fowlr vs reef

Fishy 1

Fishy 1

The Reefer From Downunder
hi guys I'm spinning in circles trying to make up my mind about whether to go fowlr or reef. I love reef tanks and who doesn't but how much time and money dose it need to be successful. I am adding cleaner shrimp and reef safe fish just in case I do go reef. And I could go with non photo corals or low light ones. I'm spinning right now, so many options, I'm going mad. Help please
 
Sorry, I am not sure what you are looking for.

This is all IME of course but if you are leaning towards reef, how expensive really depends on what you want to keep.
- Softies like leathers, paly, zooanthids, and polyps (and frogspawn for me are not too pricey to keep. My softie tank has a T5 fixture, a hydor koralia for flow, a HOB BakPak skimmer, and a HOB overflow box into a very basic sump with refugium and live rock rubble. It gets monthly water changes at best.
- My LPS tank was not to pricey to set up or keep. It also has a T5 fixture, HOB overflow box into a very basic sump with refugium and live rock rubble, and a hydor koralia for flow. The skimmer is in sump and is nothing fancy. Water changes? Whenever we feel bad about never doing it..... Granted there are no fish in there, only inverts.
- SPS. Holy crap, expensive!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can someone doing it cheaper? Sure, but we failed miserably trying to do it cheaper. Tank controller, vertex protein skimmer, vortech pumps, filter socks, led fixture (had metal halide but got sick of it), dosing pumps, coral food, coral additives, weekly water changes, so many more tests.....
 
Some prefer watching corals grow...... Others prefer watching large angels, triggers and tangs grow

I prefers the fish side of the hobby thus have a fowlr

Depending on your tank size those large angels, tangs and triggers might not be a option
 
Yes it seems you can have one or the other but not both.

I like the the fish as well. Even the mean puffer who just took a hunk out of my finger :)
 
Fishy 1 said:
hi guys I'm spinning in circles trying to make up my mind about whether to go fowlr or reef. I love reef tanks and who doesn't but how much time and money dose it need to be successful. I am adding cleaner shrimp and reef safe fish just in case I do go reef. And I could go with non photo corals or low light ones. I'm spinning right now, so many options, I'm going mad. Help please
Click to expand...

I would go FOWLR, one less parameter to worry about. Don't have to worry about light or nitrates.

Don't have to worry about fish eating the corals.

Can pretty much get any fish ya want.

Can put inverts in the tank.
 
How big of a tank are you going to set up? If setting up something less than 75g, I'd go reef. If 75 g or bigger, then fowlr.
 
Reef tanks are typically more time consuming and expensive in the short term, but much more rewarding in the long term. It boils down to the fish you want to keep
 
You can have a reef tank which takes the same effort and care are a fowlr. You just keep it easy with the coral. I had mushrooms and zoas growing and reproducing under a t8 or t12. No dosing or feeding. The only fish in the tank was a snoflake eel which got one piece of shrimp and week.
 
If I was to go reef, how many t5 do I need to keep shrooms and zoas
I am leaning towards a basic reef if there is such a thing
 
Dmorty217 said:
Reef tanks are typically more time consuming and expensive in the short term, but much more rewarding in the long term. It boils down to the fish you want to keep
Click to expand...

I am thinking of keeping smaller fish like clowns, flasher wrasse and such and such
 
viggen said:
Some prefer watching corals grow...... Others prefer watching large angels, triggers and tangs grow

I prefers the fish side of the hobby thus have a fowlr

Depending on your tank size those large angels, tangs and triggers might not be a option
Click to expand...

Yah the tank is only 60gal so don't have the room for bigger fish
 
SecretiveFish said:
Sorry, I am not sure what you are looking for.

This is all IME of course but if you are leaning towards reef, how expensive really depends on what you want to keep.
- Softies like leathers, paly, zooanthids, and polyps (and frogspawn for me are not too pricey to keep. My softie tank has a T5 fixture, a hydor koralia for flow, a HOB BakPak skimmer, and a HOB overflow box into a very basic sump with refugium and live rock rubble. It gets monthly water changes at best.
- My LPS tank was not to pricey to set up or keep. It also has a T5 fixture, HOB overflow box into a very basic sump with refugium and live rock rubble, and a hydor koralia for flow. The skimmer is in sump and is nothing fancy. Water changes? Whenever we feel bad about never doing it..... Granted there are no fish in there, only inverts.
- SPS. Holy crap, expensive!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can someone doing it cheaper? Sure, but we failed miserably trying to do it cheaper. Tank controller, vertex protein skimmer, vortech pumps, filter socks, led fixture (had metal halide but got sick of it), dosing pumps, coral food, coral additives, weekly water changes, so many more tests.....
Click to expand...

I'd like to go reef but don't know how hard it is to keep corals
 
Dmorty217 said:
reef tanks.....much more rewarding in the long term.
Click to expand...

That's just personal preference.... Like I said Some enjoy watching fish go from juvenile to adult?...Others prefer watching corals grow and then possibly fragging them

I enjoy watching my fish grow .... Thus have a tank with a queen, passer, blue face and emperor angels :)

For a 60g... You could go with Pygmy angels, small wrasses, hawk fish gobies, clowns etc and I believe still have "reef" stuff.

Most tangs, triggers etc wouldn't work in there SOS ticking more to the reef side might be a better option.
 
Get a 4 bulb t5. 4 bulbs doesn't cost that much more then 2. Good lighting makes the tank look much nicer, the whole tank will light up instead of one strip. The fixture isn't that important a cheap oddesya or deep blue will work.
 
Cu455 said:
Get a 4 bulb t5. 4 bulbs doesn't cost that much more then 2. Good lighting makes the tank look much nicer, the whole tank will light up instead of one strip. The fixture isn't that important a cheap oddesya or deep blue will work.
Click to expand...

And could I keep mushies under 4 t5
 
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