Wishing to start a 75 gallon FOWLR Aquarium

[infulgeo]

From doing my research i want 75 lbs of live rock, several power heads for circulation, a high intensity protein skimmer, a refugium, and either ARAG-ALIVE or a DSB. I'm a bit confused on what filtration method will be best and how much gravel vaccuming should occure please help!
thanks for your time,
-Infulgeo

[vio]

your best bet on filtration is plenty of of good porous live rock (totoka is my fav) and a good skimmer. as long as you dont rush anything that will be all the filtration you need. DSB's are typically used in reefs because the anaerobic zone created in its depths helps to complete the nitrogen cycle (breaks nitrates down into nitrogen gas). They are not the usual set up for FOWL. DEFINITELY use some live sand though. It introduces more bacteria into your system and additional media for nitrifying bacteria. DO NOT use crushed coral. You will regret it. As far as for adding a refugium, imho you should think of adding a sump before that. If you add a large enough sump you always have room for a refugium. also a refugium is not super necessary for a FOWL.

if you do it right you wont have any gravel to vacuum. just sand to clean up a bit.

Do you think you will ever end up trying a reef? if you think your FOWL may just be a stepping stone you may want to do things a bit differently.

this is all just my opinion. Everyone has their own ideas. hopefully they will share them with you.

[vio]

o and welcome to reefland. Your in good hands now if its marine aquaria advice you seek.

[infulgeo]

lol thanks a lot um i personally want a aesethically pleasing peaceful fowlr but not a reef because i prefer a bit lower maintenance. Also is a sump necessary? not sure i have the resource in fact im actually a bit confused on what a sump really does besides pump water through a separate fish tank.
thanks for your help
-Infulgeo

[vio]

a sump not only provides room to house your ugly junk ( skimmers, heaters etc) but the additional water volume it provides means chemical reactions happen slower in your tank thus the less frequent your water changes COULD be. look into it. it will help make you tanks look more aesthetically pleasing with no heaters or ugliness in your display.

if simple is what your looking for, you could put a normal say, aquaclear filter, or canister but those essentially turn into nitrate factories and thusly increase the frequency of your water changes.

basically, less fish = less waste= less work but... more water volume=less frequent water changes with more fish= less work and more fish.

bottom line you need to figure out what suits your needs. there are a million and 1 ways to build and maintain a tank. you need to find what will work for you. just know if you do it wrong though you could be out a lot of cash.

[infulgeo]

i believe a large HOB refugium can provide a large reduction in nitrates thus increasing the bio load. Having a DSB in the refugium along with some chaeto macro algae wouldnt that also increase filtration??

[vio]

you are right. but a HOB refugium runs about at least 100 bones for a small one. you can build a sump out of a 20 long for the low low and then now you have ~95 gallons of h20 volume.

like i said though. do what fits your needs. it sounds like you have done your research and have a good plan.

[infulgeo]

I'm looking to stock the tank modestly with a maximum of 15 fish between 2-3 1/2 inches, but the money isnt a problem lmfao, i actually don't have the kinda room or mechanical ability for sump maintenance and installation. I'm wondering considering you have experience would a 100 lbs of live rock, a high class HOB Protein skimmer, power heads of at least 15 times my water capacity, and a refugium with a DSB and maybe some turbo snails would be adequate for filtration mechanically and biologically. Also one problem I've been running into is how many times does a 25 % water change need to take place? Can it be monthly with success or must it be weekly some say its bad to do weekly others say its good i'm not sure what to believe.

[vio]

water changes should be done on a fish only before your levels of nitrate get to a high level. since you dont have to replace any elements such as calcium etc in a fish only the water changes simply become a means of nutrient exportation. the more fish you have the more often water changes will need to be done. some fish are also more sensitive to nitrates than others so you will need to take that into consideration as well. 15-20% every 2 to 3 weeks is probably the ideal and most reasonable but i think as long as your tank is not overstocked you could get away with 25 every 3-4 weeks. again, im no expert. you have to do what works for you. o and i dont see a problem with small weekly water changes but who wants to do that every week.