Have questions!

[My HD PVR]

So it is possible that I am going to be getting a 40 gallon tank with a rena fillstar xp1, some lights, and a rena smart heater. Not sure the watts on it. Salt water setup. With a blue spotted toby. I am trying to get my hands on a bacpack for 50 bucks. First few things, what can the toby be with? I REALLY wanna know that because if only the toby is gonna be in there, plans may change. Also how many lbs of sand, and LR will I need. At my home depot theres play sand, 50 lbs for 3 bucks.... How do you cure LR. Overflow box/sump whats easier and whats better? What do I need for it?

If the tank is only 40 gallons you wont need a sump, just a good external filter I would say an Rena Xp2 / XP3 would do the trick, fill the filter with Carbon, Rowaphos (Removes Phosphates) and Filter Floss (polishes the water).
That takes care of your Chemical Filtration!

Now for Biological Filtration use LiveRock as a rules of thumb I got this quote from another forum on how much liverock to use:
"The correct amount of live rock to have in a reef tank is between a minimum of 1 pound per gallon and a maximum of 1.75 pounds per gallon. Somewhere in the middle, like 1.35 pounds per gallon, would be ideal. Do not exceed 1.75, unless you want to turn some quality live rock into base rock, which would take at least a year to recover and resemble what it was before other rock was stacked on top of it."

So I would say 40 - 45 lbs of LR will be sufficient for a 40 Gallon tank, you will however need to ensure strong water flow thru the Liverock so that it can filter your water effectively for this you will need a Powerhead for e.g. Koralia 2 , 3 etc.
You also want Aragonite sand or coral for your marine tank to ensure a stable PH of which aragonite sand will buffer your waters PH thru the release of calcium compounds from the sand, do not use crappy play sand in marine tanks, dont look natural and does not do anything for your water!

Finally because you will be keeping toby / bluespotted puffer you will need a Skimmer all the skimmers you have posted above are crap, for a Puffer Tank you will need a motor driven Skimmer so I suggest either
Deltec MCE300, Tunze DOC 9002 or a Bubble Magus 3.5. All these skimmers are QUALITY and powerful which will keep your water crystal clear while removing thick black gunk in the skimmer.

As for tank mates if you were to buy a Toby Puffer it is quite possible that you could keep 2 Tobies in the same tank as they very gentle puffers, or you could keep a Toby and a pair of Clownfish maybe some blennys/gobies.
If you want a bluespotted puffer (Cathigaster Solandri) these two are quite placid puffers and could be kept with other fish i have just mentioned.
you may also want to look into Dwarf Angelfish like the Flame Angel or Coral Beuaty are also great fish to go with these types of puffers.

Hope that Helps BW

[My HD PVR]

The tank that I just mentioned, I got her to lower it down to 50 bucks if I can get it tonight!!!!

[My HD PVR]

Skimmers i've found on amazon, tell me if they are good..
http://www.amazon.com/RED-SEA-BERLIN-AI ... 93&sr=1-31
http://www.amazon.com/Aquarium-Protein- ... pd_sbs_k_2
http://www.amazon.com/Aquarium-Fish-Pro ... pd_sbs_k_1



Overflow box. Good one?
http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/ ... 13803.html

[Black Widow]

o it is possible that I am going to be getting a 40 gallon tank with a rena fillstar xp1, some lights, and a rena smart heater. Not sure the watts on it. Salt water setup. With a blue spotted toby. I am trying to get my hands on a bacpack for 50 bucks. First few things, what can the toby be with? I REALLY wanna know that because if only the toby is gonna be in there, plans may change. Also how many lbs of sand, and LR will I need. At my home depot theres play sand, 50 lbs for 3 bucks.... How do you cure LR. Overflow box/sump whats easier and whats better? What do I need for it?

If the tank is only 40 gallons you wont need a sump, just a good external filter I would say an Rena Xp2 / XP3 would do the trick, fill the filter with Carbon, Rowaphos (Removes Phosphates) and Filter Floss (polishes the water).
That takes care of your Chemical Filtration!

Now for Biological Filtration use LiveRock as a rules of thumb I got this quote from another forum on how much liverock to use:
"The correct amount of live rock to have in a reef tank is between a minimum of 1 pound per gallon and a maximum of 1.75 pounds per gallon. Somewhere in the middle, like 1.35 pounds per gallon, would be ideal. Do not exceed 1.75, unless you want to turn some quality live rock into base rock, which would take at least a year to recover and resemble what it was before other rock was stacked on top of it."
So I would say 40 - 45 lbs of LR will be sufficient for a 40 Gallon tank, you will however need to ensure strong water flow thru the Liverock so that it can filter your water effectively for this you will need a Powerhead for e.g. Koralia 2 , 3 etc.

