Starting a 90G FOWLR

[zhasan]

Hi Folks,

I want to venture into the world of Saltwater. So I thought of starting with a 90G Fowlr.

I've been reading here n there and thought I would ask for some advice from the pros!

Here is the plan (not set in stone):

Tank - 90 Gallon. Its used so I need to clean it. Should I just give it a good scrub or a vinegar bath is necessary? The tank has that slight film or salt residue on the glass... I hope that'll go away when I set it up.



Lighting - I have a 2 bulb coralife T5HO light. I think this will be enough or more than enough for the FOWLR. Maybe even enough for really basic small corals if I do plan on going that route in the future?



Live Rock - I've got about 40lbs of used live rock form a person off craigslist. It seems to be in good condition. I don't know if its still live or not, he kept it in water the whole time after shutting down his tank in summer. I'll post pictures of it in a day or two.

Sand bed / Live Sand - Have no idea about this. Can I use PFS for this purpose? or is it too light to just be swimming in the water column because of the water flow needed in a SW tank. If I can't use PFS, whats the next best/cost effective method? I plan on keeping a shallow sand bed due to the fact that deep sand beds can trap deadly gases.

Filteration (Sump) - I plan on making a DIY sump out of a 20 or a 30 gallon tank. Would stick to 20 if that'll suffice as It'll give me more storage space in the stand. I have never done plumbing or anything like that so this will be an interesting and educating experience for myself... one of the reasons why I love this hobby so much! I've looked at some sump designs and here is a pic of what I'm thinking I should do for my setup. I saw this pic on another forum.



Water Drain and Return - My tank is a regular tank and has no holes for return line or drain. I'm wondering if I can drill the bottom glass of the tank to feed a return through it or will that just shatter my tank. Also I want to drill the back to install a bulkhead for the return. There is a warning sticker on my tank saying "DO NOT DRILL THE GLASS ENCLOSURE". It doesn't say that the bottom is tampered and will shatter if drilled like I've seen on some tanks.

Is it just better for me to use an overflow box? I prefer the cleaner look of the drilled tank though!

Protien Skimmer - I plan on buying a good protein skimmer and I want to take advantage of the boxing day sales for that if possible. I have no idea whats good and what would be ample for my tank keeping in mind that I may do a reef in the future.

Circulation and Heating - I have a hydor Korilia 4 that I want to use for circulation. I think it does 750GPH, will I need any thing else to ensure I have enough circulation or this will do?

I plan on buying two 200 watt heaters that'll fit in the refugium area of the sump.

Maintenance Requirements - I plan on doing weekly 50% water changed apart from what I'll need to do initially to get the tank properly cycled.

I'm also wondering about the time commitment for a saltwater tank. I've heard that they can be a lot of work and require too much time. how true is that? I plan on taking it slow, doing the right things in the first place so I don't have to pay up later. Would I need to be working EVERYDAY on my saltwater tank? I know there is a lot of dosing and stuff involved with reefs so I can see that happening but would a FOWLR need that much time as well?

Time Line - I plan on getting all my plans worked out by this weekend as to what I'm actually going to do so I can go shopping on boxing day .

I want to get the plumbing done and the system drilled (if chose that route) by the new year and have everything up and running ready to be cycled in the first week of Jan.

I want to give it a month to cycle and get ready. I plan on starting to add live stock little by little in February given the tank is properly cycled by then.

I think I've covered and considered everything pretty much. I still need to do a lot more reading I think but I thought of starting a thread now that I have some idea of what I want to do. Your help and advice on these questions is much appreciated. I hope I'm not bothering you guys with too many questions!!

Thanks,

Zee.

[gklaw]

Careful with the drilling and heed the warning labels if there is one. Some tank are built with all tempered class - not just the bottom. I had a 55g like that, the glass is noticeably thinner than the non-tempered.

Check out Post #2 of the link below:

Drilling a Hagen Rimless Tank

With sump, I would go as big as you could. You will realize quickly how small a 20g is. Also need to factor in reserve for overflow when power fail.

Return for excess branch is not necessary but you will need a valve to control flow to the display tank anyway. A T-off also provide supply for future additional accessories like media chamber. If you are using only 1 valve, make sure that it is on the branch leg. Water will flow where there is least resistance. You are essentially trying to bleed off excess with the branch. Best is to have valves on both branch - additional $5 - $10 for far better control.

[target]

My 90g had that sticker on the bottom as well. I drilled the back without issue, but had no need to drill the bottom.

[tang daddy]

Most tanks are able to drill the sides, what is the make of the tank? Perfecto, aga, and Hagen are ok to drill the sides.

As for flow you will mostlikely be looking at 3-4 powerheads in a 90g If youre planning on using koralias.

With the live rock in your display it will definitely slow down the flow and you need good flow to make sure the live rock is able to filter the tank so basically 1 powerhead for every corner.

If you know you're going to do saltwater, I would grab extra bulbs, salt, substrate and equiptment. Powerheads, heaters etc. Return pump a quiet one 3000 is good enough and plenty of turnover. Boxing day at Jl to save on tax!!

Also when you cycle your tank best to put all the live rock in at once so you're not cycling your tank for half a year adding bits here and there.

As for a sump I would go with no less than 1/3 the display, in your case a 33g. Bigger is definitely better but space is an issue always stick with 1/3rd.

For a sump I like to go with 3 chambers, no need for bioballs in this set up as I am sure you will end up with some corals down the road!
1st chamber overflow from tank and skimmer, 2nd chamber refuge and debubbling and last of all 3rd chamber return to display.

