Starting a FOWLR... what do i need?
- Thread starter chris127
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Ziggy953
Aquarium Advice Addict
I've had the power sweep before and as coraline starts to grow they will stick. Cleaning them with vinegar will take care of the but it gets to be a process. Look at the Koralia Nanos. They work well and provide a gentle large swath of flow.
Titanium heaters are great. I have 2 of them.
Titanium heaters are great. I have 2 of them.
roka64
Aquarium Advice Addict
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- Mar 21, 2006
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Personally, I like the Finnex titanium heaters.
Finnex 100w DIGITAL Titanium Heater w/controller: Premium Aquatics
Finnex 100w DIGITAL Titanium Heater w/controller: Premium Aquatics
If you are purchasing a standard glass 20g (not all-in-one) I use the following:
Filter: Hagen AquaClear 110 (made into refugium)
Heaters: x2 50w heaters by Tronic or Visitherm.
Lights: The 2x65w pcs will work fine, but I have 4x24w T5's.
Powerhead: I only have 1 nano Koralia because I have some sps demanding more water flow.
Buy a refractometer
Filter: Hagen AquaClear 110 (made into refugium)
Heaters: x2 50w heaters by Tronic or Visitherm.
Lights: The 2x65w pcs will work fine, but I have 4x24w T5's.
Powerhead: I only have 1 nano Koralia because I have some sps demanding more water flow.
Buy a refractometer
roka64
Aquarium Advice Addict
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Nope, not at all. I just like the idea that the titanium won't break. I do run two in each tank for redundancy, but that is also a personal preference.
roka64
Aquarium Advice Addict
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Good point James!
Ziggy953
Aquarium Advice Addict
I agree with Innovator. If you can find it go with the T5HO, they produce better light and the bulbs last longer then PCs. Running 2 heaters is always a good idea. I have 3 on my system, if one dies I still have heaters working.
Ziggy953
Aquarium Advice Addict
I've never subscribed to the wpg rule. I keep my water temp at 79-80 day and night with little swing. (well except for this time of year. AC is off and the wood stove has not been fired up yet)
For your tank I think a pair of 50w heaters would do fine, provided you have somewhere to hide them. When you get into smaller tanks without sumps it makes it more difficult to hide the equipment you need.
I agree with Mike about going without a skimmer. Regular PWCs will take care of the water for you.
For your tank I think a pair of 50w heaters would do fine, provided you have somewhere to hide them. When you get into smaller tanks without sumps it makes it more difficult to hide the equipment you need.
I agree with Mike about going without a skimmer. Regular PWCs will take care of the water for you.
okay so im still trying to figure out if i can succesfully do a reef becuase i dont want to have just a fowlr and get tired of it in a couple months. i cant buy an RO filter (not in the budget) but i would still like to have nano reef because i want to learn about saltwater as well.
my dad says we have a filter that is "equivalent to RO" and that it filters out basically every impurity. we have well water so theres no added chemicals to our water except some k2p04 salt in the softner. i know that high light + excess nutriens = bad algae, but i dont think i have that many nutrients.
do you guys think a reef is do-able with my water situation?
my dad says we have a filter that is "equivalent to RO" and that it filters out basically every impurity. we have well water so theres no added chemicals to our water except some k2p04 salt in the softner. i know that high light + excess nutriens = bad algae, but i dont think i have that many nutrients.
do you guys think a reef is do-able with my water situation?
catmel
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Its certainly possible, probably not ideal long term. I'd certainly test your water every time you use it, make sure everything is ok before using it. If its a drinking water filter, it may not get out as much as an ro or ro/di.
Kurt_Nelson
Aquarium Advice Addict
I'm not sayin' you should tell your Dad he's wrong (since I'm a Dad too, and well... we're just never wrong! )... but a water softener filtration system isn't the same as an RO when it comes to reef tanks. If we're talking just for drinking purposes, then yeah... it's great. But it doesn't strip everything out of the water like an RO/DI filter will.
HOWEVER...
There are plenty of people that use well/tap water treated with something to neutralize ammonia/chlorine/etc and have great tanks. It just depends on your water. Even if you test it for the stuff we normally test for (nitrates, phosphates, ammonia) there are hundreds of other compounds that could be in it that *may* be bad for the tank... and we just can't test for them.
There's no way anyone can really say if your water won't give you problems. But as long as you realize the potential of it causing issues as you're getting into it, then it gives you something to watch for. If you do end up having issues, then you can deal with it then.
While I don't know your budget... $150 for an RO/DI unit is really just a drop in the bucket if you're considering adding corals.
)... but a water softener filtration system isn't the same as an RO when it comes to reef tanks. If we're talking just for drinking purposes, then yeah... it's great. But it doesn't strip everything out of the water like an RO/DI filter will.HOWEVER...
There are plenty of people that use well/tap water treated with something to neutralize ammonia/chlorine/etc and have great tanks. It just depends on your water. Even if you test it for the stuff we normally test for (nitrates, phosphates, ammonia) there are hundreds of other compounds that could be in it that *may* be bad for the tank... and we just can't test for them.
There's no way anyone can really say if your water won't give you problems. But as long as you realize the potential of it causing issues as you're getting into it, then it gives you something to watch for. If you do end up having issues, then you can deal with it then.
While I don't know your budget... $150 for an RO/DI unit is really just a drop in the bucket if you're considering adding corals.
lol my dad thinks hes always right its a GE Smartfilter, and it has 2 canisters.
my budget is TIGHT. im 16 and unemployed so $150 is spilling the bucket over lol. my friend at the lfs said he could sell me some of his frags for cheap whenever i get started, so obtaining the corals wouldnt be too bad, just keeping them alive, happy, and algae free would be the difficult thing. (we found common ground on nano-reefing and he wants to help out the cause)
even if i dont go with corals for a year, will my tank still develop the "pretty" pink and purple coraline algae? fowlr with a fish or two + some colorful algae would keep my ADD self from freaking out and tearing it down lol. i really just want to learn about saltwater fish becuase the depth of my knowledge is only nano freshwater fish
oh yeah, i had to downgrade my tank size to 10 gallons. i tried to de-rim the 20 and, well, that didnt go well...
its a GE Smartfilter, and it has 2 canisters. my budget is TIGHT. im 16 and unemployed so $150 is spilling the bucket over lol. my friend at the lfs said he could sell me some of his frags for cheap whenever i get started, so obtaining the corals wouldnt be too bad, just keeping them alive, happy, and algae free would be the difficult thing. (we found common ground on nano-reefing and he wants to help out the cause)
even if i dont go with corals for a year, will my tank still develop the "pretty" pink and purple coraline algae? fowlr with a fish or two + some colorful algae would keep my ADD self from freaking out and tearing it down lol. i really just want to learn about saltwater fish becuase the depth of my knowledge is only nano freshwater fish
oh yeah, i had to downgrade my tank size to 10 gallons. i tried to de-rim the 20 and, well, that didnt go well...
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