Equipment question for FOWLR

[Cesar357]

Hey there reefers. I have a question. I have a brand new 60g tank that I want to turn into a FOWLR tank. I have the following for it,

Fluval 404 canister filter
Remora Skimmer or ASM Skimmer
130W of PC light

Would this be ok for a FOWLR tank? Do I need powerheads for movement? I have a brand new closed loop OSM if that's needed. Would I need a sump instead of that Fluval canister? Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Cesar357.

[ACBlinky]

If you can set up a sump, that's probably best, but what you've listed sounds okay to me. You may want to add PHs for circulation though, I'm not sure the canister would be enough.
I run two MJ1200 PHs and a FilStar XP2 canister on my 65g, along with a Prizm skimmer (soon to be replaced with something better). I'm planning to add another two PHs lower down to boost circulation and stop detritus accumulating on the rockwork.

[Petstorejunkie]

i would take the fluval motor parts out to the outdoor range and shoot them with your favorite shot gun, then take the remaining bottom container part and all of its "shelves" and sponges and turn it into part of your sump. you can drill holes in the bottom of the trash can part of the fluval and make it part of a bio ball type biological fittration. i have personally shot two fluvals that pi$sed me off that bad. although they have recently come up with a new fluval (visited with the national sales manager two weeks ago, and it looks better. the origionals leaked when they are not level, and the impellers die REALLY fast. )

[LRS078]

NICE...

Let's see here...shouldn't need powerheads for fowlr that size. Though I have not taken my benelli M1 to any fluvals I'm no fan...

You are probably better off with a sump if you want a really "clean" look (no stuff hanging on the back) or for multiple viewing angles. You don't need anything fancy down in the sump, there are plenty of DIY articles out there on this site or also try wetwebmedia (not sure if I can post that).

If the tank is going to be up against a wall then you can do just fine with penguin or whomever hang on the back filtration w' a protein skimmer (if you plan on lions/puffers or other messy eaters) and don't want to water change as often.

Hope this helps....

[Cesar357]

Thanks for the info guys. I had no idea that the fluval was a PITA acblinky. I got it for free from a cousin brand new in it's box I figured what the heck. I also have an empty 30g glass tank here at the house that can be used as a sump, so that would be no problem.

LRS078 you think I can actually get away with placing a hang on filter on that 60? I was thinking about it but then realized that there would be too much stuff hanging. I think i might be a bit better off with a sump.

[jwreffner]

Cesar...if you have the remora skimmer already, just get the overflow box for it that you can skim water off the top. That is where most organics (surfactants) linger and your skimmer will be most effective that way if it is a HOT. If you want to go cheap, get a few power heads and get the skimmerbox. You'll be good to go. BTW, I have an AquaC in-sump version of the Remora and I LOVE IT!

Jay

[Cesar357]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6636506#post6636506 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jwreffner
Cesar...if you have the remora skimmer already, just get the overflow box for it that you can skim water off the top. That is where most organics (surfactants) linger and your skimmer will be most effective that way if it is a HOT. If you want to go cheap, get a few power heads and get the skimmerbox. You'll be good to go. BTW, I have an AquaC in-sump version of the Remora and I LOVE IT!

Jay

The only deal with that is that I have my Aqua C Remora on my 20g reef tank. I love using it on that. I was thinking of getting another for the 60 because im keeping that 20g going. But you just made me think about that Aqua C in sump skimmer. Those are pretty neat and effective.

[jwreffner]

Yup I love my insump aqua C...they are great.

[Cesar357]

If I do go for the sump will I need it to be a fuge or just a basic sump?

[jwreffner]

For a FOWLR I'd say just a basic sump would be fine provided you have enough sand and rocks in the tank for bio filtration. Mine are doing great that way.

[Pufferowners]

I feel dumb but what exactly does a sump consist of?

[Cesar357]

Well you have your sump box. You can place a Skimmer in there. A Heater if you want to turn it into a fuge you can add Chaeto or Caulerpa with some LR rubble. That's what I understand at least, lol.

Oh and by the way you will place your return pump in there too.

[Pufferowners]

Ok that was kinda foriegn language to me but ok... lol.

[justgeorge]

Here is pretty much everything you need to know about sumps, from the master melev. http://www.melevsreef.com/what_sump.html

But you would need a simple one, I would start with the 30 gallon tank, add a "basket" to drain the overflow into with filter floss to catch crud, put your heater in there which gets it out of the tank so less junk in the tank, put your skimmer in there if you get an insump skimmer, and the return pump. Some LR rubble would be easy to add also. You COULD add bubble traps to your glass sump by getting a sheet of acrylic from your hardware store along with some silicone pretty easily, but not absolutely necessary. But, much easier to add now than later....

George

[Safedad]

I am developing plans for a sump. I have read in a couple of places to be careful about mixing acrylic and glass. The acrylic may expand as it heats and push out the side of the glass aquarium. The other thing is that silicone doesn't bond well with acrylic. LOL

[justgeorge]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6643572#post6643572 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Safedad
I am developing plans for a sump. I have read in a couple of places to be careful about mixing acrylic and glass. The acrylic may expand as it heats and push out the side of the glass aquarium. The other thing is that silicone doesn't bond well with acrylic. LOL
Which might be an issue if it were going to heat up more than 10 degrees.

Also as far as it bonding, I wouldn't bond acrylic with silicone for anything that needed to be watertight, but if you're only holding bubble trap baffles in place it will work just fine.

George