Swifterz
Aquarium Advice Activist
been keeping large malawi cichlids and breeding a dozen or so species for a long while, but i just can't resist the urge to do salt anymore...
so i'm switching my established 120g (60x24x18) malawi cichlid tank to salt, but there are some challenges, and a lot of questions. i'm definitely thinking fowlr because although i have a reef capable LED, i can't run a sump where the tank is and with the stand. i also don't want to use a skimmer.
what do you think of my plan? will it work? any tips? thanks in advance.
so i'm switching my established 120g (60x24x18) malawi cichlid tank to salt, but there are some challenges, and a lot of questions. i'm definitely thinking fowlr because although i have a reef capable LED, i can't run a sump where the tank is and with the stand. i also don't want to use a skimmer.
- i'm guessing RODI water is an asbsolute MUST, even for a FOWLR setup is this correct?
- can i use my existing HOB filters (4x aqueon 55/75 rated 400gph up to 90g each) with regular water changes?
- what rock is best? cave/lace rock? white base rock?
- can i use the pool filter sand i have in there now?
- about cycling, i'll be starting with dry rock (can't afford 100+ pounds of live rock all at once), is it as simple as draining the fresh water, cleaning the tank, filling with RODI salt water, adding rock, and letting it sit? how long do i let it sit? do i add cheap fish like damsels or anything? obviously this is an established tank, but freshwater.
- fish i like / are they compatible? yellow tang, a clown, flame angel, bicolor dottyback, yellow tail damsel, and a few others. my goal is to have few fish, for the most part small, making the "ocean" look bigger and each fish really catches your eye. i do really like some of the other tangs like powder blue or regal but that would be later, and i know they can get pretty large.
what do you think of my plan? will it work? any tips? thanks in advance.