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boldly going where I have never gone before...


Joramilea

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I have a Mix Reef going and it's doing well. My husband keeps asking for fish that I can not put in my reef so I bought him a 75g for a FOWLR tank.
This is a new place for me for I have never looked into a FOWLR tank.
Ok, so what do I NEED for this tank? Is it the same as a reef? Different lighting? Does the sand bed need to be deep?
What CUC would I put in there? Or do we just need to be the CUC? This tank will also be getting a sump under it cause this stand has room for a one piece tank under it.
Is there a good article you can point me too?

 

I have some live rock already for the tank cause it was to beautiful to pass up. I talked him into black sand because I feel it will show off his fish better and I know down the road the rocks will darken with algae.

 

I am sure I will have more questions time rolls on and get this more going more. :)

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I would use the same set up for a reef but obviously you will not need to worry about dosing alk, calc, mag, etc. I know my old FOWLR tank really perked up when I began to use socks, regulate the water level for the skimmer, incorporated a fuge, and utilized GFO/GAC reactors to keep down the algae. (yes CUC are helpful and add diversity! They also can be food for the fish. I had a Valentini puffer happy (ignoring) various shrimp for over 16 years. The next Valentini loved them also... as a part of his diet, lost 2 cleaner shrimp in 12 hours....

 

Like a reef tank, slow is still better as you do need to establish a bacterial base to support the waste created in the system. Also, I swear by live rock. I went from fish surviving for a couple of years to thriving for more than a decade when I began to use live rock 20+ years ago.

 

Have a good understanding of which types of fish you want to add to the tank as they definitely have a pecking order (add the more territorial at the end.) Also, Keep in mind the size of your tank will limit the types of inhabitants. Only a few types of tangs or angels will be happy in a 75 gal. as they just are geared for large roaming spaces. (I feel a bit guilty about my Sailfin Tang as he is only in a 125...).

 

Good luck and have fun! A lot of colorful fish can be found in a Fowlr tank which you just can't put in a reef aquarium.

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I have him making a list of fish he likes so I can do research on them. I have started cycling the tank now. Picked up 30 lbs of live rock the other day. I know some fish in FOWLR tanks like the hiding places.

Can a bubble tip be placed in a FOWLR tank? There is a clown fish he LOVES but I have no room in my tank for them. :( I know they will grow up to be big enough to not be eaten.

He has his heart set on a dwarf lionfish. So I have to work around that fish.

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I wouldn't hesitate putting in a bubble tip for the clowns but the lion fish (even dwarf) will try to eat anything they can fit into there mouths, so the smaller the better. Sounds like you're on the right track!

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Well, now he saw this little puffer fish that looks like a bumblebee. He was cute... so I will get the tank set up and cycled and then I can look at the list of fish, see how they will live together and when to add who to the tank. :)

I really wanted to make sure their home was set up the way they need it so I have happy fish. :)

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75 g is not for life. Unless the fish lives less then 5 years.
Our next home the 75 will become the sump and he wants to upgrade to a 250 he said. So they will all get a BIGGER home.
But I do understand where you are coming from. I am also limiting the number of fish he can have. Cause I really don't want to be moving 40 fish 944 miles. :P

He really just wants a pygmy/dwarf lion fish, puffer fish and a trigger. nothing special. and nothing really big except the trigger. I may have to talk him into some cool looking clowns and a bubble tip. :P

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Even the smallest of the triggers should be kept in 125 gal or larger. And it would quickly outgrow a 75. You should always buy fish for current size tank because life happens and those good intensions of upgrading many times don't happen when planned. Then you have fish not getting along with others or in poor health because of too small space.

 

There are some puffers and dwarf lions that could go in a 75.

 

When I am researching fish I use liveaquaria a lot to see tank size recommendations. That site is better than other for true tank size.

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I've been reading that site. Just looking at the fish and for education on the fish so when I go into a store I can inform my husband.
I was just talking to him about his tank and he basically told me to put all the live rock we put in his 75 into my reef as base rock.

So know I am wondering if I should build a new stand for my 75 reef and use this other 75 as sump! hahaha :P

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what I was jokingly saying was, he doesn't want his fish tank anymore. Kinda makes me sad. For now he has decided to wait until we move (and it will be within 5 years) to set up his 250 g fish tank. :) I know this will change his mind later. I have left the live rock in his tank.

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