Reef or Fish only
- Thread starter Grubby
- Start date
purge43
New member
I know this is a rather broad statement, but if you like chemistry more then biology, go with a reef. imo with fish you have to deal with alot of deseases and diets and husbandry, which fish gets along with this or that fish. While still having to deal with alot of the same pests a reef does. with a reef alk cal mag nitrates phosphates are a real concern and have to be addressed in one way or another. Time and dedication wise fowlr gives you more "slack". you can go a couple extra more days before changing out a filter or doing a water change. with a reef, when the filter is scheduled to be changed , you'd best do it. Reef is more testing and more params to watch and you definatelty cant go slack on watching the nitrates. So a reef means more dedication. Money wise reef is going to cost more to maintain, you have to change light bulbs if your not going with led. water changes are a must to keep nitrates and phosphates down , unless you get into one of the high tech (experimental imo) processes and it might not even work for you. fish you have to feed, alot of corals can go a long time without feeding. Ive read some posts that people dont even feed their corals. with a Fowlr tank you will basically buy the population and thats all you will buy untill one dies, you can only have so many fish. With corals you can keep buying and buying and buying(lol), keep them small by pruning and fragging and then move on to the next bigger tank (lol) imo fish are rather boring. they swim back and forth, you dont notice much growth until a length of time goes by most wont propogate and they die. corals can be kept for a very very long time and you get excited when you run to the tank and see this or that has its polyps out. or when you see new growth in this one or that one or the frag you cut off last week is starting new growth. I know this is very general and will inspire alot of argument , but this argument worked on my wife.
I would go with a Fish only tank, down the road, if you want, you could buy a few more pieces of equipment and turn it into a reef tank if you choose to, that may mean getting rid of some fish though. I am fighting the same battle as you are right now 
asking myself the same question you are asking your self, and driving myself nuts 
on which direction to go . A fish only tank is not, just a fish only tank at the very least you will need at least one QT tank and you will need to have a medication tank for a sick fish set up, or at least I would want one.
asking myself the same question you are asking your self, and driving myself nuts on which direction to go . A fish only tank is not, just a fish only tank at the very least you will need at least one QT tank and you will need to have a medication tank for a sick fish set up, or at least I would want one.
thcmusic
New member
I think a fish only tank is a good place to start. You could always transition over to a reef later. Just start out with reef safe fish and then you have time to decide later ... add more fish or add corals. Of course even with a FOWLR, you still can add a variety of mushrooms without much problem.
deep_sea_Dennis
New member
I like my 265 FOWLR because I love to keep butterflies and angels that will decimate a reef tank. I agree do what you can afford.
tom obrecht
Active member
Everyone here who has commented so far has some very valid points and here's mine. I have had many different sizes as well as types of tanks through the years and all have their advantages and disadvantages. A fish only tank can offer something a reef tank can't simply by the type of fish you can keep. Many beautiful fish offered for sale are not completely reef safe so a fish only system might be the best bet. On the other hand once you seen a mature reef system it is hard not to be hypnotized into purchasing a reef setup. I think it comes down to whether you like fish more or corals. I have been on both ends of the spectrum. At one point my reef tanks have very few fish. From there I swung 180 degrees to a reef that had close to 65 fish. Now I'm seriously considering a fo system. I think it comes down to you persoanlly of what you like more. For a cost comparison, those are right who said that a reef will cost much more not only initially but on a ongoing basis as well. Good luck with your decision.
