Fish Only Tanks

[Sean T.]

Hey guys/gals

I've started a fish only tank and curious to know what others have found as tips and tricks in their adventure? Currently I'm debating on adding a bubbler to increase the oxygen levels in the tank because I do want to have a metric butt-ton of fish in the tank. Anyone else running an over stocked tank without a bubbler and having no issue or have suggestions to add one?

 

[WiredWeasel]

I think an oversized skimmer in the sump would be more than enough for the increased oxygen and nutrient levels.

 

[Matt1997]

I’d go with an heavily oversized skimmer and a ton of live rock in both the display and the sump. Strong mechanical filtration is important as well. I recommend going on eBay and buying 50+ of their filter socks at $1 each

 

[dale]

ya, big skimmer, (i have 2) plus any other filtration device you can get.. fish only tanks will catch up with you if you dont filter, filter, filter, phosphate remover, carbon etc.. ive got 350g of volume and 5 or 6 fish and algae still gets crazy if i neglect it, and i couldnt cram any more filtration into my tank..

 

[dale]

from experience i can tell you running a fowlr without the whole kit is very difficult.. in which case you wouldnt need a bubbler with sump n skimmer

 

[dale]

as far as aeration goes, with saltwater we almost always need a lot of flow, so agitating the surface of the water with a circulation pump is much better than a bubbler

 

[Matt1997]

All an air pump does is disrupt the surface to add oxygen. A good sized powerheads angled at the surface, like dale said, will be more effective

 

[Sean T.]

I appreciate the input so far. But check this out, this will throw some of you for a fun spin, I decided to try and use two large canister filters as my filtration. The FX4 and the FX6 from Fluval. They're rated to move water in tanks 2-3 times larger than my 125 so I've designated one for Mechanical filtration and the other for Biological. I know there's been a lot of discussion between if you can run a saltwater tank with canisters vs Sums, so I'm giving it a try. Fortunately the return from the two canisters provides a good amount of flow, plus I have a good sized power head, doing exactly what was suggested, pointed towards the surface to agitate the water. I appreciate the advice on the no go with an air pump. I'll let you guys know how everything goes. So far its only been running 3 months with a couple hardy fish to get things rolling.

 

[Matt1997]

No question you can run a reef tank with a canister filter successfully. Both myself and a friend of mine have a fairly successful reef with only a canister filter (pics attached). I still strongly recommend buying a hang on the back skimmer that’s oversized for the tank (coralife 220) or convert the system to a sump. Having done both canister filters and sump reef tanks/fish only tanks, I will be converting my current system over to a sump system shortly. In the meantime I have no problem keeping it as is with the canister filter as it has proven successful. I do clean out the filter weekly though.

 

[Sean T.]

Nice! Your tank pics look awesome. Thanks for the advice. I'll definitely look into it. The tank I have is one with a nice oak stand and oak topper, so I think i'll have to "give up" the oak topper to throw on a hang on skimmer. You feel its 100% necessary though eh?

 

[WiredWeasel]

Its not necessary to have a skimmer per se, but the extra nutrient export and a reduced need for water changes(mileage may vary) is well worth the extra expense in my opinion.

 

[Matt1997]

Strongly recommend a skimmer. I would still recommend weekly water change as well of 10-15%

 

[Sean T.]

Noice. Appreciate the advice guys!

 

[dale]

weekly water changes and filter cleanings will work for keeping a fowlr... too much work for me though, i started off that way and switched to sump , now water changes are every 6 weeks of so.. would go down to 4 weeks with a heavy bio load.. and no greasy sponges to clean, lol..

this is my fowlr thread

http://thefragtank.ca/community/threads/new-200g-build.18240/