Ideal Filtration for 75 Reef Ready

[Deadbase]

I will be getting a 75 Reef Ready Aquarium very soon. I would like to set it up FOWLR.
What is the best sump system, Skimmer, etc to get?
BTW, I am getting the "reef ready" in case I decide to move to reef someday.
Thanks in advance. This forum seems like a great bunch of guys! :smokin:

[Avi]

I'd say that you should very definitely start off with a good quality protein skimmer...it's just a very important piece of equipment and makes the entire project a sure thing. There are people that don't feel as strongly about it, particularly with a fish only tank, but you want to avoid micro-algae growth in a FOWLR as much as you do with a reef so a good protein skimmer will work to achieve that for you. Moreover, you may, like you say, go for the reef and that will more than likely be sooner rather than later, so get the skimmer right away...you won't be sorry.

I'm in the very process of setting up either a 90 or a 110 reef-ready tank...I should make the decision this week...and I've decided that in addition to the skimmer, I'm going to use a sump with bio-balls. I don't use the bio-balls in my 120-gallon reef's sump and don't recommend that bio-balls be used on a reef. But I will be using them in the FOWLR's sump because I won't have as high an amount of live rock in the FO since I want to have more room available for the fish. So, instead, I'll supplement the system's filtration with the bio-balls and have part of the sump dedicated as a refugium in which I'll grow chaeto.

There are fine sumps commercially available or otherwise you can go to a reliable website like

www.melevsreef.com

and get some nice plans and look as the pics there for assistance so you can make the sump or sump/refugium of your choice.

Don't get me wrong...with a FOWLR, you could supplement the live rock with other kinds of filtration like canisters. But, I've come to think that doing your best to keep micro-algae, cyano, etc. from thriving is just as important as keeping nitrates and phosphates generally down even though fish can handle it somewhat better than coral can.

I've even heard reports of successful FOWLR tanks with only hang-on power filters like AquaClears.

But, particularly since you might change over to a reef, I'd start of like I said and later on, if you do change to a reef, slowly over a ten day period, remove the bio-balls and slowly add some live rock to what you start off with unless you do start off with a full compliment of live rock amounting to like 90 pounds or more.