new 46 gal fowlr

[noodus]

what's the best way to set it up?

sand or no sand?

wet/dry or refuge?

i only plan on putting in 25-30 pounds of live rock.

opinions please, thanks

[animalutopia]

livesand always works best because it cycles the tank much faster then using coral.
remember to add the sand after the tank is at a proper salinity other wise the sand will die!

now to maintain healthy sand substrate and keep it thriving add a couple of sand sifters to keep it moving.

refugiams are good but in my opinion very complicated. wetdry will work. just remember to upgrade the protien skimmer!

Sand
Fuge (HOT in you have the room)
Lots of LR
Good quality skimmer - Coralife Superskimmer (the one rated for 65 g)

Good luck!

[HoopsGuru]

For a fish only tank, I would go with a shallow sandbed (1" or less), this would eliminate the need for sand sifters. I would then go with a wet/dry and a good skimmer (remora or bakpak).

[seaham358]

Agree with hoops about the sand bed, Sand sifting stars require lots of LS and they will eat benificial SB critters and in a 46 they will eat the food source quickly. SS snails would be a better option. A fuge IMO is a great addidtion to any tank and if you have the room should be added. A fuge is different then a W/d and sump.. So your talking about a sump/fuge combo?
Do not skimp on the LR it will be the main filtration on the tank and is one of the most important parts of a tank. If you must use less LR then maybe a W/D would be a better way to go.
Do lots of planning and keep asking questions..

Sand is always fun. If you're planning on putting live rock, why not just get regular sand or aragonite or something. The LR will seed it with goodies.

It's always a great challenge to go the refugium way. With that said, I really have no experience with refugiums. I would try the sump way. Maybe put a bit more LR in the sump.

FOWLRs are very easy to maintain for a saltwater setup. You'll have a great time and have an awesome experience learning new tricks.

Good luck

[greenmaji]

If you only want up to 30lb of LR in the main tank.. would you consider another 20lb+ LR rubble in the sump? I like the idea of a fuge better then wet/dry and a good skimmer would be very benificial IMO.. HTH

[noodus]

thanks everyone!! i'm think i'm going with 1 inch of live sand bed. wet/dry with extra rock rubble. and a skimmer of course.