220 gal fowlr

G

ghandidawgg

New member
Hey everyone.
I just purchased a new tank. I beleive a 220 gal.
I am going to do a fowlr tank for this one.
I asked my lfs to design the perfect setup for fitration etc...
The tank is not drilled. I was asking about size of sump and protein skimmers but they advised against. Said its not necessary. they advised I go with uv lights and oceanclear in line filters.
It will be my first time dealing with that size tank. my others are 40gal freshwater planted and 29 gal reef.
What do you guys think? I am not trying to spend my life savings in this tank but I also want the best so I wont purchase all in one day. I am going to purchase the equipment over time until I have everything I need.
I need to know which equipment to get, the size and maybe how to stock the tank. No aggressive fish. I want lots of fish and lots of color variety. I also want the best water quality possible. Any suggestions? thanks guys
 
The sump is useful to keep the water level in your display tank constant... plus it increases your total system volume (like a buffer) AND it's a handy place to keep useful equipment ... like a protein skimmer.

The skimmer and sump work to improve your water quality, so the decision should be a no brainer. However.. and in-line filter sounds good but i'm not sure on the usefulness of it vs a skimmer at the same price (if you could only choose one)


However, you must make sure you have the proper space and plumbing (the plumbing isn't as difficult as it sounds .. though i haven't drilled my own tank) if you choose to have a sump
 
It sounds like really bad advice to me and I'm already going to say that your LFS is misinformed. UV sterilizers have nothing to do with filtration. They are meant to kill bacteria and other small organisms. Also, the UV sterilizers available for this hobby are often so small they aren't really that effective-not enough water gets through them fast enough.

The people that tend to have the most success in this hobby run tanks with at least a skimmer, whether or not there is a sump. The skimmer's function is to produce bubbles that attract organic matter in the water that has not yet broken down into nitrates/nitrites. The skimmer is the primary filtration for most tanks.

Having a sump is a large bonus. The added water volume allows for greater stability in your water parameters and also creates more space for other means of filtration such as a refugium or filter media. In my short experience in the hobby, a refugium is something I will always include in my future tanks. The refugium (or fuge for short) is a section of the sump that holds a type of macroalgae. The algae uses the nitrates and phosphates in your tank (major contributers to nuisance algae that can spring up in your tank) as fuel to create food for itself. The algae also absorbs carbon dioxide from your tank and releases oxygen as the by-product of photosynthesis, oxygenating the water for your tank and helping ensure your fish have enough oxygen (falling water from the overflow and the bubbling action of the skimmer also does this; yet more benefits of a sump). A fuge is also a place for small prey items to reproduce. This equals fish treats :).

You're going to learn really quickly that LFS employees generally don't know their stuff! Make sure you check here for lots of advice. I'm fairly new to the hobby as well and the guys who are more experienced on here are a wealth of info.
 
Oh, one more benefit of having a sump is that you can keep all of your equipment (except powerheads) down there. This is really only an aesthetic benefit as you avoid cluttering up your display.
 
Alright. Sump plus skimmer it is. I just want to make sure it is perfect. They were saying skimmer is best for reef but not necessary for Fowlr. Can you overfilter? can you combine Sump with skimmer and fuge with a oceanclear (to polish the water) and add huge UV lights? I think I will not drill this tank as it is used. Don't want any issues. I will have to buy 2 HOB overflow.
 
HOB are a good option but some people can have problems with them losing their siphon after a power out. They are also noisier than internal overflows. My brother has an HOB by Life Reef and has had no problems with it. Our house is prone to power outages and it has never lost it's siphon. I believe they are guranteed never to lose their siphon. If it ever does it's fairly simple to restart though just a very minor PITA. Anyway enough rambling about that :)!

I don't believe you can overfilter. Just looked up the ocean clear and saw it's a type of canister filter. Some people run these on their saltwater tanks. A carbon filter will have the same effect and will also work as chemical filtration.

Nice long tank btw-your fish will thank you for it :).
 
I'm not really sure if there's any best way to arrange the overflows. From a what "feels right" perspective I'd say one on each side. That way you can have your fuge (assuming you go that route) or other filter media on one side of your sump and your skimmer on the other side. The return pump(s) would be centrally located.

For liverock, the rule of thumb is one pound per gallon. You may decide to have more or less than this as you'll want to leave lots of swimming room for your fish.

The rule of thumb for sump size is that it should be approx. half the volume of your main tank. I'm sure you could use a tank less than a 100 gallons but the extra volume and space doesn't hurt.

For skimmers most people recommend that your skimmer be rated for twice the volume of your tank.
 
don't really want to do more than 1 lb / gal. technically I know it is best but I want room for the fish to swim. Didn't buy that size tank for it to be crammed with rock. I think if I do a 100gal sump, I can put some live rock in there with macroalgae. Which macroalgae is best? I want to stay away from caulerpa as it is spreading in my 29 and its a pain to get rid aof it. what brand skimmer is best? also how much flow rate? I don't want powerheads in the tank so flow is gonna come from circulating pumps under the tank. what size pumps and how many?
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15694973#post15694973 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ghandidawgg
Oceanclear is a filter said to polish the water. here is a link to it at dr foster smith. http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=3662
I love the size of this tank. we had to rewarrange the living room for it. I will look into the life reef. do you think it is best to do 2 overflow from each side or 1 on 1 side. how much live rock? what about size of sump skimmers etc...
Click to expand...


