75 Gallon FOWLR Planning (1 Viewer)

[infinityends]

So last weekend at the Saltwater Empire Halloween Party I won the 75G RR tank. Anyone who was there will remember a loud WOO!

Anyway. I was already planning to setup my old 55 as a FOWLR, but had been putting it off because of some kitchen remodeling (tank will be in the dining room. I finished the new floor tonight, so the tank can be moved upstairs whenever at this point.) I also was hesitant because I really hate seeing the heaters and other equipment in the DT.

Anyway. I am trying to stay reasonably cheap on this build (always a funny expression in this hobby). I'm going to use a speedwave DC pump again because I love them on my 90G reef. I think I am going to go with a bare bottom tank, although I like the look of sand, it does get to be a pain to keep clean.

I would love to find a cheap LED unit for lighting, absolutely no need for a powerful fixture, just something that will look decent on top of the tank (preferably on top, I can deal with hanging if need be, but to keep the wife happy on top would be better) If it can be controlled via apex or computer, or even just has a built in slow ramp up down. Just after having LED on the reef I really love having the lights ramp up and down rather than on/off. But that is more of a perk than a requirement.

I'll need to drill a 3rd bulkhead hole in the tank for the return line. I prefer to use a herbie drain but I also like having my return go through a bulkhead rather than hung over the edge of the tank. So I need a 3rd hole in the glass, no big deal.

I'll probably try to find an apex lite for the tank, my other option is to run a long aquabus cable along the edge of the flooring under/behind trim and use my main apex to control both tanks. I see perks and downfalls of that option though and am probably better off with a separate unit.

And I'm not sure what I'll use for powerheads, I'm interested to see reviews of the Gyre, and maybe I'll pick one of those up for the reef and move the MP40s to the FOWLR? Otherwise probably just a couple of powerful Koralias to save some $. Maybe the jeabo controllable power heads?

I have an older vertex skimmer I will probably use for that, as well as an older brs gfo/carbon reactor.

OK, Now for the fun part..... THE FISH LIST

- While at the SWE event I saw some powder brown tangs, and kind of fell in love with them. I've done some reading, and while they generally sound like they are more susceptible to ich, since the tank will be a fowlr, and a bare bottom. I'm not as concerned about the CUC so if I avoid keeping inverts in the tank I can dose with copper products if issues ever arise, and can use a divider or QT box inside the tank to QT/med other fish if needed. Of course some situations would still require a standalone QT tank. Also I know the fish will eventually outgrow the 75, but it sounds like they are pretty slow growing fish so I should deb able to keep one int he tank for a couple years at least before needing to find it a new home.

- Thinking flame and/or coral beauty angels. Love some of the insanely beautiful larger angels, but tank size is a problem again, and I don't want to catch and release all the fish int eh tank every couple years because they outgrow it.

- I would love to have a trigger, just always thought they were cool fish with a lot of personality, of course tank size is a bit of an issue again, and fish may need to be re-homed after a couple years. No specific variety in mind currently.

- Finally the last fish so far on my potential list is a puffer of some sort. I've always loved puffers. I know they can be dangerous to keep with other fish due to being predators, as well as if a puffer dies, they can wipe out the tank with the toxin in their skin. Again, no specific variety in mind.

- Bonus Fish - Orchid Dottyback. Had one a long time ago when first getting into he hobby. Killed by an evil damsel, RIP Pinky.

Happy to hear any thoughts/suggestions on the equipment and fish list. Tank probably won't get wet until the new year when I get back from a week long trip.

 

[David Grigor]

For a FOWLR, you shouldn't need powerheads since it's reefready. Surface skimming will provide plenty of oxygen. Perhaps just one smaller one aimed at the top just for redundancy if the return were to fail or circuit tripped ( providing the powerhead is on a different circuit ).

Not so sure I'd pick a speedwave, track record is not good unless you know the circuit/wiring design issues at the pump have been resolved. I'd spend the extra and get an Octopus DC pump. Perhaps get the new one for the reef tank and reuse the older one for the FOWLR ( providing you have redundancy in place if/when it fails ).

 

[infinityends]

For a FOWLR, you shouldn't need powerheads since it's reefready. Surface skimming will provide plenty of oxygen. Perhaps just one smaller one aimed at the top just for redundancy if the return were to fail or circuit tripped ( providing the powerhead is on a different circuit ).

Not so sure I'd pick a speedwave, track record is not good unless you know the circuit/wiring design issues at the pump have been resolved. I'd spend the extra and get an Octopus DC pump. Perhaps get the new one for the reef tank and reuse the older one for the FOWLR ( providing you have redundancy in place if/when it fails ).

Good information as always. Wasn't aware of the poor track record on the speedwaves, so I'll probably replace my secondary (UV) return pump on the reef as that is the one on battery backup for power failures.

I know flow isn't as critical for a fowlr, especially a bare bottom tank. But because a couple of the fish I am interested in stocking need room to swim, I figured extra flow to swim against would help keep them happy. But I see what you mean. Especially if I run the return at a higher flow rate.

 

[infinityends]

Alright, I have had this tank since October. Guess what? It is finally up and running!

I'm pretty sure I told Carl (flounder) on 3 separate occasions that I was going tog et the tank up and running within the next week...

I had biomedia sitting in the reef tank sump for 6+ months to make sure it was seeded, as well as I used 30 gallons of water from a water change as well as a bunch of freshly mixed salt water to seed and fill the tank.
So I finally was able to move the nebula clowns from the fall swap into their new home, out of the reef sump, and turn on the refugium grow light in the reef sump.


On another bit of positive news, I also finally managed to catch my yellow eye tang. I was kind of amazed at how smart (for a fish) it was, after my initial attempt a few days ago it learned to hide anytime I had a net in the water, and he didn't fall for the fish trap trick like the last time I caught him, I was hoping to watch him try to escape from a mason jar again, couldn't find the exit, it was quite entertaining the last time.

I managed to eventually block off his escape routes with a few different nets wedged into rocks and chased him into a net by moving around the rod from an old glass cleaner wand to scare him out of hiding.

The tang is currently calming down in the sump of the FOWLR after acclimating to the new tank's water (Clowns have been in there doing great for 2 weeks). Luckily the rock work is made to be removable so if the tang causes problems in the 75 I shouldn't have too much trouble cornering him. Ideally I'd like to keep the fish, but it was being too aggressive to the passive fish housed in the reef and was unhappy with the clowns living nearby his rock, so overall, the reef tank should liven up once the other fish realize that they no longer need to hide.

I'll snap a few shots of the tank once the lights are on again tomorrow.