[Although I have been maintaining a FOWLR for over 3 years now I still feel very in experienced and ignorant. Especially after joining the club. I had never heard of the concept of a sump until stumbling across Marc's site a couple of months ago. My current tank is a 50g that was given to me without prior research or education. I have been stumbling along and my fish seemed to survive fine however the popular and coveted coraline is less present, almost none existent, now than 3 years ago. I think that may have something to do with the lighting. I just replaced my 3-year-old Coralife bulbs with the same T-5's that Marc put on his 55g. I didn't know that bulbs lost their usefulness. I figured they were still good until they burned out. Now I seem to have some new red coraline have just 3-4 weeks with the new bulbs.
So here is where you come in. I just picked up a 100g (60W x 18D x 20H) from elinder on Saturday. There is about 2 inches of sand that he says has been in there for a few months and about 60-80 pounds of Holey rock that is bare. I would say it is not live at all yet, maybe some bacteria. He had a yellow tang and a 4-stripe damsel in it. About 60-70% of the water was transported over as well. I have it set up about 90-95% filled with 2 powerheads and a canister filter running in it. I plan to add some flakes, or a piece of deli shrimp, to see if I get an ammonia spike and cycle the tank if necessary.
A few questions I need help with please. I plan to run FOWLR, inverts, mushrooms, and one tiny frag I got from last months auction. I do not plan to get into a full-blown reef tank right away but who knows what will happen after a few more weeks or months in this awesome club. So here are the questions:
What is Holey rock? Will it support the appropriate bacteria, and microfuana/flora populations that are needed? I know I need to add more LR but should I replace the Holey rock or just add to it?
Keeping in mind that the tank is not drilled, how important is a sump in FOWLR? Will a few powerheads, skimmer, and a canister filter be acceptable to the guru SW hobbyist? If a sump is recommend, what volume should it be?
In the reading I have done in the forum I know MH is better then VHO, PC, and T5. But is it necessary for FOWLR? Whatever lights are recommended, also recommend how many of each bulb I should have.
As far as skimming is concerned, I have read on other threads that the Remora is the crowd favorite, so which model would be needed for 100g? What websites sell Remoras at a good price?
Thanks in advance for helping wanna be set up his tank properly. ::
P.S. I would attach a photo but I am having computer troubles and it won't recognize my camera anymore.]
So here is where you come in. I just picked up a 100g (60W x 18D x 20H) from elinder on Saturday. There is about 2 inches of sand that he says has been in there for a few months and about 60-80 pounds of Holey rock that is bare. I would say it is not live at all yet, maybe some bacteria. He had a yellow tang and a 4-stripe damsel in it. About 60-70% of the water was transported over as well. I have it set up about 90-95% filled with 2 powerheads and a canister filter running in it. I plan to add some flakes, or a piece of deli shrimp, to see if I get an ammonia spike and cycle the tank if necessary.
A few questions I need help with please. I plan to run FOWLR, inverts, mushrooms, and one tiny frag I got from last months auction. I do not plan to get into a full-blown reef tank right away but who knows what will happen after a few more weeks or months in this awesome club. So here are the questions:
What is Holey rock? Will it support the appropriate bacteria, and microfuana/flora populations that are needed? I know I need to add more LR but should I replace the Holey rock or just add to it?
Keeping in mind that the tank is not drilled, how important is a sump in FOWLR? Will a few powerheads, skimmer, and a canister filter be acceptable to the guru SW hobbyist? If a sump is recommend, what volume should it be?
In the reading I have done in the forum I know MH is better then VHO, PC, and T5. But is it necessary for FOWLR? Whatever lights are recommended, also recommend how many of each bulb I should have.
As far as skimming is concerned, I have read on other threads that the Remora is the crowd favorite, so which model would be needed for 100g? What websites sell Remoras at a good price?
Thanks in advance for helping wanna be set up his tank properly. ::
P.S. I would attach a photo but I am having computer troubles and it won't recognize my camera anymore.]