FO Tank with Inverts?

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cuticom

Addicted Reefer
Dec 8, 2006
351
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0
Hunter Valley, NSW, Australia
So I've gotten the okay from my parents to switch my FW Betta tank over to salt, the Betta will move to my 55g, as the tank he's in now just isn't suitable for a planted tank, or anything that requires light for that matter.

So I'll have an Aqua One 500 65l/17g tank to use. I won't be using liverock, Mum's made me promise we won't be going through that again as it's been absolute torture transporting the live rock for my reef tank.

I have a list of critters that I really like but can't be kept in a reef tank, some inverts so was just wondering if inverts can be kept in a fish only tank? Things like sea urchins and hermit crabs? As for fish I'd really like either a single damsel or a trio of yellow clown gobies, nothing over the top...

I'm used to the requirements of a reef tank but what sort of turn over does FO need? Would it just be ten times? or less? And I'm assuming 25% water changes weekly are standard.... Or are higher amounts needed?

Any good wesbites etc would be gladly accepted and any other hints, have to say it's strange I know how to care for a reef tank, but I'm not sure where to start for Fish Only...
 

cuticom

Addicted Reefer
Dec 8, 2006
351
0
0
Hunter Valley, NSW, Australia
So how about this...
950l/lph internal filter (the other option is a 600l/ph HOB, not sure if it'd have enough turn over though)
Cheap airdriven skimmer (nothing really special, just something that can still pull junk out of the water column)
100w Heater

Thats all thats needed for FO right? Plus regular water changes.... Might get a few kg of baserock as well for decorations...
 

Gangstafish

gangstafish
Dec 10, 2006
427
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56
long IslandNY
FO or Reef the tank should be turned over 10x an hour. So for a 55 gallon tank your filters should equal 550 gallons an hour. You can have Hermit Crabs or shrimp in a Fo with no problem.
 

rxdoc_85

AC Members
Mar 9, 2008
345
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0
39
st. louis, missouri
the turnover rate of water flow isn't as big of an issue in a FO tank as it is in a reef tank. in a reef, you want about 10-20 x's volume in flow per hour (probably leaning towards the 20x's), but in a FO tank i'd lean more towards the 10 x's . the thing you have to worry about is dead spots in the tank where algae and diatoms can take over. but this can be helped with the addition of some inverts that eat algae, such as snails and hermits, or just adding more flow. and about the heater, i'm not sure of the wattage, but i know in my nano i rarely even hae to use the heater. with the lights it usually stays 78-80 F all the time, so i really don't even have the heater on. and the 25% waterchanges weekly should be just fine. i ususally do about 10-15 % weekly and have perfect water parameters, so i guess it just depends on your tank. i'd recommend putting as much live rock in there as you can, like 1-2 lbs/gallon. in my 12 gal nano i have ~16-20 lbs of live rock, and it really helps keep the nitrates at 0, which is important in a smaller tank as the smallest changes can raise those levels. and as far as what type of fish you can have, here's a website that will tell you the minimun size of tank for the fish, and if they'll eat inverts and such.

www.liveaquaria.com

just off the top of my head i'd say you'd be fine with some types of goby, some types of clownfish, and a firefish. they'll all stay small enough in your tank. but that website will have definite information for you. hope this info helps, and good luck to you!
 

cuticom

Addicted Reefer
Dec 8, 2006
351
0
0
Hunter Valley, NSW, Australia
As I said I won't be using Liverock at all, so I'll be treating it much like a standard FW tank just with saltwater. It'll be FO, not FOWLR.

Gangstafish- Yes this is the 17g I'm talking about, not the 55.

So I've ordered a few things to get started.
950/lph intank filter, I'll probably add a spraybar to prevent a whirlpool occurring
No Brand Protein Skimmer, with 1.4/lpm airpump, this is an experiment to see whether the skimmers actually any good, if it isn't it'll at least help to aerate the water.

I'll boil the sand thats in the tank now and reuse for saltwater, cycle with a shrimp and decorations will probably just eb a few pieces of base rock, nothing special.

Then stock will be something like
1 damsel OR 2-3 clown gobies
5-10 Zebra Top Snails
2-5 Hermit Crabs
MAYBE a single shrimp, still need to do some reading about those though.

So the tank will be an FO tank, no liverock, I repeat no liverock. I'm curious to see how one would run in comparison to my Reef tank.
 
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