These filters are handy but I would never rely on them as a sole source of filtration. They require a lot of cleaning to function properly and do not do much in the way of actually purifying the water. I would certainly recommend you get the best skimmer you can afford or that is practical for your tank. A skimmer is definitely a must have as it removes contaminants from the water.

It doesn't sound like the people at this fish shop have a very sophisticated knowledge of fishkeeping.
 
hehe... I guess. They recommeded that saying its much more practical. no money spent on sumps, pluming, skimmers etc.. and no noise from water trickling from overflow to sump. I like the sump and fuge idea. that's how I wanted to do it first but... they said it would be better and cheaper the other way. cheaper yes but not better. any idea on pumps skimmer and macroalgae? stand is only 21 inches high.
 
1 pound per gallon isn't necessarily the "best" just the standard. I have 60 lbs. in my 85 gallon.

The algae most people use is cheatomorpha, cheato for short. This is safer than caulerpa also as caulerpa can go into a sexual stage in which it will release nitrates. In a fish only this is probably less of an issue as there is no real proof that nitrates cause harm to fish.

For flow you want to have at least 15x turnover. More than that is better as the fish really like the flow. I'm assuming you don't want powerheads because of the fact they clutter up your tank a little bit. If money's not an option and it's the clutter you're worried about, check out powerheads made by vortech. They barely take up any room in the tank, put out a lot of flow, and can be set to pulse so that they create waves. They're anywhere from $250ish to $400 a pop though.

I wish I could advise you on just using pumps but I'm not quite sure how to go about that.
 
I love those vortech pumps. I saw videos and they are quite amazing. there is a video on utube with a guy in colorado with a 1200gal reef with like 6 vortechs on 1 side of the tank.
how would you stock a 220 fowlr? I like the eels triggers and lionfish but my wife wants non aggressive. We have kids. The 2 year old... well she likes to climb and stick her fingers in whatever seems cool. I love tangs and also looking for color variety and possible schooling.
 
Yeah those are sweet pumps aren't they?

Since you asked f I had a 220 I'd want angels, tangs, and a couple triggers. I love the big angels. If you want shoaling tangs check out convict tangs. They're not really stunnuers on their own but they really stand out if they're in a tank with bright show fish. People have mixed success with keeping them in groups but if you want shoaling tangs those are the ones to try. Check out the last
few pages of Recty's tank on the thread "Some new fish." Follow the split. He tried a shoal of convicts and it was sweet.

That is kind of a dilemma about your little girl. A trigger might give her finger a nip and I imagine that would hurt pretty badly. A big trigger could cause some pretty bad damage. These guys are strong fish and have some pretty big chompers. Whatever you decide to put in it'll look sweet though. Do you have an ETA on when you plan to start assembling the system?
 
I would definitely get a harem of dwarf angels. I have seen it done with flame angels and you could probably pull it off with potters as well. They add a ton of color and are very active fish.

I would also do a purple tang and a hippo tang.

Your daughter would probably love having a pair of clownfish in the tank also, you could get a pair of percs for a reasonable price I'm sure.

If you want triggers, you could probably get a pair of blue throats, they are pretty docile as far as triggers go and stay a reasonable size.

In that sized tank I also think you have to get one of the bigger angels, although there are so many nice ones I can't think of one I would recommend.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15698134#post15698134 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by anbosu
...... I also think you have to get one of the bigger angels, although there are so many nice ones I can't think of one I would recommend.
Click to expand...

I could...... a majestic (navarchus) would be an outstanding choice.... colourful, managable size, not hyper aggressive ;)
 
Convict tangs look sweet. ON THE LIST.
how many can I keep together without causing trouble. Read that they can get pretty aggressive toward other tangs. I like the looks of flame angels. Same thing how much can you keep together with convict tangs. Can you tell wich is male or female?
Majestic would definetly be a good addition. Love the look of it. I am not going to add clowns. We have a pair in the 29. As far as my daughter goes she thinks the showstopper is my flame hawk. she loves him and loves 2 look for him everytime he hides.
I was thinking about adding a bunch of green chromis or lyretail anthias.
 
No triggers or puffers. Even though I love them, my wife will not allow it. She saw a pic online about a diver who waved his fingers in front of a puffer to make it blow to show his dive group.... well the puffer didnt blow. just bit his finger right off. hehe... sorry can't help but laugh at that... what an a**. Bet he won't try to make a puffer blow again.
FENDER: no ETA yet. I am an HVAC contractor and it has been a rough year here in AZ. The winter is getting near and our winter are so mild that we practically have to shut down for the winter. I wish I could get all the stuff I need as once and get this tank going. Once I have an equipment list, get a hood built for it, I will start buying the equipment for it, plumb it, buy the live rock and of course when its time, I will post plenty of pics of the build.
 
male and female convict tangs are indistinguishable.

You can tell apart flame angels by looking at their dorsal fin. Males taper to a point and females are a little rounder.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

B
  • Question Question
Soft Water
Replies
13
Views
564
wvned
wvned
J
Corals for the first time!
Replies
14
Views
3K
griss
griss
L
Lighting Advise for 36 x 18 SPS
Replies
7
Views
543
Uncle99
Uncle99
S
75 Gallon FOWLR Trigger Species tank?
Replies
3
Views
971
snakeybird
S
M
New 37g saltwater tank
Replies
18
Views
2K
Elmareefer
E
Back
Top