Brand new to FOWLR and looking for guidance

reptilemedic

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So Iv been looking to start a FOWLR tank and need a little guidance....well a lot of guidance. Ended up picking up 60gallon tank with stand and I'm trying to map out and plan what I need and start buying components to start this. Any recommendations?

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Well, you have the tank, that is a good start :)

It does not look like the tank is drilled, so you could go sumpless. In which case at the bare minimum you would need filtration (rocks), circulation (powerheads or HOB devices, filters, etc), aeration (HOB skimmer or airstone) lighting, heater and salt water. Sand of course is your choice; bare bottom FOWLR tanks are quite elegant.
 

Maritimer

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Welcome aboard, Reptilemedic!

This thread ...

http://reef2reef.com/threads/the-supreme-guide-to-setting-up-a-saltwater-reef-aquarium.138750/

Has a _tonne_ of great stuff that will get you pointed in the right direction, and asking the right questions. You can run with a sump by either drilling the tank (if it's not tempered glass!) or using HOB components as I have been. They're not especially pretty, but they do work. Most of the time . . . You can also use HOB filters, as mentioned, to boost your biological filtration capacity, add mechanical filtration or carbon if you wish. You'll want some liverock to give your fish a place to hang out, and your bacteria a fine restaurant to feast on the ammonia your fish will produce. Pukani often makes a good choice, as it's porous, relatively light weight and comes in interesting shapes. As for fish . . . keeping in mind the size of your tank, keep the fish you'd like to look at for the next ten years or so!

Enjoy!!

~Bruce
 

Lowell Lemon

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You might like to try a Tunze Reef pack. I mounts inside and includes the skimmer, biofilter, and automatic top off with a sump (plastic bucket) that will fit under your stand. I would run Siporax in the biofilter and you are good to go along with the live rock. If you are not able to quaratine your fish before putting them in display tank you might consider a UV Sterilizer as well. Make sure you have enough light to grow some things on the rock of interest to your fish to pick at and eat. Consider a RODI unit or you can buy natural sea water from some of the local fish stores as an option for water changes.

Enjoy.
 
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jsker

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Welcome to R2R and to the saltwater world. @Diesel and @Maritimer pretty much hit what you need.

I will say that you do not have to go expensive on the lighting, unless you get the full reef with coral bug. If you have a feeling that you might the look at higher end lights for your system. Spend now and not twice later:)
 

Lowell Lemon

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Why is it that no one seems to like the Tunze system but they love the ATO and wave pumps? I love the ease of use and compact size with high performance aspect. I have had some great tanks with Tunze.
 
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reptilemedic

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So looking more at the stand I'm pretty much limited to hold a 10gal sump inside. Would this be alright for my size tank?
 

pdt7361

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The questions that I'd be asking myself first are....what specific fish am I wanting to keep...what are my MUST have fish? Answering that will help determine some of your needs.
 

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So looking more at the stand I'm pretty much limited to hold a 10gal sump inside. Would this be alright for my size tank?

I've been using a 20-long, and the one time we had the power go out, it wasn't enough. (Siphon-break didn't function, as it was small and clogged.) If you're using a sump and the power goes down, the sump has to be big enough to hold anything that drains from the tank.

~Bruce
 
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reptilemedic

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The questions that I'd be asking myself first are....what specific fish am I wanting to keep...what are my MUST have fish? Answering that will help determine some of your needs.

Well I think my best bet would be to start off with more hardy fish since I'm new at this and all. I'm fine with doing live rock but I'm not really interested in trying my hand with a full blown reef tank
 

pdt7361

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My vote would be to research what kind of fish you want...wrasse, dwarf angel, clowns, etc and then determine their needs and if you can meet those needs. For example, there are some asking about going bare bottom...but if you wanted to have a wrasse that buries itself, you wouldn't be able to go that route.
 
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reptilemedic

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My vote would be to research what kind of fish you want...wrasse, dwarf angel, clowns, etc and then determine their needs and if you can meet those needs. For example, there are some asking about going bare bottom...but if you wanted to have a wrasse that buries itself, you wouldn't be able to go that route.

Fair enough. So start at looking at what I'd want and figure out there needs first and plan from there.
 

pdt7361

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In my opinion that is the best way to do it. Otherwise you may make a build decision that keeps you from getting a fish you really want...like my wrasse example.
 
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reptilemedic

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So I did end up starting the tank up and have an idea on what fish I want in it. But now I'm abit confused. For the past 4 days my levels have been non existent..... salt is 1.023...temp is 78..... ammonia 0. Nitrite 0. Nitrate 0..... confused of to what's going on. Nothing in the tank currently but dry rock and a bag of live sand that I doubt was alive. Should I add some live rock in to the tank to get it to cycle?
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pdt7361

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If you have a trusted source to buy live rock from, a piece or two can help seed bacteria and coraline. I always use Biospira to quick cycle my tanks.
 
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reptilemedic

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I did do the biopsies from the start of the tank and figured I'd have some sort of spike but nothing at all
 

Maritimer

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Have you added anything for those bacteria to feed on?

Some folks use pure ammonia (not the household cleaner kind!), others use a cocktail shrimp to decay and generate nutrients, still others toss in a bit of fishfood. If there's nothing to produce ammonia in the tank, any cycle will have a hard time getting started.

~Bruce
 
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reptilemedic

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Have you added anything for those bacteria to feed on?

Some folks use pure ammonia (not the household cleaner kind!), others use a cocktail shrimp to decay and generate nutrients, still others toss in a bit of fishfood. If there's nothing to produce ammonia in the tank, any cycle will have a hard time getting started.

~Bruce

Yup which explains why I'm getting nothing. I'm suppose to be getting 15lbs of live rock in on Thursday to put in the tank. Pretty sure I'm gonna add a shrimp in tomorrow morning me start that going.
 

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