What would be a few important main differences in setup and upkeep between fish only & fish only w/live rock, all other factors being equal?
Thanks in advance,
Bryant
Thanks in advance,
Bryant
Fish Only vs Fish Only w/Live Rock
- Thread starter NotGumbel
- Start date
I see books, articles, catalogs, etc differentiate between FO and FOWLR tanks & that may be the heart of my question ... if a FO requires live sand & live rock for bio filtration, then I am more confused than usual. Just getting basic definitions & sorry if I overlooked where this is covered elsewhere.
Bryant
Bryant
You don't need to have both at the same time. You could go with a bare-bottom tank with live rock. Depending on the fish you want, sand may be neccessary. You could also use live rock and another substrate that you could "gravel vac" You need the critters that live rock and/or live sand has to complete the nitrate cycle. Without them, your cycle will end with nitrates, and you would have to do larger, more frequent water changes to keep your nitrates low. With the critters, they will convert the nitrates into harmless gases.
Kim
Kim
If you are doing fish only then you can use a regular filter and gravel or barebottom tank and add fish.
If you want to make it more natural then you would have sand and live rock to do the filtration instead of a standard filter. Then you would also add inverts (carbs, star fish, snails etc...) to help with the cleaning.
If you want to make it more natural then you would have sand and live rock to do the filtration instead of a standard filter. Then you would also add inverts (carbs, star fish, snails etc...) to help with the cleaning.
"Standard" filtration ex. freshwater, will only let nitrate levels build up (esp if carbon) You could do larger, more frequent water changes. If you use a "regular filter" you'll need to clean it out andor change the carbon.
Kim
Kim
Nitrates are not a probelm in a fish only tank. They are a problem in a reef tank with inverts and corals. Water changes will do a fine job of keeping nitrates low.
But that being said a FOWLR will be much more natural and in the end better for the fish probably. Plus I do not know many people that keep the FO for long without wishing they had the reef tank and then spend all that extra money on new lights, power heads etc...
But that being said a FOWLR will be much more natural and in the end better for the fish probably. Plus I do not know many people that keep the FO for long without wishing they had the reef tank and then spend all that extra money on new lights, power heads etc...
TKOS said:
I can see that being me
: FOWLR looks to be the way I will go, once I do the proper research and take the time to gather the proper equipment and knowledge.Thanks to one and all for your valuable advice!
Bryant