Thinking of doing a 240g FOWLR tank... coming from a 90g reef.

[Jeff000]

I am moving to a nice big house, and want a nice show tank. I really want a Queen Angel. Like really really want.
So have been thinking about doing a fish only tank. Or for the most part.

Has anyone gone from reef to fish only? have you regretted it? I do love my corals.
How do you make fish only tanks not look bland and ugly?


I want Angels, Butterflys, and well I dunno yet.


Anyone care to share their FOWLR pictures?

[humaguy]

check out my 130 x 36 x 36 build..lots of pics of my fish and both queens...

[badharley99]

I like my fish only, cause my wife did not like the looks of the reef, all the algae and stuff. I really do enjoy my fish only better. It feels like it is not as much work.

[bongarone]

Most public aquariums use FOWLRs for their tropical displays. The Mandalay Bay aquarium in Vegas has a pretty cool Volitan lionfish tank. The unique rockwork keeps things interesting and is probably the main thing I would focus on.

I'd probably also use mostly dry rock like BRS reef saver so you can take your time creating your aquascape without worrying about the bacteria dying.

[fish stalker]

I have both and yes love the coral, however if I have to choose Fowlr wins, fish have more personality than corals :)

[namxas]

We no longer keep a reef, but we typically have a dozen FOWLR setups running at any given time. Most of our setups include the use of live macro algae, which adds nice color and motion, aids water quality, and harbors both fish and pods. It will also provide snacks for any herbivorous species you keep.

It also helps to buffer all of your water (SW as well as top-off), as we find it helps hold the pH and makes coralline grow like crazy, so your LR will look nice and purple, which adds some nice color.

60 gal voltans grow-out tank:

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll73/hixphotobucket/volitan%20tank/lionfish_tank.jpg

Same tank, different decor:

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll73/hixphotobucket/volitan%20tank/tankmay700.jpg

6 gal Nano setup for juvie volitans:

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll73/hixphotobucket/lionin5.jpg

48" 100 gal:

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll73/hixphotobucket/100g%20rhinopias%20and%20volitan/tank700-1.jpg

50 gal SH setup:

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll73/hixphotobucket/50g%20seahorse/swftank.jpg

100 gal multi-lion setup:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wd0WWAqHVG0&feature=related

HTH

[dzfish17]

I built a rock wall and added a few artificial corals to give my FOWLR some color. The corals can be lifted out and cleaned (every 2/3 months). I would put some pics up but it would ruin the build thread that I hope to start this summer.

[Jeff000]

Hmm forgot about the micro algae.

What other things can I add to give some color?
Are there some corals that fish won't eat?

[Jeff000]

Hmm, can't edit my original post.
And I think the tank will be more like 300g. 84x30x30



Here are the fish I will have in it (moving from my 90g)
-Chevron Tang (5")
-Purple Tang (4")
-4 clowns in a large (12") RBTA
-mystery wrasse
-cleaner wrasse

Here is what I want, in a somewhat order of importance.

-Queen Angel, I want the tank for this fish.
-Flame Angel, 3-5, juveniles to make a harem.
-Regal Angel
-Sailfin Tang
-Powder Blue Tang
-Saddle back Butterfly
-Copper Band
-Pearl scale Butterfly
-Niger Trigger

[sandwi54]

Hmm, can't edit my original post.
And I think the tank will be more like 300g. 84x30x30



Here are the fish I will have in it (moving from my 90g)
-Chevron Tang (5")
-Purple Tang (4")
-4 clowns in a large (12") RBTA
-mystery wrasse
-cleaner wrasse

Here is what I want, in a somewhat order of importance.

-Queen Angel, I want the tank for this fish.
-Flame Angel, 3-5, juveniles to make a harem.
-Regal Angel
-Sailfin Tang
-Powder Blue Tang
-Saddle back Butterfly
-Copper Band
-Pearl scale Butterfly
-Niger Trigger

Looks like a good list, except the regal angel. From my experience, if you want to have one of the meaner angels (queen, emperor, king, etc.), it's best not to have another angel, especially weaker ones like regal or majestic. A 300g is really only big enough for the queen angel alone and you will most likely have aggression issues between the queen and another angel. You MIGHT be ok adding a non-pomacanthus/holacanthus angel, but it all depends on luck.

Also, if you have enough space, I would recommend a standard wide 300g tank with dimensions of 96x30x24. The extra foot will be very beneficial to some of your fish, especially the queen angel, since its streamers can reach up to 4" as a full-grown adult.

[Jeff000]

I was a bit worried about the regal angel, might try them if I can get them both at the same time, and not too big yet. I figure the little flames wouldn't be an issue.

