New Saltwater Tank

[j_wishbone]

Hey guys

Hope most of you guys can help me.

I want to start a FOWLR saltwater tank 150 litres.

Would Live rock, Live Sand and Protein Skimmer be enough as filtration. (I mean with stocking it with the right amount of Fish) + pump for water movement

It has a built in wet/dry filter. Would it be best to keep it off cause apparently it adds to the nitrate rather than assist with the filtration.

Also, is it correct for me to assume that the more livestock you have in the tank. The more liverock there is the better it will cope with fish waste? the more fish you add, the more live rock you should add also. Or am i just smoking something illegal? hehe

Thanks.

Im thinking of stocking it with 2 Australian Banded Puffer and 2 Clown Fishes. thats the Idea anyways..

[InsaneClownFish]

I think I can handle this one :)

If you're going for a FOWLR and not a reef nitrate is meaningless, and it can actually be beneficial to run the wet dry to deal with the fish load.

Live rock, live sand, and a skimmer is more than adequate. You can run the tank with just live rock and live sand if you chose to. The skimmer will help with your water clarity- but "quality" per say is not the issue so much in a non-reef.

Live rock provides anoxic zones for the breakdown of wastes. However, less may be more in a FOWLR because the fish also need room to roam. I would recommend adding all your live rock at the same time so as to no initiate any mini cycles.

Also please keep in mind that puffers grow very large and are messy eaters. They're suited to a much larger tank.

[j_wishbone]

ok kewl...

so nitrate is not such a big issue with a FOWLR tank,.. wat would be the measure of Nitrate where it starts to become an issue for the fish. In other words, what level should I keep the nitrates too?

Also how many kilos (or pounds) of live rock would you rec. for a 150 litre tank? is there like a rule of thumb per fish or something?

so without a skimmer the system will be sufficient? interesting.. better than i anticipated?

Yes.. I believe the banded puffer that i have grows to a max size of 15 cm..

I appreciate your advise Insaneclownfish... Ill work with that suggestion...

[InsaneClownFish]

What you want to avoid in a FOWLR is ammonia and nitrites. Both will be kept in check with a wet/dry. Nitrates are of little or no concern in a FOWLR unless you experience excessive algae growth. Of course, lower is always better, but it should have no ill effect on your fish.

I had 67lbs. lbs in my old 40 breeder and it was jam packed. I would recommend anywhere from 30-50lbs.

I ran a 40 Breeder REEF for years with no sump and no skimmer..:) Water changes are essential.

Good luck, and if you have any more questions please feel free to ask, the folks here are very friendly and helpful.

[j_wishbone]

Awesome advice insane

hope my next thread is a "pics of my saltwater fish" Not "Please HELP ASAP"

hehehe