How successful are true FO tanks?

[JustinReef]

I saw a beautiful FO tank yesterday in a hotel. The fish looked incredible and healthy. My dad was saying he has been staying at the hotel for years and the same fish are always there. So Im pretty sure they are not just replacing them when needed.

It was a FO tank with no LR, coral skeletons mostly. It was a very beautiful tank.

Just got me thinking that one day I want to give one a shot. Its something I have never done before, so it appeals to me! I have no idea what they are using for filtration. What makes a successful FO tank?

I have heard that tanks like this often run a bit of copper at all times.

What else can you tell me or show me about FO tanks? I have only ever seen a few on here.

I would assume its the exact same idea but with bio balls instead of LR. All other equipment would be the same I guess.

I think I have an idea for my next tank....

[Recty]

There are mechanical means to do everything that LR does for us, it just typically is more expensive and takes more maintenance than just simply putting in LR.

I imagine they have a nice sized sump hooked up with a denitrator and whatever else they deem necessary. It really isnt that hard to do, I ran a 180g FO about 5 years ago, I didnt have a lot of fish though, just 4 or 5 large ones and nothing small. It all ran to a downstairs sump that was simply hooked to DIY filter mechanism and an ozone machine/protein skimmer. I had crystal clear water and healthy fish, it was easy.

I just recently set up a new 210g tank, the only reason I went with 180 lbs of live rock is just for the look and so the fish feel "natural" in their cage.

[JustinReef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13424266#post13424266 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Recty
There are mechanical means to do everything that LR does for us, it just typically is more expensive and takes more maintenance than just simply putting in LR.

I imagine they have a nice sized sump hooked up with a denitrator and whatever else they deem necessary. It really isnt that hard to do, I ran a 180g FO about 5 years ago, I didnt have a lot of fish though, just 4 or 5 large ones and nothing small. It all ran to a downstairs sump that was simply hooked to DIY filter mechanism and an ozone machine/protein skimmer. I had crystal clear water and healthy fish, it was easy.

I just recently set up a new 210g tank, the only reason I went with 180 lbs of live rock is just for the look and so the fish feel "natural" in their cage.

What did you have for decor or hiding places for the fish?

[mrwilson]

I think that besides the biological filtration, most people go FOWLR because of the more "natural" look. But having seen pics of your original and beautiful tanks in the past, I'm sure you have something interesting in mind if you're considering FO. Details?

[JustinReef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13424630#post13424630 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mrwilson
I think that besides the biological filtration, most people go FOWLR because of the more "natural" look. But having seen pics of your original and beautiful tanks in the past, I'm sure you have something interesting in mind if you're considering FO. Details?

Thanks for the compliment.

Yeah I have an idea for a FO tank using the white coral skeletons mostly. Certainly would not be a natural looking tank by any means but I think it could be nice.

I don't have many details since I hadn't really considered this until I saw this tank yesterday and loved it.

Im pretty open to all kinds of tanks and looks, so I hope to give this a shot one day.

Seems like its just a matter of replacing the LR with bio balls but maybe Im missing something.

[phk36]

I have a 180 fowlr. 120 lbs rock 200 lbs sand 75 gallon sump asm g4x skimmer 45 watts uv. I use a little copper from time to time, but only when I see a bit of ich start. This only will happen if I do not qt a new fish

[limitdown]

I have a 200g +50g sump pure FO without live rock. I have 40+ liters of ceramic rings in the sump to handle ammonia&nitrite and a sulfur denitrator to handle nitrates. My ammonia, nitrites and nitrates are never detectable. I've never had to deal with algae or hitchhikers.

My display tank has just a few pieces of coral skeletons so my fish have a ton of swimming room. I am heavily stocked with big angels, triggers and tangs that need a lot of swimming room and need to be fed a lot.

Pounds for pound, cost and spacewise, I find that bioballs/ceramic rings are a lot more efficient than LR at handling ammonia and nitrites. Also, my 16inch tall sulfur denitrator keeps my nitrates pegged at zero, which 80lbs LR was never able to do in my previous 50g reef.

[JustinReef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13427645#post13427645 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by limitdown
I have a 200g +50g sump pure FO without live rock. I have 40+ liters of ceramic rings in the sump to handle ammonia&nitrite and a sulfur denitrator to handle nitrates. My ammonia, nitrites and nitrates are never detectable. I've never had to deal with algae or hitchhikers.

My display tank has just a few pieces of coral skeletons so my fish have a ton of swimming room. I am heavily stocked with big angels, triggers and tangs that need a lot of swimming room and need to be fed a lot.

Pounds for pound, cost and spacewise, I find that bioballs/ceramic rings are a lot more efficient than LR at handling ammonia and nitrites. Also, my 16inch tall sulfur denitrator keeps my nitrates pegged at zero, which 80lbs LR was never able to do in my previous 50g reef.

Great info, thanks!

What kind of sulfur denitrator are you running?

[kirkaz]

My first tank that I had for 5 years was a 6 foot FO setup with fake coral, and a wet/dry with bioballs. This tank was very successful, I had a stretch of 3 years where I didn't lose a single fish. I was a beginner when I took this tank over, I was very overstocked and made a lot of errors, but the fish did great in spite of it....In the 3 years of not losing a fish, I don't think I ever tested for anything other than ph. I had some very hardy fish, Lunare, SFE, Porky Puffer, 2 triggers, but I had an Achilles Tang and a Naso Tang as well.

[Recty]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13424341#post13424341 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by justinpsmith
What did you have for decor or hiding places for the fish? I used coral skeletons, a LFS went out of business and sold all their stock of old corals they used on the fish side of their business. They treated those tanks with copper and other meds often enough that no one around here wanted the dead corals because they were afraid they were tainted, so I got about 100 pounds of really cool ones for $50 :) I got some great shapes that didnt really take up much room at all, they were tall and skinny and branched a lot, so the fish had plenty of places to hide if they wanted but there was still tons of swimming room.

That was my favorite tank so far. My current one has quite a few more fish, but is definitely a lot more maintenance.

[limitdown]

I'm running a sulfur denitrator made by Schuran (German company)
http://www.schuran.com/english/nitratsea.html

Quite a few people on here have reported good results using units made by Midwest
http://www.midwestaquatic.com/

Chk out this thread for more info on sulfur denitrators.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=1288082&perpage=25&pagenumber=1

I would say that my denitrator is the best piece of equipment I've ever purchased.