You should remove the biowheel from the filter and either use chemical filtration, like a phosphate sponge or something like chemipure elite or purigen, or just remove it. You could also turn it into a refugium. You only need live rock and sand for biological filtration; external filters like biowheels, sponges, or bio-balls are incomplete filters that can get clogged with detritus (=”nitrate factory”).

1. Get around 1-1.5 lbs of live rock per gallon (so ~20 lbs). Choose the least dense rock since it is more porous. What you want is rock with more surface area for more filtration, but you can only buy based on weight. So, dense rock is both more expensive and less useful.

2. You don’t have to buy live sand, as any sand will become live from the bacteria and other organisms in the live rock. Also, bagged “live sand” has little life sitting on the shelf for months and with no gas exchange. Aragonite or calcite sand are good choices. Avoid sand with large grains, like crushed coral, because it can accumulate detritus (“non-living” organic matter like wastes). Similarly, sugar fine (oolitic) sand can get blown away with strong water movement.

3-4. Make sure to research the livestock you get before buying them, even from the most “trustworthy” local fish store since they may be wrong on the ID. Ocellaris/percula clowns are great. See my second link for coral care.

5. Get either a glass hydrometer or refractometer meant for measuring saltwater salinity (specific gravity for the hydrometer). Swing arm hydrometers are hard to keep clean and reliable.

6. Test kits are very important in tracking your cycle and later monitoring water quality. You need at least ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate, with pH being helpful. The API saltwater master kit is a reliable and inexpensive choice. Salifert, Lamotte, and Elos are more accurate brands. Red Sea and Tetra are examples of inaccurate brands. Test strips are not accurate. Later on, calcium, alkalinity, and magnesium may be important.

7. Any of the major salt brands will be fine since they are very similar in composition (in relation to natural seawater). These include Instant Ocean, Tropic Marin, Seachem, and Red Sea. There are some reef varieties meant to be used with corals or clams that use a lot of calcium/alkalinity.

8. A protein skimmer is nice but not always necessary if you keep up with regular water changes. Nano tanks are perfect for making significant water changes (i.e. 25% would only be 5 gallons) on a weekly basis. Water changes and live rock are effectively all the filtration you need.

9. I strongly suggest getting a snail and worm clean up crew. See my third link for good and bad choices (with reasons) for a CUC.

Please see my answer here for a nearly complete list of equipment and supplies:

I don’t think there’s such a thing as T2 lighting. The T stands for tubular; the 2 stands for 2/8ths (1/4) of an inch in diameter. You could be meaning T5s, which are good lighting choices. However, not every T5 fixture is the same, so please go to the lighting forum at nano-reef.com and read the “T5HO information thread”. 10000K bulbs only would be very white-yellow. Avoid watts per gallon ratios for saltwater tanks because different bulbs produce different amounts of light for the same watt of power. This is why no one would recommend using a 100W incandescent bulb as better than say a 65W power compact fluorescent. I currently have a 4x24W T5 retrofit with Icecap reflectors on my tank, which allows me to keep high light SPS.