[Proud Texan]

75 gal fowlr
90 lbs of live rock
filstar xp4 canister with prizm deluxe skimmer


First: my stocking, i would like a pair of fish that are small like clownfish. i would also like a school of small fish like chorims or cardinals and IF it can fit i would like a butterflyfish or a tang. can you guys work something out for me ?

second: power-heads, i like the maxi jet brand what gph 106/160/230/295 and how many?

third: reverse osmosis, do i NEED one i dont want to spend 100-300 on something that isn't that important.

thats just about all my qeustions thx

[weez1959]

The RO/DI is a must if you don't want to cart water from the store all the time. Mine has paid for itself 3 times over in the first year, that's not counting the gas to the store and back!
You really can't use tap water if you want success in this hobby.

[charlie]

First off,
I will second what weez said about the RO/DI. Look at the environment these fish came from!!!!!
I will leave the rest to Lee.....................

[leebca]

WELCOME TO REEFLAND!

It's VERY good that you are doing this planning. Planning a marine system is the best way to obtain a quality result.

Some observations:
1. For a FOWLR system, you want to have at least 2 lbs. LR per gallon of water in the system. Fish are a much higher bioload than inverts and more rock is needed if that will be a significant source of your biological filtration.

2. The 75 is not long enough for a Tang or Rabbitfish. A Butterflyfish would work in with the Cardinals, providing it is one of the less forward kind. The system should be several months old before putting a Butterflyfish into it. Cardinals are less forward than many marine species.

3. Some Anemonefishes get up to 6 inches in size. The female Maroon for instance is one of the largest in that group. Caution about what you may think of as 'small.' Buy/Acquire your fish based upon the final adult size, not the size you see in the photo or the LFS tanks.

4. If it is a mated pair of Anemonefish you want, then be cautious about putting the very lay back and serene Cardinals in the tank. The mated pair will consider the tank their own. Like the Damselfish they are, they can be pushy and belligerent to other fishes. I don't recommend fishes in general, since I believe their choice is very personal to the hobbyist. The Chromis would get along with a mated Anemonefish pair, as would a Butterflyfish IF it was one of the more forward types.

5. Overall, you want about 10x the water movement as the total quantity of water in the system, per hour. Take into account head pressure for the return pump. If the system, including tank, sump and plumbing holds 90 gallons, then do the math. Let's say the return pump is rated at 300 g/hr. With head pressure, it is actually pumping 200 g/h. This means the pump is turning over about 2.2 times the system volume each hour. So, you need water movement inside the tank to provide about 7.7X more flow, or 700 g/h. This example shows that the return pump is undersized and would need to be about twice the size implied. Use whatever equipment you like to achieve about a 10X total volume tank flow each hour. Inside pump flow and outside pump flow can be added together to achieve the 10X total.

6. The source water you use for a FOWLR marine system doesn't have to be as 'clean' as water used for a reef system. Nonetheless I prefer to best I can provide. You'll find that dual resin deionized water with a carbon polish will sometimes work well too. The key to choosing a water treatment process is understanding and knowing the quality of the tap water or the water you want to purify. If the water is particularly 'bad' then an RO/DI combination is needed. Just keep in mind what is suitable drinking water for humans is not suitable for keeping marine fish. I think you should read through this post before discussing this one any further: WATER - Source and NSW.

7. There are a lot posts and articles here at Reefland. This is a sort of Table of Contents for many of those posts. You should look through the list of topics for answers: Table/Contents - Link List.

8. There is one particular post I strongly recommend you read through: Setting Up a FOWLR Aquarium.

Good luck! We're here to help.

[Proud Texan]

Wow all i can is you guys are GREAT !!! THX

[Proud Texan]

I don't want to argue with you guys but 2 lbs seems a little harsh. LiveAquaria recommends 1.25-1.75 Lbs of live rock.

[leebca]

I don't consider that an argument.

You'll find many different recommendations in the literature and online regarding the 'right quantity of live rock.' Mine is an informed opinion. However, you should ask who the person is that is rendering the opinion, and to explain why they have such an opinion, and be sure they are specifically speaking about FOWLR marine systems, IF you question the veracity of the opinion. I've only kept FOWLR marine systems. Those who keep reef systems consider having about 1 pound of LR per actual system gallon to be more than adequate. Some prefer recommending up to 1.5 for the reef system.

[Proud Texan]

Ya i see what you mean and i would take your advice except i dont want to spend 400$ on 150 lbs of live rock so i will just go with 110 lbs

[Lucid]

I got a 75 gal also and ordered about 75lbs of live rock from liveaquaria too. Just on visuals, 75lbs in a 75gal only covers the bottom 1/3 in the tank. There is approx. 10 rocks (not counting a few smaller ones) in my tank. I will be ordering another 75-90lbs asap.