem.

That skimmer will get some very mixed reviews , some say it works well others say its a piece of junk.
I have one in the basement that I hve never used so I can't comment on its performance.
I did buy an Octopus DNW150 and it has worked flawlesly , set it and forget it.
You can find them on Ebay for a very reasonable price.

Tim

[Ferchoz]

Wow thank you so much for all the input! What about this lights??? Are they any good better than the other ones???? Is the price reasonable?

[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

[tim k]

There is nothing wrong with the first light you posted for the price it is a decent light that should allow you to keep most corals without having to upgrade.
It is working well for me.
Tim

[Ferchoz]

Ok guys, so this is what I bought today...

Coralife 36" Aqualight Power Compact Strip Light- 2X96Watt

[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

I love how they look, even though they are a bit expensive, but I hope is worth it... does any one have any input on this light??? are they good???

also I did not buy the Skimmer, I am planning on doing it in the future, but for now I am only going to use the biowheel to start...

How long do I have to wait before I start transfering my fish from my 10 gal to my new tank??? I understand I have to test the water but should I wait longer if the water is good??? can I start adding the Live Rock right away since I am going to be doing it slow because is kind of expensive the rock I want....???

Thanks for all ur help!!! is greatly appreciated!!