cirulation, ocean water and maintaince

[billyzbear]

Hi, for a 60g tank 48" long, how much cirulation do you need? I was thinking on 600gph pump in a closed loop setup. Placing two nozzals, One more on the top at one end of the tank pointing down at 30%. Another more by the bottom on the same side pointing up at 30%. Then swithing the water between the two. I think this would create a wave across the tank. Other than that have two nozzles on the back and point them to the front and switch them. This way the force of the "wave" circulate around that area. Or I could take two nozzles and place them in each back corner and forget the switcher or maybe not.
Would it be ok to use water from the ocean for a reef/fish tank? I could run a Flovul on it some and heat it before putting in in the tank.
How much "work" is to take care of a salt tank than a fresh water tank. I'd like a few fish, mushrooms, polyps, sponge, long tentacle anemane, sebae anemane, bubble anemane, toadstool, frogspawn, featherduster and open brain. Any help or articles would be great.

 

[Carpentersreef]

Alternating current is always best, so keep that if you can. Closed loop set-ups lose some velocity depending on your plumbing, but a 600gph pump should still be fine.
Different anenome species will fight with one another, so limit your setup to one type.
You can use water from the ocean, but you still must ensure good water quality. Depending on where you live, the water could be contanimated with different things. Check it out with your local water authority.
I think that a salt water tank is actually less maintenance than FW, but you have to know what's going on in your system, and know how to recognize small problems before they become big ones.

What books do you have for reference? You CANNOT get by without them.

Mitch

 

[billyzbear]

Thanks for the reply. To me a closed loop system seems the way to go. I haven't seen much on the net on a good way to set one up with a switcher. I did find this:http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/tank/closedloop.html
It looks ok but in my opinion the intake pipe is way too long. What did you think of the idea of putting both nozzels on the side? Or should i just trash the idea and get two power heads?
What would be a good test kit to get and what should I test for on the ocean water?
You right, if I read a good book on how to take care of a reef/fish tank I'd know. I want to set one up I just don't want to get in over my head after spending a lot of money. I guess this is coming from the LFS and a couple of other people I've talked to. It made me get second thoughts. Can someone give me some good sites to go to and a book to get?