FO or FOWLR

[bekbishop]

I am planning to convert my planted 37 gallon Eclipse tank to saltwater. I plan to use the Eclipse filter without the biowheel, a protein skimmer(probably an AquaC Remora), upgrade the lighting to compact flouresents (1/2 10000 K, 1/2 atintic blue), and add two powerheads. Substrate will probably sugar fine arogonite. Am I missing anything?

I would like to start out with a FOWLR, however this will be my first saltwater tank, (i've been keeping freshwater tanks for 10 years),so I was wondering if it would be wiser if it would be wiser to start out with a FO tank.

Lastly, i've been reading up on LS and I was wondering if you recomend live sand for a FOWLR tank. I've read the consientious marine aquarist, however it is a little sketchy on LS. I read there might be some problems with sulfur buildup in the system. I'd like to know where you stand on LS and potential hazards/benefits of adding LS.

[upstoday]

I can't answer an awful lot of what you got there, I'm quite new myself. But it seems that Live Rock is what is best to cycle the tank. Not only are you not going to have to deal with pesky damsels or such, you will already be adding an xtra lvl of filtaration in your tank.

Seems with the lighting and all you would be fine to do Live Rock. And it would probably be easier to start with LR than with fish. Since you can cycle the tank with the LR at the same time as curing it I believe. Would give you a chance to catch and remove anything that might be a hazard to your tank.

If I could start over I would have started with LR and moved on from there, just seems the better way to go. Seems like the biggest thing is having to make sure your calcium lvl's are ok with it.

Thats all I can say, as I said I'm new and still learning alot myself.

Good luck with it all.

[c1ownfish]

Welcome!

I have had a FOWLR for about 5 years now! IMO the LR doesn't make it any harder to maintain the tank if anything it is better than FO b/c it will help with filtration.

As far as LS, I only have that in my refugium, I have CC in my display, I am putting together another system and have put southdown and am gonna seed it. We will see how it goes!

[MikeS]

Welcome to the forum!

Do you plan on keeping corals down the road?

I'd go with the LR....about 60lbs or so. The pro's of live rock far outweigh the con's. You can "cure" it in your tank, but since the LR has lots of life on it, you'll need to watch your ammonia levels and use the skimmer.

As for your substrate, are you going to set up a DSB?

Mike

[bekbishop]

If I put LS in my tank, I will have a DSB. I am still debating whether that is wise or not. I eventually plan to own a larger aquarium probably 150+ gal in which will house a reef tank. That probably won't happen for another 5 years. Corals are down the road however it may not be very soon. Thanks for everybody's help! :)

[MikeS]

I have had a DSB in my 55 gal reef for 3 1/2 years now, with no problems. I've been accused of being a "sand junkie" :D , but so far my DSB has functioned fine and I have not witnessed any of the negative side effects some other reefkeepers have associated with their DSB's. DSB's are controversial, with opinions ranging from "perfectly safe" to "ticking time bomb in your tank". What works for me may not work for you. If you are interested in DSB's I'd say read as much as you can about them before adding one to your tank. Heres a thread here on the topic to get you started....

http://www.coralforum.com/ftopic1687.html

Feel free to ask any questions you may have...

Mike