RoboRabbit89
Community Member
Hey all! Its been about 15 years since both my FOWLR tank and me using a forum, haha. When I was a high school sophomore I got a job at a LFS and started saving for a FOWLR tank. I got it all set up and everything was a nightmare, turns out the LFS had poor health procedures and weren't exactly the most educated, and I will admit, being 15 I was pretty impatient and lazy. So this time around I have scowered YouTube and the internet. I've probably watched 100 hours of YouTube from Bulk Reef Supply TV, Mr Saltwater, Reef Builders, Reef Dudes, Tidal Gardens etc. Ive also read a book or two, but they are all pretty old, and read a ton of articles and a few of the starter posts on here. Anyways, I figured this was the next step, and would absolutely appreciate any feedback!
Here is my plan:
you will see that I am using neptune everything, Im super meticulous and a bit OCD so these are right up my ally
Phase 1: Initial set up and Cycle, QT, 4+ weeks
Red Sea Reefer XL 200 42g with 24x24 net lid and sump(3D print lids), Neptune Systems COR-15 Pump(+ backup), neptune apex EL, 30 lb caribsea life rock(I want more room for the fish to swim so I'm using less than the norm), 40 lb caribsea arag-alive sand, RODI filter, Brute buckets, tests, route all neptune gear and cables with cable bundle clips to closet(fish room) wall mounts and shelf for supplies, starter bacteria, QT- 10g starter kit, PVC pipes. Use QT light after the initial cycle for algae cycle.
Phase 2: First Fish captive, CUC, Skimmer, heater, filter cup, battery, 2 weeks each animal/group
Banded/Nassarius snails, blue/red hermits, emerald, peppermint shrimp, Bicolor blenny, ORA yellow watch goby, pistol shrimp, Reef Octopus Classic 150SSS 5" Skimmer, bulk reef titanium 300w heater(+ backup), filter cup pad and biopellets, icecap battery backup, drip acclimator
Phase 3: Third and forth Fish captive, Reactor, 2 weeks each animal
Melanurus/Male Red Tail Flasher Wrasse, for the wrasse I am basically looking for a parasite cleaner. I heard the Mel was a beast at this, but then my LFS told me that they were aggressive, contrary to everything I have read, he then suggested either a flasher or leopard(he claimed his leopards were easy somehow). I feel like even the Mel is pushing it in a 42 gallon DT and from what I have read the flashers and leopards like to have even more room to roam and dont even eat many parasites. The LFS actually said a whole lot of contradictory things and tried to get me to buy my tank from him with about $730 worth of freight charges and assembly tacked on. So I dont think I will be going back there, any suggestions on a good utility wrasse are welcome.
ORA Black Storm Clownfish, bulk reef supply GFO & carbon reactor w/ Neptune Systems UTILITY PUMP
Phase 4: Zoa Garden (large rising island placement) aquaculture, Powerheads, Light, coral dips, doser, analyzer, 2-4 weeks
coral dip, cheap tester zoa, Insane rainbow(Zoa), gobstopper(Zoa) , orange/blue Zoa, Neptune WAV Pump 2 Pack, Neptune doser & analyzer, neptune Sky light
Phase 5: Next round of corals aquaculture, 2-4 weeks
Fireworks clove(soft, low placment), Aquaman rhodactis(Soft, low island placement), Purple Green Candy Cane(LPS, medium high placement)
Phase 6: SPS Corals aquaculture, 2-4 weeks
neon green pavona(SPS, high placement), glowing fingers birds nest(SPS, high placment).
I chose to do the SPS before the final LPS because I have read these are fairly hardy for SPS and I really want to have my stuff together before dishing out the cash on the show corals to come.
Phase 7: Show LPS aquaculture, 4+ weeks
Hells Eye chalice(LPS, center medium high), Warpaint Scoly(LPS, sand front), Mango Tango Acan(LPS, sand shade)
Phase 8: Future Tank Upgrade to 90 gallon- Puffer, Butterfly, Tang, Long tip Anemone, clam, toadstool, plate monti, bonsai acro.
rollermat, Neptune ATO/AFS, algae barn refugium kit, tunze Refugium light, another doser for AWC, most of this gear I really wanted to put in the first build but after consideration decided I really didnt need all of it/it wouldnt fit. That being said I am still very much interested in trying to retro-fit a fuge in this sump somehow if anyone has any suggestions.
