Why FO or FOWLR?

[mrwilson]

I kept a small fish only saltwater tank many years ago, and I've decided to get back into the hobby with a larger tank (probably somewhere bwtween 100 and 150 gal). I'm debating the merits of keeping a reef vs. keeping a FOWLR.

I'd love to hear from those of you who have decided to go the FO or FOWLR route why you choose to go that way instead of reef. More fun? Easier to maintain? More beautiful? More interesting? Cheaper? I will really appreciate hearing your viewpoints.

 

[Juggler]

Some people think fish only is cheaper, which is slightly true, but same as reef, the more you put in the more you get back. some good t5 retro kits a good skimmer and thats a nice tank. i like fish only because the fish have more personality of course than a colored acro. but i will never see anything more beautiful than some of the reefs on here. i just want something interactive. i think fo may take a bit less time up cleaning and more time actually looking at the fish.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

Marine fishes will be much healthier in a reef aquarium or FOWLR than a traditional FO aquarium with a wet/dry or UG IMO.
After working with several types of marine aquariums I personally wouldn't bother with setting up a FO... it's just not worth the trouble (IMO) unless it's a biotope aquarium specifically set up for a certain species that's not reef compatible.
Whatever type of system you decide to set up I strongly suggest installing some type of biological filter that harbors anaerobic bacteria so nitrates don't become a chronic problem. It can save you many water changes. A protein skimmer can also be of great benefit to whatever type of aquarium you decide to do.

 

[mrwilson]

Thanks for your insights. My choice this time is between reef and FOWLR - I would not go FO for the reasons you mention, Gary. I certainly admire the beautiful reef tanks I see on this site and elsewhere, but I seem to enjoy the electric coloration and interesting behavior of the fishes just as much. And I'd like to spend more of my time enjoying looking at the tank, rather than fiddling with equipment and the like. Lots of people on this site love all the DIY stuff and tinkering with things - which of course is perfectly fine, just not my thing. I wonder if the FOWLR route might be best for someone who fits my general profile.

(The last time I did this was as a kid in the '80s; it was with a 30-gal tank with no live rock and an UG filter, and I tested for salinity and temp and that's it. I'd never heard of a "protein skimmer," if they even existed back then. My nitrates must have been off the charts, and who knows what the ph was - it's amazing the fish survived for any length of time at all!)

 

[pinkie]

I went FOWLR for many of the same reasons Juggler did. I chose FOWLR primarily because I find watching the fish to be far more interesting and entertaining than watching corals. I chose fish that I thought would have a lot of personality (like Puffers, Harlequin Tusk, Angels) and have been very happy with my decision. Having them all recognize you when it is feeding time and react to you is fun.

I like to also have people over who aren't really into aquariums and they seem to really enjoy seeing fish in the tank more than corals, or at least thats how my friends and family are!

It is lower maintenance IMO since there are fewer parameters that need to be closely monitored. I have also found it to be cheaper since you don't need metal halides and it seems much cheaper to fully stock a tank with even expensive fish than it does to fully stock one with corals and small fish reef safe fish.

 

[TheSaltwaterGuy]

Gary, is that your tank in your avatar?

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10021639#post10021639 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by TheSaltwaterGuy
Gary, is that your tank in your avatar?

Yes. All the corals are alive.

 

[salty3]

I have a 30 gal reef and LOVE it, however, I have a 55 that cycling right now and it gooing to be FOWLR because its easier to mantain and the cost of a good lighting system is too high, and not to mention the electric rates have went up 30% in my area. Maybe down the road I will turn it into a reef but not anytime soon. I also have a 20H that I'm setting up but its going to be a reef with softy's only and a very cheap walmart light is what I'm going to use.

 

[stealthbimmer]

basically what everyone else is saying...im going fowlr because the fish i want are aggressive and def not reef compatable

 

[justinl]

yeah i got a fowlr in the beginning for most of the above reasons. if i dont get any non-reef safe fish, then i may decide to just cover all my LR with shrooms. i think it would be interesting. i also think that fowlr is much less maintenance. i spend about twice as much time on my 8gal reef as i do on the 60gal fowlr.

i think defnitely go fowlr for now, but keep in mind that you do have the option of going all out reef later on.

 

[tropicalfishguy]

I have a 65g reef and 125 FOWLR, I spend about the same time maintance wise, I decided FOWLR because I like big fish that like to eat corals like triggers, angels, etc.

 

[TheSaltwaterGuy]

Wow! I love your Emperor!

 

[bad badger 1]

we went FO because of cost, type of fish(large angels and triggers and butterflys) and because of the way we are running it i am considering making it a reef in the futcher. if you have the money go with a FOWLR because of the live food it produses and then filter qualities. Remember its still god to have 20x turn over or more in a FOWLR. Ecosystem (miracle mud) can work quite well on a FOWLR however a big skimmer is probably as good, just that Ecosystem can work well with high stocking density.

 

[steeldude]

You can always do both.

You can always do both.

A nice Healthy 95 Wave tank with Aggressive Fishies and Corals

 

[TriniStylez]

I like having both because I love my reef but I also love my Puffer but he would not love my reef like I do...

 

[aquaman67]

I have a reef tank. When I decided to get another tank I decided to do a FO tank. Here's why.

If you use live rock you must either maintain the calcium and alkalinity levels so coralline algae will grow or the rock will just be brown. If you have to maintain C and A levels then you might as well have a reef. Unless you like brown rocks.

I was also tired of scraping coralline aglae off the glass. If you have nice looking rock, the coralline will grow on the glass too. The other choice is the ugly brown rocks, unless you do away with the rock and use something else. I'm using a Marineland Tidepool II on my 70 FO tank for filtration.

Fish don't really care where your calcium level is.

 

[InLimbo87]

No, fish don't care what your calcium level is, and the only reason that you have to with a FOWLR is to keep up coralline growth. Many don't bother with the calc/alk with FOWLR because the "ugly brown rocks" that you speak of are pretty natural looking.

Fish do, however, care about how many toxic substances are in your water. No biological filtration will do as well as plain old fashioned live rock when it comes to removing nitrates and the like. This is why it is healthier (although maybe not as aesthetically pleasing for some) to use Live Rock in any saltwater system.

I'm going FOWLR for my new tank for several reasons:

1. The aggressive fish are very intriguing to me, and not reef safe
2. Budget; stocking a tank with fish is much cheaper than stocking a tank with fish and corals.
3. Maintenance time. With a busy school schedule coming up, and a hectic work schedule to boot, the amount of time and care a reef tank needs is not in the cards.

 

[SaltyMember]

I have a 125g FOWLR tank going right now that has a combination of about 100 lbs of LR with a wet/dry and a decent skimmer. I have 3 decent sized fish a 5 inch dogface puffer, a 6 inch foxface, and a 4 inch blue tang. I have been battling nitrates from early on. Nitrates sometimes go off the charts despite watching my feedings and doing biweekly water changes of 25-30 percent. I am planning to add another 100 lbs of LR and gradually eliminate the wet/dry. I would not set up another tank with a wet/dry again.

 

[freshwater]

what should be the ideal readings of Cal and ALK in a FOWLR Aquarium. Other question is do we need the cleaning crew like hermit crabs, snails for FOWLR aquarium, If yes then how much for 125G.