fowlr vs reef

[Fishy 1]

Any more stories (I just love stories filled with knowledge )

 

[SS_Sean]

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.....

Good advice here.... Wife and I are doing the same thing... I like the softies, she likes the fish... but should be able to do a nice tank, none-the-less.

 

[MacWilliams]

Coral Beautys IME are hit or miss. I have had one in my reef for a year now and the only coral it has picked at was my acan for the first day i added then nothing. It has left all corals alone since then. Beautiful fish just keep an eye on your corals.

Edit: I have gone away on weekend trips with no feedings done and still no picking.

 

[JohnniG]

Having the same discussion with myself atm.

 

[3dees]

some years ago I had a 29 gal. mixed reef. I got tired or all the dosing, lighting requirements, etc. went back to fw with wild discus. after for years of 80% wc's twice a week I decided on sw again. I swore it would be a fowlr. I am now up to 12 corals, all softies. no dosing, 15% wc per week and so far everything is fine. best of both worlds. I have a cb and it doesn't bother anything.

 

[Fishy 1]

Coral Beautys IME are hit or miss. I have had one in my reef for a year now and the only coral it has picked at was my acan for the first day i added then nothing. It has left all corals alone since then. Beautiful fish just keep an eye on your corals.

Edit: I have gone away on weekend trips with no feedings done and still no picking.

OK, great to hear :thumbup: I think I'll get one

 

[Fishy 1]

some years ago I had a 29 gal. mixed reef. I got tired or all the dosing, lighting requirements, etc. went back to fw with wild discus. after for years of 80% wc's twice a week I decided on sw again. I swore it would be a fowlr. I am now up to 12 corals, all softies. no dosing, 15% wc per week and so far everything is fine. best of both worlds. I have a cb and it doesn't bother anything.

Awsome, that is all I want to do, a few corals and some beautiful fish. No dosing, just a easy care for tank

 

[Fishy 1]

Anyone else want to share why they whent for one or the other.