Question about set-up for fish only tank.....

[AnnnetteM]

I used to only go onto the reef board, but 9 mos ago I broke down my reef tank to move and never set it up again. I gave away all my stock and rock. Now I want to set it up again, but in my 7 yr old daughters room and I want to know if I can do fish only with no LR only a sand bottom and the dead coral branches. If so what can I put in the tank? It's 110 gal and I have a wet dry/bioballs, chiller, uv ster, skimmer. Is my idea ok? I want to put LS or should I not? Do I need a cleanup crew of snails and crabs? What about shrimp? What kind of fish? Can I do any tangs with veggie clips or do they need LR? This way of set up is totally new for me. And what levels do I need to watch if not doing LR or coral? And how often are water changes usually? I will set up a reef in about 6 months when this tank is stable, but the reef will be over 200 gal so this I want to keep lower maint. than the reef. My daughter LOVES to watch the fish. It is very relaxing for her so any ideas would be great! Thanks in advance

 

[EJS4]

Yes your idea will work and it's great idea for your daughter to have her own tank. I can understand not wanting corals to make it easier but LR really does not require anything extra. Since the source of most LR is coral your dead coral branches will become LR in the tank. The question on inverts depends on the fish you decide on. Remember these are reef fish so you'll probably find that they congregate around the coral and decorations and not out in the open (instinct). Definitely want to put some kind of decorations in tank (fake anemones, corals, sunken ships, etc). Have her help choose and decorate the tank so it really is hers. The levels for FO and FOWLR are the same (pH, Ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and SG). Water changes will be a function of nitrate level build up.

 

[FISHISM]

If you cannot get a hold of LR then biological filtration needs to be replaced. Bio balls have been found to not be what they are cracked up to be. They do have a high surface area but it has been determined that water will not pass through, only over without any special pressure applied to your filtration unit. LR really is your best choice for biological filtration. It is perfectly fine to keep LR with non-reef safe fish. infect this opens a door to fishes that you couldn keep other wise. Porcupine puffers (kids love them), Triggers, many Angel species, Dragon wrasses (very cool) and a plethora of other fish that cannot other wise be kept with coral. In the end, you really should use live rock (uncured). This will save you time and heart ache with water changes and cycling your new system. Good luck!