I was going to go 96x30x30, but I have 96" between the uninsulated concrete wall and the telepost. So limited a bit. I figured the square footage would make up for the lost length.
Planning rock work to be down the center of the tank rather then on the back wall, with a 1-2' gap in the middle-ish. So like two peaks, but things can change at this point.

[TriggersAmuck]

Here ya go... Mixed softies, rose anemone, and Queen Angel/Pakistani Butterfly (amongst a predominately fish only tank).

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[Nathan.Titulaer]

I had a 60g reef that I down graded to a 40 breeder reef. I had a 240 fresh that I turned to salt and I enjoy it so much more that I got rid of my reef. I have less money and a lot less maintenance in a 240 FOWLR compared to the 40 reef. I also like the options that open up when you don't have to worry if the fish will nip coral.

[NEK-ap24]

I have to admit that I have become really drawn to the more aggressive fish and eels. I love the movement of a flowy tank as well. I am very impressed with the macro algae displays in Greg's pics above. I think a combo of Triggersamuck and Namxas' would be ideal....its what I am shooting for. Personally, I am not a fan of the FOWABOLRANE "Fish only with a bunch of live rock and nothing else." To me it just doesn't appeal, I just hope that I can keep the water parameters where they need to be to keeps the softies and macro algae happy.

T. Amuck that maroon is a monster! great looking tank.

Greg, I wish my electric bill could support 13 and beyond...I like your approach to tanks...see a great fish, get a new tank for it and add it to the list! If only my wife would get a second job and get on board with this school of thought.

After I get my aggressive & softie 225 complete and the way I want it, I will tackle my SPS only, which I have never done to date...That will bring my grand total to 4 (an LPS and Ric only, an SPS only(not wet yet), a fluval edge by my desk, and a 225 softies w/ aggressive guys)

[mattsilvester]

Jeff,

A queen angel, if correctly cared for, will reliably reach 12"+ in the home aquarium, with a real chance of it going on to 13-14". At that size, you have two issues to contend with:
(1) Its a big fish, and so the happiness / health of the fish is the first concern.
(2) These are agressive, powerful creatures. It will dominate the tank, mercilessly.

Since coming to live in Asia, I have seen so many large angels - Koran's, Blue Ring, Emporer's, etc. Very many of them in the 8"-12" range. They are big. Very big. A lot bigger than one would conceptualise / envisage. I would say that if a 12" angel decided it was going to do harm to a tankmate anything in the range of 4-6", then a few "warning" nips would be enough to cause lasting damage - whereas a few serious bits would probably kill them.

In a 240, at full size you will need to have very little rockwork. Just a few reasonable size chunks - no towering structures or detailed aquascaping. A 12" fish needs every inch of swimming room that it can get - so it should comfortably be able to swim over or past any aquascaping. This means that (1) there won't be much cover for tank mates and (2) you will struggle to make the tank look "nice" - it will very much be a glass box with a big fish.

What this boils down to is that your stocking list needs to be pretty minimal. Initially, sure - your proposed list seems reasonable with some tweaks - but as the fish grows it will quickly become untenable. At a pinch, a 240 will house about 8 fish @ 6" each. But the queen, sailfin, and niger will all push well past 6", and quite quickly..... and you've listed about 10 fish in that range.

What I am getting at is this; is the queen angel an absolute must and how far as you will to go to keep one?
- The tank needs to be 8'. Really it should be 10', but if you do things right it can be done.
- In an 8' tank, your choice of tank mates will be extremely limited.
- Your aquascaping will need to be simple, and limited.

I suggest you re-think your plans with these ideas in mind, before you set your heart on anything.

Hope this helps.

[sandwi54]

I completely agree with Matt's post above. A 12" queen angel is very, very big, much bigger than you can imagine if you have not seen one in person. I have a 10" french angel and this fish is already an aggressive monster. It WILL and CAN kill other fish if it wants to.

I know you are going to get the queen angel and regal angel small. However, a queen angel will grow at 5 times the speed than a regal. If properly cared for, it will hit 10" in less than 2 years (my french angel grew from 4" to 9" in 8 months; queen angel has a similar, maybe a tad slower growth rate). At that point, your regal angel, and maybe other fish as well, will be in real danger. It's ok to get both of them, but if the queen starts expressing aggression towards the regal (this will become more and more evident as the queen angel grows), you should remove the regal. Not saying that an adult queen won't live with an adult regal, but the chance is not high.

I wish you best of luck. The salfin tang and powder blue tang will hold their grounds against the queen. I would however skip the copperband and pearscale butterfly; they can't stand up to a queen angel at all. saddleback will be ok provided that it's large sized.