what to do, what to do

[mlyacko2]

Looking for some advice from the wise here....
I am in the process of my first attempt at saltwater. I am planning a FOWLR setup and i have a few questions but first, here is my equipment so far...what are your thoughts?

65g tall all glass aquarium with cabinet, Coralife lunar compact fluorescent- bought all of this for $200 used

20g long sump DIY with refugium and bubble baffles (under display)

cpr100 overflow with small priming pump

mag drive 950 return pump

ocean wave + 5 stage 75 gph RO/DI from thefilterguys mounted under the kitchen sink

(everything is plumbed with vinyl tubing and ball valves) I used a design from melev's site to construct the plumbing and sump

I still want to buy all my testing equipment, and various other parts but here is what im thinkin...

octopus nw 150 or octopus nw200....which one? I dont know

heaters...i figure for roughly 85 gallons of water i need 170 watts so i will go with 2 100w heaters to be safe...which brand? there are soooo many??

Will i need some powerheads. Will 2 maxi jet 900's suffice or will i even need them with an 800gph flow rate from my overflow/return pump?

When all of my equipment is set up i am somewhat in the dark about the most effective way to mix and add saltwater. I am thinking just a new 30g trash can and air or waterpump with maybe a heater. Any links someone could suggest? Can I mix the saltwater in my display tank?

I also found someone 20 minutes away who is parting out a 225g reef tank and selling live rock for $3 per lb. Is roughly 80 lbs a good number for my display? Is there a good thread on the ins and outs of adding live rock to a system. I should be able to add it all at the same time without a major cycle or any issues if it is already cured, right?

If I get everything up and running with saltwater, is there a waiting period before I can add live rock? When I do add the cured live rock how long should i expect to wait before i add any creatures. Will I get much of a cycle? I am soo confused. I guess time will tell......

Thanks everyone,
Teresa and Mike

 

[Sk8r]

You probably won't need the powerheads. Ultimately something like a Seaswirl will give you more flow in varied angles if you ultimately need it. 80 pounds would be excellent. 65 would do if really porous.
Lay down eggcrate: protects your glass. Lay down a little base rock, add saltwater, get the temperature up, then add your live rock, THEN sand, etc. (dry sand ok but WASH it in ro/di to shed the dust, and there is a lot of dust) . To mix your saltwater, get 2 32 gallon Brute trashcans, always useful about the house, and keep one sacrosanct for running ro/di: they don't overflow as readily. Use a 1200 maxijet to stir it and it will mix overnight.

Whhhhhyyyyy do you want to avoid a cycle? Have you got fish already? With good live rock you should have a very short cycle...as little as 5 days, but more often 2 weeks before its safe to add things. you'll know when you get clear nitrate/ammonia tests and an algae bloom. Mostly don't push it. You'll have an excellent start with that nice rock, but remember: give it time to have its disaster if it's going to have one. Haste makes dead critters.
You're really lucky to get that rock.

 

[shuguley]

"cpr100 overflow with small priming pump"

Most people will reccomend staying away from overflow boxes that require a pump to remain primed. It isn't a question of if the pump will fail, but a question of when.

Of course the best overflow option is to drill your tank, after that, the U-Tube style overflow boxes are much more reliable, especially lifereef overflow boxes www.lifereef.com. The lifereef boxes are more expensive, but piece of mind is worth the extra money as far as I'm concerned.