FOWLR questions

[toddwess]

I'm getting back into saltwater again this January and was leaning towards a reef, but now I'm considering a fowlr tank.

I have a 40 gallon tank, and really am only interested in about 4 or 5 colorful fish.

How much LR would I want to have? How much is "too much" to be considered fowlr? I know that 1.5 lbs or LR is the minimum for a reef. I don't want that much.

I was thinking of about 20lbs of LR in the 40 gallon tank. Would that be okay? If I went this route, I would still want to keep the bioballs in the wet/dry filter, right?

Anybody out there with a fowlr with some feedback and suggestions?

Thanks,
Todd

[reefrunner69]

How much LR would I want to have? How much is "too much" to be considered fowlr? I know that 1.5 lbs or LR is the minimum for a reef. I don't want that much.

The only difference that is necessary to distinguish a reef from a FOWLR, is the presence of sessile inverts. Some hold that if you have LR, you have a reef...period. Personally I'd go with 1-1.5 lbs/gallon, but it is totally subjective and up to you. You will want to look to keep to that minumum if you want the rock to act as biological filtration.

I was thinking of about 20lbs of LR in the 40 gallon tank. Would that be okay? If I went this route, I would still want to keep the bioballs in the wet/dry filter, right?

Yes, if you only go with 20g, you will need other means of biological filtration.

[toddwess]

Thanks for your response.

I am steering away from a full-blown reef because I had so much bad luck with my last one. Seems more time was spent worrying about the rocks and the sand and the water than was spent enjoying the fish.

If I go with a FOWLR with let's say 20lbs of LR in a 40 gallon tank, what should the substrate be? Can it just be plain old sand? Can I go ahead and do Live Sand, or will it all die off since I don't have Live Rock.

Also, I thought of this last night - Can I just put regular rocks in my tank? Do they have to be Live Rock? Can't I just put in some sand and then some nice base rock and call it a Fish Only tank? Down the road, can coral or an anemone be placed on base rock, or do they REQUIRE LR?

Sorry for rambling on and on - I just really don't get how live rock and live sand play their part with fish. Is there ANY form of marine life that REQUIRES Live Rock or Live Sand?

Thanks,
Todd

[fishfreek]

It can be live sand or dry sand or crushed coral or a bare bottom. The live sand wont die off due to no or little live rock. The question will be then what kind of structures will you have for the fish to find shade/refuge to feel safe?

If you do regular rock (ie landrock) its important to make sure they do not have any hard metal deposits in them. Looking at them for thin veins that are of different color could indicate a presence of hard metals. There are places you can get limestone rock for your dry base rock. If you dont want the expense of the live rock look at the dry limestone/argonite rock.