You also want Aragonite sand or Coral sand for your marine tank to ensure a stable PH of which aragonite sand will buffer your waters PH thru the release of calcium compounds from the sand, do not use crappy play sand in marine tanks, it dont look natural and does not do anything for your water!

Finally because you will be keeping toby / bluespotted puffer you will need a Skimmer. All the skimmers you have posted above are defunct and wont skim your water well enough, for a Puffer Tank you will need a motor driven Skimmer so I would suggest either:
Deltec MCE300 , Tunze DOC 9002 or a Bubble Magus 3.5.
These skimmers are QUALITY and powerful which will keep your water crystal clear while removing thick black gunk in the skimmer.

As for tank mates if you were to buy a Toby Puffer it is quite possible that you could keep 2 Tobies in the same tank as they very gentle puffers, or you could keep a Toby and a pair of Clownfish maybe some blennys/gobies.
If you want a bluespotted puffer (Cathigaster Solandri) these two are quite placid puffers and could be kept with other fish i have just mentioned.
you may also want to look into Dwarf Angelfish like the Flame Angel or Coral Beuaty are also great fish to go with these types of puffers.

Hope that Helps BW

[My HD PVR]

Great info, still have some things to say. One, is a Backpac okay to use? Also is an overflow box necessary?
Also, I have a powerhead right now, so how many more do you think i need? And the filters, I am not sure if i can get my hands on anything, maybe like an AC 30 or something.. Is that okay?
Tank mates
Would the toby,
A clown or two,
and a saddle puffer be okay?
or another toby or something

How DO you "cure" LR

[Black Widow]

Great info, still have some things to say. One, is a Backpac okay to use? Also is an overflow box necessary?
Also, I have a powerhead right now, so how many more do you think i need? And the filters, I am not sure if i can get my hands on anything, maybe like an AC 30 or something.. Is that okay?
Tank mates
Would the toby,
A clown or two,
and a saddle puffer be okay?
or another toby or something

How DO you "cure" LR

I dont know want a Bacpac is?? Overflow box is only needed if you want to connect a tank to a sump! When looking at powerheads you need one around 4000 L / h or 2 x 2500 L / h positioned on both sides of the tank for good flow.
A Rena Xp 2 / XP 3 filter will push water out at 1000 - 1300 L / h so will need a filter that has a similar power!

Go do Research on all the equipment I have posted above to give you an idea of what you need, if you cant find the equipment I have specified then you can find SIMILAR ones elsewhere.

A saddle puffer is a toby puffer, so yes two tobies and a pair of clownfish would be fine, p.s. I dont know how to cure live rock I just buy it live and shove it in my tank

[My HD PVR]

The skimmers listed are veryyy pricey... i can spend like 60 on one...

[trekenk]

You don't need a external filter with saltwater set up. 1 1/2 to 2 lbs pre gallon live rock, a good skimmer and good flow is all you need. Canister filters on saltwater = nitrate factory.

[trekenk]

The skimmers listed are veryyy pricey... i can spend like 60 on one...

Save some money on not buying an external filter and put towards a good skimmer and enought live rock. In the long run it will save you alot due to less water changes needed so less salt to buy.

[My HD PVR]

In what I am buying it comes with the filter tho...

[trekenk]

A saddle puffer is a toby puffer, so yes two tobies and a pair of clownfish would be fine,

With a 40 gallon you only have enough room for one saddle puffer.

[Black Widow]

You don't need a external filter with saltwater set up. 1 1/2 to 2 lbs pre gallon live rock, a good skimmer and good flow is all you need. Canister filters on saltwater = nitrate factory.

No external filters on a Saltwater Tank only become NITRATE FACTORIES when they are filled with bio media like Bio Balls, Ceramic noodles. If you read my post you would see that I suggested filling the filter with Carbon, Rowaphos and Filter floss all necessary chemical filtration for a tank that has no Sump. Without such the tank will have Algae problems as it will suffer excessive nitrate and phosphate levels.

@ PVR if those skimmers are a bit pricey then I would suggest a TMC V2400 Skimmer or similar

[My HD PVR]

^^site to buy a TMC V2400?

[trekenk]

Here is a great link to read.

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_2/ ... ration.htm

[Black Widow]

^^site to buy a TMC V2400?

this is similar to a TMC V2400 Skimmer, and looks good for the money:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004K8 ... d_i=507846