FOWLR plumbed to Reef??? Anyone do it???

[Marc]

I had to make a decision today based on that my Emperor is growing larger and has been picking at my mushroom corals and leather toadstool. I went ahead and setup a 58 gallon next to the 125 gallon FOWLR tank and plumbed it in a way that both tanks share the same sump. Has anyone done this? I put all the coral in the 58 and I could not be happier of how much more attractive it looks. The 58 reef will remain fishless. As for my 125 gallon FOLWR the fish have a lot more room to swim and the corals are safe from the Imperator. :rollface: :rollface:
How many hobbyists done this??? What are the pros and cons of this setup?

Marc

 

[sickfish]

only problem i can see is that generally FOWLR tanks have more waste, but if the reef is fishlish and you keep waterchanges up and have a good skimmer you should be fine! would be good to see once you do it

 

[Dave Cox]

A major con is any medication you might use in the FOWLR will of course affect the reef.

A major pro is greatly increased water vol and hence stability.

 

[Doc Holiday]

I see no benefit unless your current filtration on the reef tank is considerably overrated for the tank. For example, if you have a quality efficient skimmer like a Euro Reef rated for 200 gallons and your meticulous about your husbandry like stirring the sand bed, weekly water changes, changing out your filter pad or sock it may be enough to keep the bioload of the tanks from hurting your corals. The added water volume is only beneficial if it does not add uneeded nutrients to the entire system which it will do thus negating any benefit.

Like Dave Cox said, a benefit of keeping a F/O tank is to be able to medicate the fish if something pops up.

Another issue you're going to have is redundancy. If the pumps or filtration fail on one tank it will effect the other and vide versa.

If the only benefit you get is sharing a pump to save a few dollars on electricity I don't see how the pros out weigh the cons.

One last thing, have you ever had to medicate your F/O tank in the past?

 

[ledford1]

The way I read it is that basically you're adding a sump.

Things were fine with this tank with the exception of the angel's newly acquired taste for corals.

The amount of LR in the system remains the same. The number of fish stays the same. But the amount of water is increasing and you have a safe place for your corals.

I don't see anything wrong with it.

As for medicating, I don't see any change. I would not use the same medications in a FO that I would in a FOWLR simply for the sake of the life on the LR.

 

[limitedslip]

sumps(wetdry) can be nitrate factories...which is ok for FOWLR..but is like the reaper to coral. if you are running a UV ster. on it, same thing. Im workin on a FO and Shark pond. but those should be fine because they can use the same equipment.

 

[ledford1]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11048899#post11048899 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by limitedslip
sumps(wetdry) can be nitrate factories...which is ok for FOWLR..but is like the reaper to coral. if you are running a UV ster. on it, same thing. Im workin on a FO and Shark pond. but those should be fine because they can use the same equipment.

A sump is not the same thing as a wet/dry. Wet/dry refers to a form of filtration and hasn't been mentioned in the thread.

 

[limitedslip]

sorry ><, I sometimes confuse sumps as wet/drys as i am sooo used to hearing about sumps called refugiums....:mixed: just ignore what i said then.

 

[ledford1]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11050634#post11050634 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by limitedslip
sorry ><, I sometimes confuse sumps as wet/drys as i am sooo used to hearing about sumps called refugiums....:mixed: just ignore what i said then.

It's alright. I understand. But also, a sump and fuge aren't synonymous either.

 

[Marc]

Thanks for the replies. I used to have these corals in the FOLWR tank and they spread and multiplied. They did fine except for the Emperor picking at them. I kind of think of the 58 gallon as a refugium, only for corals. :rollface: As for water changes, I do 45 gallons every two weeks. Since I won't be feeding the 58 gallon, that tank should stay cleaner and free of debris, hopefully... Also I replaced my Lifereef VS3-72" skimmer with an ETSS Evolution 500 I had laying around. I think the ETSS skimmer pulls out the waste faster than the Lifereef ever did. And someone said something about medication. I don't medicate my tanks ever. I do occasionally dose with boyd enterprises chemi clean for any slime algae that might pop up.

Marc

 

[Attreui]

There is absolutely nothing wrong with doing this. That is one of the beautiful things about having a sump. As long as the total volume does not overrate your equipment, this should work just fine.

 

[latazyo]

I have this on my current setup

actually I just have two reefs together

the SPS tank has a trigger and future eel and the other tank has softies and community fish

as predicted by others, its hard to keep good clean water with the trigger being such a hog

 

[FroggyFeet]

There really isnt a problem, because you arnt really increasing the bioload with more fish, just really adding more live rock and water along with keeping your corals happy. I would just keep up with the water changes and you should find yourself pretty happy.