New fowlr tank

[Jasonmichael0802]

So I am setting up a 180g tank that I plan to have mainly fish in my thinking is anemone will be safe In the tank with fish correct

also my lfs said there is no need for a refugium or skimmer he said just get a uv light a big one

lastly what other coral do you all think would be safe in a fowlr

I plan to have puffers tangs triggers angles and snowflake eel and various smaller fish

 

[PeterC99]

So I am setting up a 180g tank that I plan to have mainly fish in my thinking is anemone will be safe In the tank with fish correct

also my lfs said there is no need for a refugium or skimmer he said just get a uv light a big one

lastly what other coral do you all think would be safe in a fowlr

I plan to have puffers tangs triggers angles and snowflake eel and various smaller fish

Welcome to R2R!

Curious why LFS said you didn’t need refugium or skimmer? Two fundamental parts of many successful reef systems!

 

[Jedi1199]

So I am setting up a 180g tank that I plan to have mainly fish in my thinking is anemone will be safe In the tank with fish correct

also my lfs said there is no need for a refugium or skimmer he said just get a uv light a big one

lastly what other coral do you all think would be safe in a fowlr

I plan to have puffers tangs triggers angles and snowflake eel and various smaller fish

A FOWLR is just that... Fish Only with live rock... Once you add the first corals, you now have a reef, with all of the extra responsibilities and equipment required... You can run a FOWLR system with the most basic equipment and save a ton of money. No need for skimmers, sumps, expensive lights yadda yadda... Just maintain your water change schedule at a reasonable rate and there you go. Heck you can even run it on tap water instead of RODI, as long as you don't have some of the more delicate species (based on your proposed list you are fine).

Corals and inverts adds an entirely different dimension to your tank. Some of the hardiest, low light, high nutrient softies will "probably" be ok, but you will NEED to run RODI to keep them. There are simply too many things in municipal water or well water to take that risk.

Back in the early 90's, I ran a successful Fish Only system on tap water and a HOB filter for a couple years. Tank ran just fine with a cheap fluorescent light and no other filtration than the HoB. First time I added an invert (BTA), instant death. Spent tons of money trying to fix the issue and finally gave up on SW altogether.

I have always been a "try it and see for myself" kind of person. IME, many people on forums parrot what they have read and have little or no experience with what you actually want (fish, plants ect)

 

[PeterC99]

A FOWLR is just that Fish Only with live rock... Once you add the first corals, you now have a reef, with all of the extra responsibilities and equipment required... You can run a FOWLR system with the most basic equipment and save a ton of money. No need for skimmers, sumps, expensive lights yadda yadda... Just maintain your water change schedule at a reasonable rate and there you go. Heck you can even run it on tap water instead of RODI, as long as you don't have some of the more delicate species (based on your proposed list you are fine).

Corals and inverts adds an entirely different dimension to your tank. Some of the hardiest, low light, high nutrient softies will "probably" be ok, but you will NEED to run RODI to keep them. There are simply too many things in municipal water or well water to take that risk.

Back in the early 90's, I ran a successful Fish Only system on tap water and a HOB filter for a couple years. Tank ran just fine with a cheap fluorescent light and no other filtration than the HoB. First time I added an invert (BTA), instant death. Spent tons of money trying to fix the issue and finally gave up on SW altogether.

I have always been a "try it and see for myself" kind of person. IME, many people on forums parrot what they have read and have little or no experience with what you actually want (fish, plants ect)

Thank you for the info. Assumed skimmers and refugiums were essential components. Very interested in seeing your setup when established! Might even inspire me to venture into a FOWLR setup one day...

 

[Jedi1199]

Thank you for the info. Assumed skimmers and refugiums were essential components. Very interested in seeing your setup when established! Might even inspire me to venture into a FOWLR setup one day...

Peter, I am currently setting up my 180 to be a FOWLR tank. I will be running a sump and skimmer on this tank because I have them (bought this tank used and they were included). On a tank this large, I believe that the added volume of filtration will allow for a larger stock list. Since I plan on fish like triggers and lions that are messy eaters or require a larger volume of food, I would be afraid that a HOB filter would not suffice. Is it "required"? I doubt it, but again, I have them, so why not use them?

Edit: I am also using RODI water in this tank for the same reason, I have an RODI so why not?

 

[PeterC99]

Peter, I am currently setting up my 180 to be a FOWLR tank. I will be running a sump and skimmer on this tank because I have them (bought this tank used and they were included). On a tank this large, I believe that the added volume of filtration will allow for a larger stock list. Since I plan on fish like triggers and lions that are messy eaters or require a larger volume of food, I would be afraid that a HOB filter would not suffice. Is it "required"? I doubt it, but again, I have them, so why not use them?

Edit: I am also using RODI water in this tank for the same reason, I have an RODI so why not?

Best of luck with this setup! Looking forward to following your build thread! Now following you!

 

[Jekyl]

So I am setting up a 180g tank that I plan to have mainly fish in my thinking is anemone will be safe In the tank with fish correct

also my lfs said there is no need for a refugium or skimmer he said just get a uv light a big one

lastly what other coral do you all think would be safe in a fowlr

I plan to have puffers tangs triggers angles and snowflake eel and various smaller fish

Welcome! Agree with other posts that coral require a lot more than fish only does. Anemone are included with coral. They need very good lighting, stable parameters, RoDi water and a mature tank.