Here is what I plan for maintenance:
Daily:
Fish - food(Saki-Hikari Carn/Herbivore pellets, Hikari mysis shrimp), visual maintenance
Corals- food(Brightwell Aminos), Apex test calc, alk, mag, auto-dose, visual maintenance
Tank- Apex pH and temp monitoring, Seachem Ammonia monitor in return chamber, check ATO reservoir
Weekly:
Tank- test Nitrate, phosphate, 5(+) gallon water change with sand vac, check salinity, scrape algae, clean skimmer collection, replace cup pad, clean sump, any equipment maintenance recommended by apex monitor for pumps/lights/powerheads etc
Monthly:
Make RODI and Saltwater(Tropic Marin) 20g each, check reactor, check RODI filter, check trident and doser, Nitrite test
6 Months:
Clean Salt and RODI water jugs, 5 x 10% water change over a week, full skimmer clean
Target levels/Brands/Treatment:
Salinity- 35 ppt/ Hanna/add or dilute
Temp- 78*/ Neptune/increase or lower
pH- 8.0-8.4/ Neptune/ aim Powerheads up, increase flow, get plants
Alk- 9dKH/BRS/auto dose
Calc- 440ppm/BRS/auto dose
Mag- 1350ppm/BRS/manual dose
Ammonia- 0-.02ppm/seachem/25% change
Nitrate- .25-5ppm/hanna/25% change
Nitrite- 0-.02ppm/hanna/25% change
Phosphate- 0-.05ppm/hanna/25% change
Fish illnesses/Brand/treatment:
-Visible Parasites/Prazipro/remove treat in QT
-Ich/Hikari Ich-X, Prazipro/remove once visible, treat in QT, Prazipro first then Ich-X
-Brook and Velvet/Ruby Reef Rally Pro/remove all fish immediately at first sign, bath treatment
Coral illnesses/Brand/treatment:
Soft- red planaria, nudi's/ CoralRX/ remove pests, dip coral
Hard- red bugs, nudi's, flatworms/ CoralRX/ remove pests, dip coral
Pop up QT: I dont really have the space to keep it up and running at all times unfortunately so pop-up will have to do.
Fill half with water from DT, half with new saltwater, Use DT biopellets and clean sponge and run filter/heater until ready. 10% water changes every other day following medication instructions.
Fish: Drip acclimate, get them to eat, and Treat all new/sick fish for Ich, Brook, and Velvet.
Corals: Drip acclimate and dip all corals
CUC: Drip acclimate, Scrub as needed
My QT plan for new inhabitants is going to be just long enough to run the meds for fish, just the dips for corals, and a week of observation on the CUC. The reason I'm going shorter is because I am planning to only buy from reputable sources that have full quarantine practices and I dont want to overly stress anything out.
and that's it! Its a super long read I know, but again any feedback would be amazing. Im still a bit of a ways off to start the process, but will be updating with pictures each step of the way.
Here is my plan:
you will see that I am using neptune everything, Im super meticulous and a bit OCD so these are right up my ally
Phase 1: Initial set up and Cycle, QT, 4+ weeks
Red Sea Reefer XL 200 42g with 24x24 net lid and sump(3D print lids), Neptune Systems COR-15 Pump(+ backup), neptune apex EL, 30 lb caribsea life rock(I want more room for the fish to swim so I'm using less than the norm), 40 lb caribsea arag-alive sand, RODI filter, Brute buckets, tests, route all neptune gear and cables with cable bundle clips to closet(fish room) wall mounts and shelf for supplies, starter bacteria, QT- 10g starter kit, PVC pipes. Use QT light after the initial cycle for algae cycle.
Phase 2: First Fish captive, CUC, Skimmer, heater, filter cup, battery, 2 weeks each animal/group
Banded/Nassarius snails, blue/red hermits, emerald, peppermint shrimp, Bicolor blenny, ORA yellow watch goby, pistol shrimp, Reef Octopus Classic 150SSS 5" Skimmer, bulk reef titanium 300w heater(+ backup), filter cup pad and biopellets, icecap battery backup, drip acclimator
Phase 3: Third and forth Fish captive, Reactor, 2 weeks each animal
Melanurus/Male Red Tail Flasher Wrasse, for the wrasse I am basically looking for a parasite cleaner. I heard the Mel was a beast at this, but then my LFS told me that they were aggressive, contrary to everything I have read, he then suggested either a flasher or leopard(he claimed his leopards were easy somehow). I feel like even the Mel is pushing it in a 42 gallon DT and from what I have read the flashers and leopards like to have even more room to roam and dont even eat many parasites. The LFS actually said a whole lot of contradictory things and tried to get me to buy my tank from him with about $730 worth of freight charges and assembly tacked on. So I dont think I will be going back there, any suggestions on a good utility wrasse are welcome.
