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Senior Member
 
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I'm thinking about starting a FOWLR tank sometime in the near future. I'm not sure when, it will depend on available funds. Here are a couple of stocking idea's, and a list of equipment I think I'll need. Please dissect and criticize as much as you will. I want to make sure that if I try this, I am as prepared as I possibly can be to do this successfully.
I am thinking of getting a tank between 30 and 55 gallons, and leaning more towards the 55g tank. I also think I might like to eventually convert this tank to a reef setup, so keeping reef-friendly fish would be good to start with, although that isn't necessary. I can be happy with FOWLR only fish (since I especially like the Coral Beauty Angelfish).
Here goes:
Saltwater FOWLR Tank Option #1
Ocellaris Clownfish
Court Jester Goby
Green Mandarin
Firefish (2)
Six-Line Wrasse
Saltwater FOWLR Tank Option #2
Ocellaris Clownfish
Coral Beauty or Flame Angelfish
Green Mandarin
Blue/Green Chromis (2-4)
Saltwater FOWLR Tank Option #3
Ocellaris Clownfish
Coral Beauty or Flame Angelfish
Flame Hawkfish
Green Mandarin
Cardinalfish (1-3)
Cleanup crew:
Turbo snails
Red or Blue tip Dwarf Hermit Crabs
Banded Coral Shrimp
Brittle Stars
Nassarius Snails
Emerald Crabs?
Live Rock
Part Live Sand, part regular depending on cost?
Salt mix
Eheim Ecco Comfort Canister Filter- 2236
Coralife Super Skimmer-Needle Wheel-65 Gallon
Sybon Refractometer
Hydor Theo Submersible Heater-300 Watt
2 x Hydor Koralia 1 - 400GPH
Power Compact Light
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10g Heavily Planted - Betta, Cory's, Oto's
20L - Kuhli Loaches, Banjo Cat, Singapore Flower Shrimp, Thick-Lipped Gourami pair
125g Planted - South American Biotope - with a reticulated stingray!!!
20H - Breeding Angelfish
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Average Member
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Look into the Remora Aqua C protein skimmers, I have one on my 40 and its awesome, and takes way less room then the coralife, the coral life was just too dang big to use a HOB, but would be good for in sump.
With the proper amount of live rock and protein skimmer, you don't really need the canister and in the long run would cause some issues with nitrates.
The korallia's are great, I have 2 on my 40 gallon, but on a 55 gallon, I would go up to the next model to get more flow.
Might even want to look into building a small fuge into the system, it will provide a place for macro algae, pods to live, as well a place for your heater, skimmer etc, instead of it being in the tank.
I always just go with dead sand, its cheaper and the live rock quickly turns it into live sand. Nothing wrong with live sand, just too $$ for me.
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29 gallon f/w various plants and fish.
40 gallon s/w
29 gallon s/w
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Senior Member
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Last Login: Today @ 3:42:04 PM
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I was thinking about a sump with refugium, but I thought it would just be easier to use a canister filter. I'll keep that other skimmer in mind, though if I go with a sump, would the coralife skimmer be better?
I figured the live rock would make the sand live soon enough.
I may rethink the Chromis, since I've read they need to be in larger groups to really get along, and I don't know if a 55g would provide enough space for a school plus other fish?
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10g Heavily Planted - Betta, Cory's, Oto's
20L - Kuhli Loaches, Banjo Cat, Singapore Flower Shrimp, Thick-Lipped Gourami pair
125g Planted - South American Biotope - with a reticulated stingray!!!
20H - Breeding Angelfish
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Average Member
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Last Login: Today @ 3:17:11 PM
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Aqua C makes in sump models too and i'd imagine they are just as good as the HOB they make.
Even without a sump, the canister is still not needed. As long as you have 1.5 lbs of live rock, a good skimmer and the power heads you will be good to go.
The rock will provide biological filtration, the skimmer will remove particles from the water, and the Korallias will ensure water flows over the rock.
On my 40 (building a sump currently) I have 2 korallia 1, protein skimmer, and 80 pounds of live rock and the tank is thriving. The canister wont will add anything to the system.
*****************************************
29 gallon f/w various plants and fish.
40 gallon s/w
29 gallon s/w
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Average Member
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Last Login: Today @ 3:17:11 PM
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The clown fish species you chose is a good one, they are some of the more peaceful ones and you should be able to find some quality captive bred ones, they are one of the most readily bred marine fish, so wild caught should be a last resort.
If you get 2 clowns try to get one smaller and one larger to help ensure you will end up with a pair, the larger one will usually go female and smaller one stay male.
*****************************************
29 gallon f/w various plants and fish.
40 gallon s/w
29 gallon s/w
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Junior Member
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Last Login: Today @ 10:34:44 AM
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| Hey Conner, My 2 cents. A tank with a greater surface area makes a better reef if you plan to convert later. Try a 40g breeder. 36 x 18 x 18. Easier to aquascape too. Fish: All are good fish, just a few notes. Bluegreen chromis do eventually get pretty big. For the size tank you're looking at, 2 would be plenty. Hawkfish are a favorite of mine but have a bad habbit of liking to sit on corals. Not so good for a reef. Mandarins have to have a good source of live food to survive. You'll need to let the system mature for 9 - 12 months before you add one. This way there's a good population of copepods, amphipods, mysis ect. for it to feed on. Cleanup crew: Turbograzers get very large (up to 3" across). They're great for a FOWLR but are bulldozers in a reef. I like astrea or trochus better. Still good grazers but not near as large. I personally don't use hermit crabs. Since they don't grow their own shells they have to find a new one when they outgrow their old one. They won't hesitate to eat a snail to get its shell. They're also bad about crawling over corals. Stay away from green serpent stars. They've been known to eat small fish. Emerald crabs are a great addition. They'll eat algaes other animals won't touch and are able to get at algae in nooks and crannies in the rock. Filtration/Equipment: Liverock is a must. I feel some good live sand is too (not so called live sand that's really just bacteria infused). Live sand will harbor critters that won't be in the liverock. Gives you better biodiversity which goes a long way towards keeping your system stable. If you're thinking about converting to a reef later, I'd stay away from the canister filter. Great for getting rid of ammonia but in turn produces large quantities of nitrate. Not so bad for fish in moderation, not so good for corals. I'd opt for the sump. A little more money up front but will save you in the long run. Also gives you a place to hide you skimmer and heater etc. Gives you more flexibility. I agree with jsmith11618 about the Remora. It's a great HOB for the money. However I'm not real thrilled about Aqua C's in sump skimmers. I run a Aqua C EV-400. It produces great skimmate but is a real hassle to clean. If I had it to do over again I'd choose something else. I don't care for the Coralife or the Turbofloater skimmers. The ASM skimmers are very good for the money. If you can invest a little more, Euro Reef makes a great skimmer. My choice would be one of the newer becket skimmers. They are pretty expensive but this is an important piece of equipment and you do pretty much get what you pay for. Just for fun check out Deltec and Bubble King skimmers, the skimmers of millionaires!!!!:w00t: For lighting I'd go for the T5s instead of the PCs. Better lamp life and coloration. :)
So many species, so little money!
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