I'm hardly a genius but thanks for the vote of confidence :-) Julian Sprung is a genius. He's my reef God that I pay homage to LOL If you are interested in some great reading and vast amount of knowledge, get his books "Reef Keeping" Vols 1,2, & 3 and also his "Reef Notes". Although not riveting reading these books are filled with everything you ever wanted to know about reef keeping but didn't know what to ask.

Ah rock smell. Something near and dear to my, well, my nose LOL Cured rock will have a clean, fresh ocean smell...like you just walked out onto the sands of Bora Bora. Uncured rock will smell like death...it literally has a putrid stank to it. Uncured will also have a lot of organisms that look like they are rotting. Once you see the two types side by side you will never forget the difference.

As I mentioned previously, when you exchange live rock for lace rock, do it slowly. A couple pieces a week or so. If you are daring and feeling confident, once you cure the new rock OUTSIDE the tank, you technically could exchange all the rock at one time. How much lace rock vs live rock do you have? Is it a 50:50 ratio? Based only on the pics I see I'd guess you do not have enough rock. Shoot for 1 1/2 lbs per gallon, or 45lbs. You will also want 45lbs of sand.

Instead of going through a rock curing lesson, I did a quick search and found a site that gives a great breakdown of how to cure your rock. I agree with what the author has written and he does pretty much exactly what I do. Although I have not read his entire website, the only thing I came across that I disagreed with was his comment about where the majority of rock in the U.S. comes from. He claims that Fiji and Florida are the main sources for rock, and maybe it is on the east coast. He forgets about Bali, Tonga, Vanuatu, Marshall Islands, etc. But this is another discussion and I don't want you thinking about what type you should be looking for. Although for you I'd suggest Fiji or Bali. Please do not get caught up in types of rock for now and how they are different but it is primarily density, shapes and the micro and macro-organisms. Now see what you got me into LOL j/k
Anyway here is the link:
http://www.livestockusa.org/CURING.html
Regarding the light issue for new rock...it is nothing to worry about. If it gives you any peace of mind, I never worry about it.

As jdak mentioned the biowheel is unnecessary in a reef or saltwater tank. A biowheel provides biological filtration which is already present with the rock. And to address the question you are thinking right now ;-) More is not better. Biowheels harbor detritus which raise your nitrate levels. Detritus is just a fancy word for undissolved organic waste. We have shared enough posts back and forth now, and I also know what my clients ask, so I will take a guess that you are thinking "should I just get a different type of filter?" Am I right? LOL Getting a different filter is not really necessary for now. In actuality you could run a very successful reef with only a wavemaker and a skimmer. I don't suggest this for a novice or intermediate reefer though. If you do, one day, decide you want to upgrade your filter we can cross that bridge, I mean ocean, when we get there. Baby steps :-) For now, see if your LFS has any filter media that fits the Marineland but does not have carbon. If they give you a hard time and say you have to run carbon tell them I said they do not know what they are doing. You might need to find something that will work in place of the filter media you can get. Example...get a Magnum filter pad, utilizing the plastic piece inside the Marineland media cut the Magnum one to fit and that should work. Excuse me if that doesn't make sense...long day and I am tired LOL You could also look and see if they have a sponge filter that will fit.

Powder Brown Tang...bad, bad, bad idea. For the reason that jdak mentioned but also because the species is very susceptible to parasites, specifically Oodinium, saltwater Ich. Powder browns are also on the list of fish with a high mortality rate in home aquariums...this is where some hobbyists will say they have had one for years with no problem. Its true some can experience success with the species but overall they do not live. I have my personal list of fish I feel should be outlawed and the Powder Brown is one of them. I’ve been working with wholesalers for years to get many fish put on the list but far too many hobbyist request them so they will continue to be caught.

A Tang I will suggest for you would be the Kole Tang. It will fit your tank and is very hardy…they are cute too. I attached a pic for you. They are also great algae eaters and can help to eliminate hair algae should you begin to get some. If you do not have much algae growing you will want to give them some romaine lettuce to grub down on. Just get a lettuce clip from your LFS. Replace the lettuce every day so it does not add to the waste. There are actually are some species of Tangs that will work in your tank. You just need to get a juvenile. Baby Blue Tangs will do ok but they tend to hide inside the rock. The key is to not overcrowd your tank.

Just to add…I was talking to someone today and thought I’d share this with you. Never give your fish a name! Sounds silly but trust me. Once you name them they die. The first fish to die are always the ones with names.

That's why I specifically said baby blue tang. In nature baby blues tend to stay next to their home rock. They also adapt very well to smaller tanks. It would take years for a baby blue to outgrow her tank, which is actually 30 gallons, and would take much longer for it to grow to full size even in a 125g. Kole Tangs also do very well in smaller tanks. The pics I posted before, with the scallop, is a 29g and has a medium size kole who was very happy in his home. I know what the text books say, but as we all know text books and reality are usually quite different.

"Not saying an ecosystem can't be created in freshwater but it seems most freshwater tanks don't even represent the region of the fish. Just a bag of gravel, plastic plants, and fish. "

Do you not have an 150G tank with bleached coral, fake rock and plastic,
along with a few bags of sand?
Maybe you created the region for your fish, but it is hardly the "real" thing.
So you could pretty much say this about your puffer tank.
Well, one good thing about this hobby, recession or not....... most everyone can afford it as all you really need is a bag of gravel, some plastic plants and a .99 cent fish and you have yourself a pet.

I think I will go with a baby blue tang :) I am very excited!! Thanks for all the help!
Saltwater tanks are so intersting!

Amy, look around, people have tried it. I can't believe somebody would recommend this fish for your tank. I would expect it from a LFS or anybody in the "profession" but ask around more. Look thru other forums. I can guarantee what the majority would say about this combination. I did a search for you from many marine forums...

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.p ... pic=103236
http://www.atlantareefclub.org/forums/s ... php?t=6655
http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.p ... opic=65784
http://www.myfishtank.net/forum/saltwat ... -tang.html
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showt ... id=9851097
http://web1.reefcentral.com/forums/show ... ?t=1711324