Can a FOWLR tank look beautiful

K

K916

New member
I don't have the patience to religiously perform water changes and watch the parameters of a reef tank, so I'm thinking of either setting up my 180gallon FOWLR tank again(my tank sprung a leak a few days ago and all the water drained in my living room)

or

.... (don't hate me)... turning it into a planted freshwater aquarium

I'm keen on remaining faithful to saltwater but was wondering if anyone has managed to make their FOWLR tanks look as stunning as a good reef tank?

any pictures and advice will be appreciated

thank you all :thumbsup:
 
In my mind, I can't compare the two. Keeping a reef is gardening. Keeping a fish only, is keeping pets.
 
They can look very nice. To make up for the coral you need to get nice coralline sponge covered rocks. You can also add macros to the tank. My tank used to have macro algae in it and corals. When people looked at my tank they liked the macro algae more then the coral. In a few weeks I am putting my new tank together and it is going to be like a kelp forest type setup.

Here is how my tank looked when I had macros in it. At one point my whole tank was filled with it.


 
Another option is just throw some softies in your tank and let 'em grow wild. That is the direction I've sorta gone in with my 150 (see pic below). Most softies (and even some LPS) don't require pristine water conditions... no better or worse than your fish need. If you can just drip some kalk into the tank every night, that will mostly satisfy your alk/cal demand. You hardly use up any mag unless you're doing SPS.

100_1766_zpsd70e7639.jpg
 
I guess it depends on your definitions, too. That's ^^^ a reef, IMO, not a FOWLR.
 
SDguy said:
I guess it depends on your definitions, too. That's ^^^ a reef, IMO, not a FOWLR.
Click to expand...

You're right. I was just wanting to show him how GSP, Xenia, Anthelia, etc. can be utilized as "decorations" and they require very low maintenance. Lord knows I'm pretty lax when it comes to WCs, dosing, etc. And not one of my 6 angels (5 dwarf - 1 reg) touch any of the softies (too cheap ;)).
 
I started my 120 gal. as a fowlr and I thought it looked good but just not right. I now have softies and I do not dose. I think any kind of coral looks more natural.
 
3dees said:
I started my 120 gal. as a fowlr and I thought it looked good but just not right. I now have softies and I do not dose. I think any kind of coral looks more natural.
Click to expand...

I have done that in the past with my other systems. I think many of us that keep FOWLR, eventually get to a point where they want to throw some softies or LPS in the tank, or even wind up setting up another dedicated tank just to keep coral or a full blown reef. I agree with Peter though; keeping a FOWLR is primarily about maintaining the long term health of your fish pets so they thrive in your care.
 
It depends on your definition of beauty, really. The fish are the focus of my FOWLR, so I really don't care how the rocks look or if there's any coral in the tank.
 
To agree with Humble softies help clean your water, require less light, and cut down on water changes which benefits your fish and there health.
 
Cu455 said:
They can look very nice. To make up for the coral you need to get nice coralline sponge covered rocks. You can also add macros to the tank. My tank used to have macro algae in it and corals. When people looked at my tank they liked the macro algae more then the coral. In a few weeks I am putting my new tank together and it is going to be like a kelp forest type setup.

Here is how my tank looked when I had macros in it. At one point my whole tank was filled with it.
Click to expand...

thanks for your reply

I love the look of macro algae in the tank too...Caulerpa Taxifolia being my favourite because of its fern like look.

My refugium was filled with macro algae but when I added any to my tank, the foxface, angels and tangs feasted on it within minutes :worried:
 
HumbleFish said:
Another option is just throw some softies in your tank and let 'em grow wild. That is the direction I've sorta gone in with my 150 (see pic below). Most softies (and even some LPS) don't require pristine water conditions... no better or worse than your fish need. If you can just drip some kalk into the tank every night, that will mostly satisfy your alk/cal demand. You hardly use up any mag unless you're doing SPS.
Click to expand...

your tank looks fabulous

I think you've convinced me to add some softies to my fowlr
 
alton said:
To agree with Humble softies help clean your water, require less light, and cut down on water changes which benefits your fish and there health.
Click to expand...

do softies really help clean water?

wow !..my fowlr had ridiculously high nitrates ... serves me right for not doing partial water changes for years :celeb3:
 
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
I know it's cheesy, but it's true.

I love the look of a well thought out rock only or non-coral marine tanks.
 
FWIW I do think my rockwork is attractive... took a while to get there.
12595858134_f235f1f1aa_c.jpg


But the fish are still the main attraction ;)
13336008104_5c54c47c0e_z.jpg
 
SDguy said:
But the fish are still the main attraction ;)
Click to expand...

You do have an impressive collection of angels and butterfly's. No tangs?

I love your blue face and regal... regals are actually my favourite and I will keep a few if I decide to go back to salt
 
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