10 or 20 nano Fowlr it is

kslay · 04-07-2004, 02:11 PM

decided to do the extra work and start a 10 or 20 gallon FOWLR nano. Any suggestions on what kind of fish i should put in it that'll prosper in a tank this size? I know i got a long way to go before one gets in there, but i want to know what my options will be.

jeepjon · 04-07-2004, 03:53 PM

I would say a pair of clowns....that's what I have in my 15 gallon reef. I am not 100% sure...but i think in a FOWLR you can stock a little more heavily than a reef tank, because you're not as worried about phosphates. I may be wrong, though. I would also suggest a firefish if you have a lid (I haven't been able to keep one in my tank yet, but that's just me). Royal Gramma's are great for small tanks, as are clown gobies. Any of those would be great!

kslay · 04-07-2004, 04:17 PM

how hard would it be to transform a 20g FOWLR to a reef tank? aslong as i don't put a lot of fish in it when it is still a FOWLR

kslay · 04-07-2004, 04:20 PM

or now that im thinking, are there any reefs that don't need any exspensive lighting? thats the main reason i want to create a FOWLR is to save on the lighting cost, and hopefully make it a reef tank when i get the money for the bulbs. But are there any reefs that i could keep that wouldnt need an exspensive lighting system??

jeepjon · 04-09-2004, 11:04 PM

well, you could do a softie tank, with Zoanthid polyps, mushroom anemones, green star polyps, some leather corals (They might need a little more light...) and some other softie-type corals...you could get Xenia, too. All of those together would make a pretty impressive little tank with only a minimal PC or Flourescent setup.
-I hope that helps..

jeepjon · 04-09-2004, 11:05 PM

I've never actually converted from FOWLR to a reef, so I really don't know the specifics on it, except you'd have to watch different parameters, and get the fishload down a while before you added corals, to get your phosphates down before adding stony corals.

skilter · 04-10-2004, 12:39 AM

im doin a 5.5 gal tank and i only have softies (mushrooms/polyps) plus they are the easiest, and when u have a busy sched. like mine its the best way to go... plus im not doin any fish but for you if you do a 20 gal... and u dont wanna spend the extra cashola on expensive lighting than i agree w/ jeepjon do soft corals... i would only do one fish, then again its all up to you.

-don

i have a 36watt flourescent light for my 5.5 if that adds any referance... so its not much but perfect for my size tank.

Phishnoob · 04-10-2004, 12:53 AM

Mrs. Phish has a little Cardinalfish that is wonderful in her 29g. The only problem is that he is nesting on the soft corals and the little clown pair had to settle for the return to the skimmer. He is not really aggresive at all but that little patch of star polyps is his little happy place.

Phishnoob

ckreef · 04-11-2004, 08:16 AM

Biggest issue in converting FOWLR to a Reef would be medications.

LR and other substrates will soak up medications and then leach them back out over time so make sure if you medicate any fish it's done in a seperate quarintine tank.