New to this, got some questions. Plz help.

[IShark]

I have a 95 gal tank. I want to start with FOWLR for now and add coral and good lighting later down the road. I was wondering. What protein skimmer and pump should i get? What size skimmer? What size return pump? How many GPH should my powerheads be for curculation? Im gonna do one on each side of tank. How many lbs of sand do i need? How many lbs of LR? Do i need a heater in my sump? Oh and im planning on doing a 55 gal sump with refuge. What should I put in my refuge other then sand bed and LR? Any other info that u guys feel i should know pls let me know. I really appreciate all the help i can get guys.

[Mikilios]

Getting a protein skimmer rated above your actual tank size is recommended. I'd go for something rated for over 200 gallons for your setup.

Water flow in the display tank... the more the better, generally (depending on what you plan on putting in the tank). I have a 50 gallon (20g sump) with two 750 gph powerheads that I recently set up, and I already know I want more. Probably upgrade one of the powerheads to a 1400gph flow, and one at 750. I'll use the third for my salt mixer/backup.

I have a bubble magus skimmer rated for 160 gallons, and I only have 70 combined gallons. The thing is pulling all kinds of gunk out of my system after only 14 days.

Growing beneficial algae in the sump is generally a good thing (unless you want to use the space for something else).

With fish only with live rock, you wouldn't really need the high end lighting. But for keeping a lot of corals, you'd need to upgrade to some more spendy lighting systems. (There is a forum for lighting on here that is excellent, I suggest you check it out).

Anyhow... read read read. Cross reference any information you find. Google searches for multiple articles/blogs has been my best friend. And never be afraid to ask people on here. I have had excellent feedback from the folks here who have been doing this for years. Very good site here.

Also, following other people's threads who have done their builds can teach you much (it did for me, and now I'm logging my own daily). I did all this reasearch, and found after installing my live rock that I needed to catch up quickly on my algae knowledge (easy to overlook something so simple).

Anyhow, just a few pointers. Hit me up if you want any particular info I've found on the web. I have favorited numerous websites.

[Mikilios]

Good basic outline for live rock/and substrate. Live rock, around 1 lb per gallon of water. Sand, depends on what you want. Some do bare bottom tanks. Some go shallow sand (up to 1 inch or so) to keep down on bacteria build up in the sand. Others go deep sand bed (4" +). You can research the pro's and con's of each and decide what you like.

[domb54]

as much live rock as possible to look good, sand makes things easier in my opinion have done cc barebottom and sand , sand being easiest only 1 inch have tried dsb. people have done well without skimming but all that i have heard of had 2-3 lbs/gallon. lighting no issue until you add corals, if you want coraline algae though cheap fl. lights will provide enough light to get that going actinics especially help. grow macro in the sump pods will flourish, and be free fish food.

[IShark]

I was thinking one powerhead on each side, the koralia4 rated at 1200gph. Or i was thinking of getting a used Mag24 and splitting it up where one would go to my return pump and then have one going into the tank as another powerhead and then maybe just one koralia4 to save some money. What u guys think?

[ledme]

Read This My first 95 gallon reef tank build

http://www.thereeftank.com/forums/f6/my-first-95-gallon-reef-tank-build-131083.html