How many of you would keep a Fish Only with Live Rock (FOWLR) tank?

Would keep a Fish Only with Live Rock (FOWLR) tank?

  • Yes! I've got one going now! (Bonus points if you share your FOWLR with us!)

    Votes: 83 21.1%
  • Nope. It's just not for me.

    Votes: 108 27.4%
  • I'm thinking about it.

    Votes: 50 12.7%
  • Yes, I'd consider it, but only as a 2nd tank. Reefing is my 1st love!

    Votes: 145 36.8%
  • What's a FOWLR??

    Votes: 8 2.0%

  • Total voters
    394

Daniel@R2R

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Hey guys, I've really been enjoying flowing the threads in our new FOWLR forum, and it's even got me thinking that I might consider running a FOWLR myself one of these days. After all, there are lots of good arguments for why these tanks are really cool! So what about you?

1) Would you ever consider keeping a Fish Only tank?
2) What are some reasons you would or wouldn't consider it?


By the way, if you haven't yet, be sure to check out the new FOWLR forum here on Reef2Reef!

Here is @kados FOWLR tank. I really dig that scape and that collection of fish!
20210831_200547.jpg
 

kados

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Hey guys, I've really been enjoying flowing the threads in our new FOWLR forum, and it's even got me thinking that I might consider running a FOWLR myself one of these days. After all, there are lots of good arguments for why these tanks are really cool! So what about you?

1) Would you ever consider keeping a Fish Only tank?
2) What are some reasons you would or wouldn't consider it?


By the way, if you haven't yet, be sure to check out the new FOWLR forum here on Reef2Reef!

Here is @kados FOWLR tank. I really dig that scape and that collection of fish!
20210831_200547.jpg
Thanks for the shot out @Daniel@R2R!!
 

Sleepingtiger

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For me, it has to be good mix. I don't want a tank with fish and dead rock. On the reverse, I don't have a tank with nothing but coral and no fish.
Like most of us, setting up one tank and maintaining it is not only takes time, but a huge strain on the budget. At the moment, one saltwater tank is more than adequate. Of course, I will probably setup a quarantine tank for corals/inverts and one for fish.

I think the ultimate saltwater tank is when you can have corals with fishes like angels and butterflies. Very much like what Hedgedrew did with his. Now I know 99.9999% of us don't have a budget that rivals the city zoo like Drew does, but we can always try different things like keeping euphilias and sps, stay away from meaty corals. Keep copperband, long nose and pyramids butterflies.
 

Dbichler

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My tank was a Fowlr but added soft corals and keep all the fish you would in a fowlr. Just have to be mindful of inverts and corals they would eat. So far none of mine touch any corals but will eat any inverts that aren’t protected with a really hard shell. So I keep big Mexican turbos and fighting conchs. They can’t eat them unless they flip over.
 

Haydn

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This is my FOLR- OK a couple of gorgonians and a Heliopora coerulea in there but I have had those in a tank for 30+ years and couldn't bare letting them go.

I have kept this tank as a full blown reef for some 20+ years, this is what it looked like

1631217866217.png


When I stripped it down some 7years ago I decided the next incarnation would be a build that would be more relaxing and less stressful. So I decided I would go for a FOLR system but as a challenge I would only keep fish that I could group or pair, hence the Anthias and I have always adored Angelfish- OH! I decided no tangs!

The tank is 2000Ltrs this is at feeding time. I'll be honest, I don't miss the corals and I spend more time looking at the tank and not testing or that my next purchase going to eat the coral or is it stripping


Do I get the bonus points
 

burningmime

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The only reason I want one is to keep fish that can't go in reef tanks. Lion fish, eels, sharks, harlequin tusk stuff like that. But I do worry that it would get poring for me without the inverts and corals.
Those fish are all safe with corals, just not inverts. I've made my peace with having a "predator reef" full of mean fish with a background of pretty corals.
 

pandaparties

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The only reason I want one is to keep fish that can't go in reef tanks. Lion fish, eels, sharks, harlequin tusk stuff like that. But I do worry that it would get poring for me without the inverts and corals.
I'm successfully keeping coral with sharks and rays! It's harder because you can't have any inverts, the bioload is huge and managing all those nutrients is a challenge but it can be done for sure
 

Oceanis

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I used to have a fish only tank with a 6 foot zebra moray which would eat out of my hand, a spotted grouper which would swim up to the top, flip over, and let you rub his belly, lionfish I fed live food but still wouldn’t touch my ****** zebra damsel, and the most courageous large hermit crab to ever live, lol. Not to mention all the other fish - angels, triggers, puffers, surgeonfish... while my reef tank is my passion, my old fish only tank had so much personality, and life, that you will never get in a reef tank. Don’t knock it until you try it.
 

Grumblez

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My first 3 or 4 years was basically fowlr do to financial reasons and frequemt moves. A simple fowlr tank doesn't cost much more than a simple saltwater set up, and only 5 dollars or so extra a month in maintenance compared to fresh and maybe the cost of replacing CUC I guess that fresh doesn't normally have.

Corals are neat but now that I have a permanent tank my goal is basically just enough to make the tank look nice. I don't really have the itch, more into fish and hopefully trying my luck again eventually at breeding clowns
 
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LPS Bum

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FOWLRs are awesome. I've had a 240 gallon (8x2x2) in my great room for at least 10 years now.

I have 5 full size marine angels in there (Queen, Asfur, Emperor, French, and Annularis), a couple of dwarf angels, a Porcupine Puffer, a few tangs, etc. You don't need to worry about PAR levels, flow rates, and to a lesser degree, nitrate and phosphate levels. I have a separate reef tank as well, but if I could only keep one, I'd ditch the corals and stick with the fish.
 
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