Can I do FO with no LR and no skimmer?

[arowanaman420]

I have a 42g with LR, skimmer etc. It's been running great for a couple months. I have a 75 FW I've been thinking of converting. Is it advisable to do a FO tank with just a HO filter? A small LFS I know of has all their sw tanks running individually with Aqua clear filters and no LR. Their stock is always healthy and tanks look great. I am thinking of setting up this tank with a large bio- wheel and some LS. I would like to have a tank for some larger fish, but don't want to shell out for 150lbs of LR. I can afford the other expenses, but that's alot of $$ for rock. Even capping base rock would be pretty spendy. What do you think?

 

[lando]

It is possible. What you are missing is the great bilogical filtration benefits of the LR. You will need to stock the tank very lightly and do frequent and regular water changes.

 

[arowanaman420]

What about DSB and LS?

 

[steve-s]

Why not just use dead dry base rock. Very cheap, has all the benefits of LR and very little cost. Plus you do not need any special lighting. The only thing I would suggest is seeding the tank from sand/rock from your 42 gal eventually.

http://hirocks.com/

Cheers
Steve

 

[arowanaman420]

Will do. I had no idea dead rock had all the benefits of LR. Thanks.

 

[tripper]

Dead rock will eventually have all the benefits of LR. The bacteria that are beneficial will grow on any porous surface, the LR just gets it on there faster. The other plus of LR is the coraline and hitchikers that come with it. But for strictly filtering purposes, dead rock will become "live" quickly.

tripper

 

[arowanaman420]

Has anyone used CaribSea Look Alive reef rock with corraline or Reef Bones? I guess they are dried rock directly from the ocean. I was thinking of using these originally.

 

[Jonathan G.]

www.reeferrocks.com has great base rock too, capt jer is very kind and will answer all your questions. Also you can order any amount you want and specify what sizes interest you. Another plus is that shipping was only 20$ for 50lbs of base rock up here to ohio.

 

[DaveBeaty]

I run a 20 gallon fish only tank with no live rock and no skimmer.

I have a 3" aragonite sand bed on top of an undergravel filter (and yes, I do catch all sorts of flack for that on this board ) and a penguin 125 bio-wheel hang on back filter. I vacuum under 1 gallon from the tank once a week (helps keep detritus off the sand) and change the filter cartridge (carbon) once a month.

I plan on upgrading to a 29 gallon tank with either an AquaC Remora or a CPR BakPak2 protein skimmer in May. I am also looking into Aragocrete fake base rock from http://www.garf.org (the hitchhikers on live rock have me scared away from the real thing).

And yes, I will put an Undergravel Filter in the 29 gal!