ORA Black Storm Clownfish, bulk reef supply GFO & carbon reactor w/ Neptune Systems UTILITY PUMP
Phase 4: Zoa Garden (large rising island placement) aquaculture, Powerheads, Light, coral dips, doser, analyzer, 2-4 weeks
coral dip, cheap tester zoa, Insane rainbow(Zoa), gobstopper(Zoa) , orange/blue Zoa, Neptune WAV Pump 2 Pack, Neptune doser & analyzer, neptune Sky light
Phase 5: Next round of corals aquaculture, 2-4 weeks
Fireworks clove(soft, low placment), Aquaman rhodactis(Soft, low island placement), Purple Green Candy Cane(LPS, medium high placement)
Phase 6: SPS Corals aquaculture, 2-4 weeks
neon green pavona(SPS, high placement), glowing fingers birds nest(SPS, high placment).
I chose to do the SPS before the final LPS because I have read these are fairly hardy for SPS and I really want to have my stuff together before dishing out the cash on the show corals to come.
Phase 7: Show LPS aquaculture, 4+ weeks
Hells Eye chalice(LPS, center medium high), Warpaint Scoly(LPS, sand front), Mango Tango Acan(LPS, sand shade)
Phase 8: Future Tank Upgrade to 90 gallon- Puffer, Butterfly, Tang, Long tip Anemone, clam, toadstool, plate monti, bonsai acro.
rollermat, Neptune ATO/AFS, algae barn refugium kit, tunze Refugium light, another doser for AWC, most of this gear I really wanted to put in the first build but after consideration decided I really didnt need all of it/it wouldnt fit. That being said I am still very much interested in trying to retro-fit a fuge in this sump somehow if anyone has any suggestions.
Here is what I plan for maintenance:
Daily:
Fish - food(Saki-Hikari Carn/Herbivore pellets, Hikari mysis shrimp), visual maintenance
Corals- food(Brightwell Aminos), Apex test calc, alk, mag, auto-dose, visual maintenance
Tank- Apex pH and temp monitoring, Seachem Ammonia monitor in return chamber, check ATO reservoir
Weekly:
Tank- test Nitrate, phosphate, 5(+) gallon water change with sand vac, check salinity, scrape algae, clean skimmer collection, replace cup pad, clean sump, any equipment maintenance recommended by apex monitor for pumps/lights/powerheads etc
Monthly:
Make RODI and Saltwater(Tropic Marin) 20g each, check reactor, check RODI filter, check trident and doser, Nitrite test
6 Months:
Clean Salt and RODI water jugs, 5 x 10% water change over a week, full skimmer clean
Target levels/Brands/Treatment:
Salinity- 35 ppt/ Hanna/add or dilute
Temp- 78*/ Neptune/increase or lower
pH- 8.0-8.4/ Neptune/ aim Powerheads up, increase flow, get plants
Alk- 9dKH/BRS/auto dose
Calc- 440ppm/BRS/auto dose
Mag- 1350ppm/BRS/manual dose
Ammonia- 0-.02ppm/seachem/25% change
Nitrate- .25-5ppm/hanna/25% change
Nitrite- 0-.02ppm/hanna/25% change
Phosphate- 0-.05ppm/hanna/25% change
Fish illnesses/Brand/treatment:
-Visible Parasites/Prazipro/remove treat in QT
-Ich/Hikari Ich-X, Prazipro/remove once visible, treat in QT, Prazipro first then Ich-X
-Brook and Velvet/Ruby Reef Rally Pro/remove all fish immediately at first sign, bath treatment
Coral illnesses/Brand/treatment:
Soft- red planaria, nudi's/ CoralRX/ remove pests, dip coral
Hard- red bugs, nudi's, flatworms/ CoralRX/ remove pests, dip coral
Pop up QT: I dont really have the space to keep it up and running at all times unfortunately so pop-up will have to do.
Fill half with water from DT, half with new saltwater, Use DT biopellets and clean sponge and run filter/heater until ready. 10% water changes every other day following medication instructions.
Fish: Drip acclimate, get them to eat, and Treat all new/sick fish for Ich, Brook, and Velvet.
Corals: Drip acclimate and dip all corals
CUC: Drip acclimate, Scrub as needed
My QT plan for new inhabitants is going to be just long enough to run the meds for fish, just the dips for corals, and a week of observation on the CUC. The reason I'm going shorter is because I am planning to only buy from reputable sources that have full quarantine practices and I dont want to overly stress anything out.
and that's it! Its a super long read I know, but again any feedback would be amazing. Im still a bit of a ways off to start the process, but will be updating with pictures each step of the way.
