40 gal marine setup

how much live rock will i need?

how much live sand will i need?

also i will not be getting a sump i will be getting the fluval 205 external filter.

and a hang on skimmer the best i can get.

how strong should the 2 powerheads i get be?

should i do weekly water changes or monthly water changes?
if so how much

thanks

 

Live Rock I would shoot for 60lbs, honestly I am not sure for your sand, some like an inch or two and others prefer a deeper sandbed. As for the sump your not getting. I would consider a sump vs the canister filter. A canister filet will limit what you can do for filtration. it will also give you the added cleaning and media to replace. if the media and canister arent cleaned regular, it will make it very hard to have zero or low nitrate. A sump will allow you to have a fuge built into it, and thats the best way to filter a SW tank IMO. As for your powerheads, I think 2 koralia #2's would be good. I am not a pro on flow rates or anything, so someone else will have to correct me if I am wrong on that one. Water changes should be a weekly or biweekly thing. Monthly changes with a canister filter will not be enough to get your water chemistry were you will want it for corals. I hope I helped, if not or if I am mistaken about something, the Pro's here will correct me.

 

thanks for the info but how much how much water should i change each week?

 

If I was doing weekly water changes I would 10-15% or about 4-6 gallons.