Advice for fish only set-up

[kilo32]

After having reef tanks in the past and getting rid of everything when I moved from Florida to Georgia I have decided to get back into the hobby but I want to set up a <span style="color: red;">fish only</span> tank with artificial corals rather than the real thing. I know I'm raising the hackles of some of you die hard reefers but I just don't want to get into the expense that would be required. I'd like to get some advise as to what I need for setting up a tank probably in the 90 gal range. My location allows me to send all the plumbing through the wall into an adjoining laundry room and leave the base cabinet empty of the normal equipment. I've used a wet/dry in the past and think that may be the way to go again. Will I still need live rock in the display tank along with bio balls in the wet/dry? RO/DI? Protien skimmer in the wet/dry? What about lighting? Since I don't need the intense lighting that corals would require I'm thinking I can use what ever I want but I'm curious about the new LED's that I've never used before. Can they be beneficial for just creating a pleasing lighting experience. Are they worth the money since bulb changing becomes somewhat non existent? What are temperature ranges like here in Georgia. Never used a heater in Florida but did have a chiller. What can I expect for tank temps here? When I was in Florida the water changes were easy to do with NSW but now that I'll need to start mixing I'm looking for advise on what is best in a fish only environment. If anyone has some cautions or advise regarding these artificial corals I'd certainly like to hear about that also. There's a company called "Instant Reef" that seems to have some nice stuff and even goes to Macna to display their products. I'm also still shopping and deciding on what type of tank to purchase, either acrylic or starfire. Looking for suppliers that also have quality base and canopy selections.
Thanks for any help you can give.

 

[cr500_af]

RO/DI... absolutely.

Wet-drys can be converted into useful sumps, but IMO don't even consider biowheels or Bio Balls. Use a good skimmer and don't worry about it.

Lighting: Anything that is bright enough to provide good viewing of the fish is OK. IMO the LEDs are way too expensive to consider just for aesthetics... the bulbs won't be too expensive on a FO setup. If you were running strong reef lighting, it might (combined with the electrical savings). I would personally run a four-bulb T5HO over a 90g FO.

Temps: yeah, you'll need a heater. In the last couple of winters, we've had a couple of week-at-a-time periods where it didn't get above freezing. You shouldn't need a chiller unless you keep your house really warm in the summer.

 

[kilo32]

Since I've always had a wet/dry with bio balls in the past just what goes into a sump? Is it chambered in order to house the protein skimmer? Live rock in the sump and if so how much would I need with a 90 gal main tank? With winter temps in the house at around 68 degrees and the heat from tank lights the heater is still a must? Would a 300w be enough?

 

[cr500_af]

The sump can be as simple as a chambered tank that houses the skimmer, heaters etc. You can integrate a refugium if you want. There are some good examples of sump design at http://www.melevsreef.com">www.melevsreef.com</a> . Mark spoke at a meeting last year, and has some excellent stuff on his site.

As for heaters, I'd run two. It's a safeguard in case one fails, and with ambient temp of 68 you'll need it. I keep my house at 68 during the winter, and once the lights are out at night, both of mine are on (one 250w and one 300w) pretty often. We ran out of propane this winter, and woke up to 64 degrees... the tank had dropped to 76.xx where my controller is set at 79.0 (meaning 550w couldn't keep up with an ambient temp just four degrees lower than normal). This is on a 90g. After that episode I added a third heater.