100 gallon FOWLR planning questions

[Karcus]

Just picked up a 100 gallon tank and want to do a FOWLR, I've kept smaller reefs in the past with fairly good success, but it has been a few years. I got the tank on craigslist for a price I couldn't pass up but am wondering if a 100 gallon will just be too expensive for me to set up and run. Would you guys say that a 65 or 50 gallon would be such a cheaper option that it would be worth it to trade the tank and down size?

The fish I want to keep are
-Coral Beauty Angel
-Ocellaris Clown
-Sixline wrasse

Are these fish compatible with macroalgae? Im thinking I'd like to add in some kelp, maidens hair, caulerpa?

In a 50 or 65, would this be a good bioload? without stressing it could I add a second clown? Howabout a purple dottyback or a yellowtail damsel?

As far as filtration, I was planning on
-LR (1.5 lbs a gallon) for whichever tank size i decide on
-HOB overflow that runs to a 20g long sump with skimmer, and has some more LR
-2 return hoses, return pump size will again depend on the tank size i go with.

Whatcha think?

 

[HumbleFish]

Since you've already got the 100 gal, I would just go with that. There's no such thing as "too much room" for your fish; but there is too little. And while a 100 gal might be overkill for those 3 fish you listed; trust me, you will find yourself at a LFS someday staring at the "fish of your dreams" and will be glad to have the "extra room"

As far as macro algae goes, the CB may or may not pick at it. And I'd skip the dottyback and any damsels (except chromis). Those are mean little SOBs.

 

[CAPSLOK]

Essentially, because you can stick the exact same equipment (and even the same amount of LR) on the 100g tank, the costs are going to be pretty much the same... an extra $5 in salt mix occasionally for the slightly larger water changes. Especially since you already have the larger tank. And assuming you have a spot where it will fit

The benefit of having extra space is a big benefit. You won't ever find yourself saying, gee, that is just too much space. The fish you list would be fine in a 50-65g tank (even a 40g breeder would work well with that), including pairing the clowns. But you will have much more freedom down the road, and the fish will have more space, with the larger tank.

 

[Karcus]

125 actually

125 actually

Just did the math and it turns out to be a 125 gallon unless im being dumb. It was sold to me as a 100g, for 60 bucks! Loose measurements are 72 x 21.5 high 18 wide.

How little an amount of live rock can I get away with? Seems to be the biggest expense besides the skimmer. I really just want LR and to stock light for a while since I don't want to over complicate things for myself like I had done with my 20g long reef I had long ago.

As for the sump, can I use a 20g long? Or would a tank this size need a much larger sump for some reason?

 

[HumbleFish]

How little an amount of live rock can I get away with? Seems to be the biggest expense besides the skimmer. I really just want LR and to stock light for a while since I don't want to over complicate things for myself like I had done with my 20g long reef I had long ago.

I would say you could start out with about 40lbs and go from there. If you're looking to save money, use dry rock instead of LR like they sell here.

As for the sump, can I use a 20g long? Or would a tank this size need a much larger sump for some reason?

20 gal works; but if you're gonna go with a sump I would go bigger just so you have more options down the road, and don't have to re-plumb & everything... Another option would be to go completely sumpless. Just make sure you have strong powerheads for good circulation in the tank and use a HOB skimmer (or 2). And keep your fish bioload a little lighter.

 

[CAPSLOK]

I think the main concern with using a "smaller" sump on a bigger tank like that would be, you need to have enough extra room in it that a power outage doesn't overflow the sump. So the amount of water draining the top 1" off a 125g tank is going to be a lot more water than the top 1" of a 60g tank. You can always hook it up and see. Or do the math on how much volume of water is going to drain in a power outage based on where your drain and return lines are. I would be inclined to do a 29g sump just for the extra space and security. Petco does the $1/gal sale regularly, so a 29g sump would just be $29 (and you can often find 29 or 55g tanks on craigslist for cheap...).

 

[Bobborocco]

I just got rock from here for a good price and they threw in 13 pounds for free! Looks great!! http://www.marcorocks.com
and free shipping on orders over 75 bucks i think