I have built many sumps in my 12yrs of reef keeping, no I am not a pro but you'd be surprised at how much glass baffles can cost when using 6 partitions.
My new simple design uses 2 glass baffles and this method has proven great success because it is not only effective but at the same time no micro bubbles in the display which could make or break a display tank!

Lastly you can use sugar sand but I prefer to use something alittle heavier like aragonite, 2 bags should be enough to lightly cover the bottom and will make gravel cleaning a breeze, in a fowler you will want to gravel clean for sure.

50% waterchanges monthly is good or 20% weekly or bi weekly is better!

[pinkreef]

you might want live rock rubble in place of the bio-balls, it will all help to keep
your tank clean.

[zhasan]

Careful with the drilling and heed the warning labels if there is one. Some tank are built with all tempered class - not just the bottom. I had a 55g like that, the glass is noticeably thinner than the non-tempered.

Check out Post #2 of the link below:

Drilling a Hagen Rimless Tank

With sump, I would go as big as you could. You will realize quickly how small a 20g is. Also need to factor in reserve for overflow when power fail.

Return for excess branch is not necessary but you will need a valve to control flow to the display tank anyway. A T-off also provide supply for future additional accessories like media chamber. If you are using only 1 valve, make sure that it is on the branch leg. Water will flow where there is least resistance. You are essentially trying to bleed off excess with the branch. Best is to have valves on both branch - additional $5 - $10 for far better control.

I'm still shaky about the drilling part on my tank. I'm almost leaning towards selling this tank and buying a reef ready one just so I don't have to worry about the drilling part and the stability of the tank.

I've found a 40Gallon used tank for cheap that I plan on using as sump. I think thats the biggest I could fit in my stand at this time.

I agree with having two valves and I won't have the excess branch on my design. This pic is just a copy from another thread to give you an idea of what I was thinking.... I haven't had much time in the past couple of days, now I'll have a bit of time so I can make my own images to share what I'm planning on doing.

[zhasan]

My 90g had that sticker on the bottom as well. I drilled the back without issue, but had no need to drill the bottom.

I've talked to a couple of people and heard mixed opinions about drilling. M concern is the stability of the tank after being drilled. Could there be a possibility of a hairline crack that I may not be able to see which might cause a problem later?

[Rastapus]

Some may not be jazzed over my comments on this one but here we go.
FOWLR scare the hell out of me and here is why.

I am taking a break from Boxing week prep so I did not read this thread completely but my comments are based on the idea of FOWLR itself.

I personally set up a FOWLR set up back in the 80's believe it or not and although the premise of having natural surroundings etc. is good, there are some negatives to this type of set up. Typically in a reef system the fish stock is low, kind of like planted aquariums. Fish only systems tend to have more fish by comparison. In general you can not medicate an aquarium with live rock, yes I am aware that there are new meds available that are "reef safe" but they have very mixed reviews on their effectiveness.
If or rather "when" you have a disease or parasitic issue in a FOWLR it is very difficult to effectively medicate. Quarantine tends to be the obvious choice, if you can catch the infected fish without scaring the hell out of all the other inhabitants.
UV is a good front line of defense but by no means will prevent all outbreaks. My suggestion would be to use artificial rock work or something along those lines and avoid live rock. Most effective meds will kill a lot of organisms on the rock invisible to the naked eye and send a FOWLR into a death spiral.
Those are my 2 cents. Feel free to digest and if needed I can expand on any point made.

[Rastapus]

As far as drilling goes, looks like an All Glass tank, likely just the bottom is tempered, usually a label on the bottom regarding this.

[zhasan]

Most tanks are able to drill the sides, what is the make of the tank? Perfecto, aga, and Hagen are ok to drill the sides.

As for flow you will mostlikely be looking at 3-4 powerheads in a 90g If youre planning on using koralias.

With the live rock in your display it will definitely slow down the flow and you need good flow to make sure the live rock is able to filter the tank so basically 1 powerhead for every corner.

If you know you're going to do saltwater, I would grab extra bulbs, salt, substrate and equiptment. Powerheads, heaters etc. Return pump a quiet one 3000 is good enough and plenty of turnover. Boxing day at Jl to save on tax!!

Also when you cycle your tank best to put all the live rock in at once so you're not cycling your tank for half a year adding bits here and there.

As for a sump I would go with no less than 1/3 the display, in your case a 33g. Bigger is definitely better but space is an issue always stick with 1/3rd.

For a sump I like to go with 3 chambers, no need for bioballs in this set up as I am sure you will end up with some corals down the road!
1st chamber overflow from tank and skimmer, 2nd chamber refuge and debubbling and last of all 3rd chamber return to display.

I have built many sumps in my 12yrs of reef keeping, no I am not a pro but you'd be surprised at how much glass baffles can cost when using 6 partitions.
My new simple design uses 2 glass baffles and this method has proven great success because it is not only effective but at the same time no micro bubbles in the display which could make or break a display tank!

Lastly you can use sugar sand but I prefer to use something alittle heavier like aragonite, 2 bags should be enough to lightly cover the bottom and will make gravel cleaning a breeze, in a fowler you will want to gravel clean for sure.

50% waterchanges monthly is good or 20% weekly or bi weekly is better!

There is no brand name written on my tank... I know its from King Eds, thats what the person told me when I bought it from him.

I'll check out the pumps tomorrow. Hoping to score a good deal on all these items.

I found a 40G sump tank already. Now I'm looking to have the baffles done and then the sump should be ready to go!

I'll see if I can find some Aragonite at a good price tomorrow to get the substrate done and out of the way.

I'm very confused about the skimmer. I have no idea what to buy, I've been looking at some of them and will share some links in the next post. I hope some of you guys can give me some pointers in which direction I should go.

Thanks for all your input