# New Tank



## ChristinaV (Apr 27, 2015)

Hi everyone I was wondering if someone could help me answer some questions. I am starting up a 40 gal. breeder tank after being away from saltwater for 12yrs. I want to set up a reef tank with future coral. I was thinking about a UGF and one place says that's what they use and suggested 450 power head. Another is trying to push expensive products. I was going to use 40lbs of live sand also. Am I headed in the right direction.

Thanks
C.


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## Romad (Jun 28, 2009)

Hello and welcome to the forum :wave:

I'm moving this thread to the Beginner Saltwater section for you. Good luck!


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## Roccus (Nov 1, 2013)

Welcome to the site.......If your plan is to keep corals.. you might want to rethink the UGF.... Most people now use live rock ( to denitrify the nitrate) a bed of live sand and at minimum a HOB filter that they can clean easily to keep nitrates under control.. the addition of a quality protein skimmer will go a long way towards keeping nitrates under control...planning ahead now will save lots of headaches in the future....you will also want to think about which corals you want to have... each need different requirements for light, flow and feeding habits....you don't need a lot of expensive equipment , but there seems to be minimums that are needed to be successful...

for an example:
My sea horse tank ( 20 gallon bow front) runs on 15 lbs. of live rock... 15 lbs of live sand.. a Little penguin 200 HOB filter and a Remora C HOB skimmer... the heater is a 100 W ( hooked to a controller for over heat protection.. this is a safety item not a must have).. a set of full spectrum LED light the way.. so cost on this tank is minimum.. .. in that tank I have 2 H erectus sea horses a maxima clam... a large gonipora... a small mushroom colony.. 2 types of gorgonians.. and assorted polyp colonies and 2 coco worms.. the CUC consists of a few peppermint shrimp... clams.. 2 dwarf white leg hermit crabs... 2 nassauris snails... a fighting conch is my sand stirrer and a ringed cowrie eats anything and everything.. there is a lot of life in that tank and sea horses are messy eaters ... Nitrates stay less than 5ppm with weekly 20% water changes and filter rinses (I change one set of media once a month and rotate the remaining "OLD" filter to the front of the line and the new media provides secondary filtration and new carbon).. filtration is minimal considering the load and the water stays crystal clear.I.only have to clean the glass every month to month and a half.. and even then it's not that bad... so my total filtration for that tank is only a few hundred dollars... less than I spent on the skimmer alone for the 75 G reef tank... you don't have to spend a fortune ... you just will have to work a little harder..


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