[organicreefer]

i have a 110 tank that i want to stock as a predator reef.i have about 150lbs of figi and 2 inches of live sand(wiil add two more)and i prefer not to run any fitration on this tank. what do you guys think?just powerheads for circulation with a trigger ,an eel,and one more fish(open to suggestions).anyone out there doing it?i do have a berlin skimmer i could add but i prefer not to ,maybe start with it and remove it later?this setup was a reef established for two years before i broke it down and moved it 80 miles a month ago ,since then its sitting empty (just a few hermits and snails)but the rock has tons of life and the sandbed is full of worms.

[Tarek]

I'm not exactly sure what you mean by a "predator reef." Reef-wise, what would you plan to keep in it, besides the fish and eel? I'm sure there are others much more knowledgable than me on the subject who'll add their own thoughts, but I think you'd need something more than a DSB and LR for filtration, if you're planning on keeping messy eaters. Would you be using a sump or refugium? If so, you might want to consider growing macro algaes in it for a little more help in filtration and nutrient export.

Personally, I'd love to do something along the lines of a predator reef, as I like to keep triggers and puffers (I'd suggest something along the lines of a Peacock, Sharpnose or Valentini Puffer for your other predatory fish). But, other than LR and a DSB, I haven't been able to come up with any significant aspects of reef life that would be compatible with such predatory fish. Keep in mind that if you add predatory fish, they'll make short work of your snails and hermits.

My current tank is a 46-gal FOWLR w/a Picasso Trigger, Coral Beauty Angel, Blue Hippo Tang, Domino Damsel and a Snowflake Moray Eel. Right now, I'm in the process of setting up a replacement tank that is 72-gal, and uses the EcoSystem 3012 and a DSB for something close to natural filtration. I plan on hooking up my old tank's Emperor 400 and Fluval 304 to "power-cycle" the new tank, but hope to eventually ween them off (I'm debating leaving the Fluval).

Hope this helps.

-Tarek

[chromis]

IMHO, you can never have enough filtration on a tank containing messy eaters. I would suggest a protein skimmer with those types of fish you are interested in. Also, I dont think you want a trigger in a reef, seriously they will eat/chew anything and everything. A lionfish will not bother corals or your eel and is very beautiful

Andrew

[fishguy_8]

best things for a predatory REEF would be lions and eels...trigs and puffers will be a terror on your tank.
Jon

[organicreefer]

the only thing i meant by "reef" guys is that it will contain a liverock structure or "reef" .maybe i should have just said fowlr.technically i think its still a reef (without corals).

[organicreefer]

oh and instead of getting all defensive sounding ill get back to the subject...i have a hangon overflow(this tank is not drilled and thats what got me going on this idea) that i could use and extra small tanks i could use for a sump really everything i need but i just want to keep this tank simple .i have 3 hagen 802's a 250w ebo jager 2x96 watt csl pc's .i would change 15-25 gallons every week.i guess not eh.i was wondering if any of you might have been getting away with this ....any kind of fish you guys might reccomend for a natural tank like this?

[mastaJ]

If you were going to do a natural FOWLR I would just go light on the fish load include macroalgae, go heavy on the sand bed (more biological action), quite abit of circulation to move "organics" (fish poo) to your sand bed or live rock for "processing"...That's what I would do...I HTH...

[Abet]

Hello Organicreefer,
I have a 180 FOWLR, I had the same idea you had several months ago and this is what I did with my set-up:
large overflow with 2 return lines one to refugium the other to sump.
5" DSB
200 lbs Fiji rock
detrivore kit from Inland Aquatics
custom built stand
75 gl refugium 6" DSB w/ caulerpa
20 gl sump
802 Hagen powerhead
1200 mag drive
This tank has been setup for over a month now and still no fish except lots of pods and worms. Large refugium with caulerpa to act as nutrient export to aid in handling bioload and nutrients from messy eaters. I am taking my time before loading my fish to make sure that the tank is stable enough to handle the fish mess.
I will be stocking it with Lionfish, queen angel, marine betta and two more fish that is compatible with the rest. HTH

[tendar]

I will be seting up a 200 gal tank very simular to Abet's 180 at the begining of next year that will house a blue angle,halquin tusk, ashfur angle, eel, and golden sappo puffer. I will be trying it with 5-6" deep sand bed and calurpa and see how it goes.