Need help going from reef to F/O

[unclemuskie]

Hi all I have a 125 that I am thinking of changing from reef to fish only to simplify things,but I have a few questions with it and was looking for advice or ideas before I do this.I know that all fish and corals will have to be removed first.
1.The tank has about 180-200 pounds of well established live rock.I would like to keep some of the larger pieces for aquascaping and filteration instead of going all fake coral.Can I do this?? What kind of tank cycle will happen by removing alot of the bio-load?
2.My sump is currently set up as a refugium.Will I have to switch back to the bio-ball tower that I had earlier?
3.If I decide to downgrade my lighting(2 250w metal halides) will the remaining live rock still function?
4. Should I clean or change out my sand bed once everything opens up or will this cause me more problems?
5.Salinity?

 

[bigevill1]

the only difference between a reef and a FO is the lack of corals and other photosynthetic critters as far as I am concernd. If you dont want the hassel of worrying about CA and ALK and all of that just get rid of your corals and leave everything else the same. The refuge is still a good idea for a FO tank as a source of nutrient export....Live rock will function in the dark, it just wont look pretty. Same with the sand bed.

 

[dohc97]

I agree with what bigevill said in his post. You could keep all your liverock to use as a filter and just get all your corals out. If you intend to keep the same fish you have now, your done with the conversion. If your going to add fish to the existing ones just go slow. You wont get any type of cycles by removing bioload, as far as i know you only get mini-cycles from increasing bio-load or removing a lot of live rock.

 

[unclemuskie]

the big issue is to create space so if I do throw in an expensive fish I can access it if I have to for any reason without having to tear apart my aquascape and also cleaning would be alot easier.

 

[bigevill1]

well removing some of your LR wouldnt hurt anything, but honestly most fish are happier with the rock in there. clear it away from your sides for easy cleaning, and maybe aquascape so you only have to move a few rocks to get to most areas of the tank.

 

[aiko670]

No, don't do it......

 

[bigevill1]

gee thats a really helpful post there aiko

 

[aiko670]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9089478#post9089478 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bigevill
gee thats a really helpful post there aiko

I detect sarcasm.....

 

[unclemuskie]

bump