Looking to simplify...opinions welcome

[tony_caliente]

Thanks to all that helped me to beat bryops (esp Ralph, Brandon, Dave...sorry if I left anyone out), I have my tank back again. Here's the deal.... I am tired of - it's no fun for me anymore:


<ul>
<li>Making RODI water</li>
<li>Dosing</li>
<li>Frequent testing</li>
<li>Worrying about ich and algae</li>
<li>Intense lighting</li>
</ul>
You are probably thinking, "Tony, get a terrarium or an aquarium screensaver or pet rock!" And I would agree.

I was thinking, dare I say, moving to fish only, traditional filtration (no undergravel filter LOL), aquarium.

I would keep-up with water changes and skimming.
Add my bio-balls back (aka nitrate factory).
Add a few canister filters
And kill 2 of the 4 T5 is my fixture.

Does this make sense or am I return to the Stone Ages?

I don't want to make any more RODI water, dose, deal with all the lighting and testing (which I currently do).

I have a 55...my plan would be to add 4 or 5 hardy fish and perform my water changes.
Or go with FW or Cichlids. I have cheerfully had enough of reef keeping at this point.

All opinions are welcome (other than automate the maintenance that I am looking to eliminate).

Thanks!

 

[ringo®]

My FOWLRs always find a way to turn back into reefs. Your hobbies should always put a smile on your face. If it doesn't, maybe you should switch it up a bit.

 

[tony_caliente]

Forget to thank you for your help Ringo - sorry. My questions are with the FOWLR, what can I eliminate doing? See what I list above as to what I don't what to do. I will pm my number to you. I would like to discuss.

 

[jdw]

Before I dove into reefing and all of its complexities, I had a FOWLR. I did not have a RoDi unit (any SW mixing was tap, top off was tap), I had a HOB filter (rarely changed filter), regular fluorescent light and hood. Water changes were extremely infrequent. Needless to say i was a horrible hobbiest.

I had some fish that lasted forever, and I enjoyed the aquarium. I had 2 clowns, a few chromis, a few damsels, with some snails.

I think you can have success with a FOWLR, with limited maintenance. I did for a long time.

 

[myreefclub0070]

Tony_Caliente;937529 wrote: Forget to thank you for your help Ringo - sorry. My questions are with the FOWLR, what can I eliminate doing? See what I list above as to what I don't what to do. I will pm my number to you. I would like to discuss.

Hey tony,
I know how you feel, it is a lot of work, attention and if you don't have the time, forget about it.
This is my chiclid 55 gal tank I made to look like a sw tank.
Besides walking by and putting food for the guests, I'd only do water changes once a month and at the end the tank was breeding every 2 weeks.
Simply FW is a lot less work and time and can look just as well as an sw tank.

 

[tony_caliente]

Thank you both (and Ringo). I will be having a coral and anemone sale soon!
I m going to go FOWLR, and see what happens. Thank you!

 

[shanepike]

I know changing tanks probably isn't an option, but I wanted to chime in with this: I love</em> my 30g. It's big enough to do lots of stuff in, but small enough to be a breeze. I top off maybe</em> every two days and only make 5g of RODI a week.

 

[tony_caliente]

ShanePike;937545 wrote: I know changing tanks probably isn't an option, but I wanted to chime in with this: I love</em> my 30g. It's big enough to do lots of stuff in, but small enough to be a breeze. I top off maybe</em> every two days and only make 5g of RODI a week.

Thanks Shane. Been there, done that

 

[nickg]

I say get out!! I'll give $100 for everything. Be ther tomorrow by 6:00 am to pick it all up.

I would recommend using RO even for fowler. I hate that you are having the issues you have. I think a FOWLER is a great tank. I have a couple that I have not even tested water in 6 months.. I am slack, I know.. But when I started leaving them alone, they did better. Even my mixed reefs did!! Just minimal water changes...

Just my $.02

 

[tony_caliente]

Anyone else have success with a FOWLR without</em> using RODI? No need to hate that I am having issues - I just don't enjoy it any more - it's a good thing. I have others hobbies and interests that I want to devote more time too. All is good

 

[declanisadog]

I had a friend several years ago who's parents had a tank in which they kept several fish and a few soft corals with tap water exclusively. I never once saw there algae get too out of control in the four or so years the tank was running. I would definitely look into the quality of your tap water before doing it though.

 

[tony_caliente]

Thank you. I have looked into it. TDS = 40ppm, etc. But I also have no interest in dosing. And I want to be able to treat ich with copper and keep non-reef friendly fish.

 

[ringo®]

Hey Tony. Got your message. Watching my daughter right now.....I'll try to call later if I get home early enough.

 

[dawgface]

Personally I'd look into freshwater setups. Even with a FOWLR your still dealing with a much more delicate and labor intensive system. Google and look at some of those planted tanks, they truly are an art form.

 

[xyzpdq0121]

Tony... There is nothing IMHO that you can do with tap water.. So you will have to make RO. Most tap water here is just too loaded with crap. Hell Some areas have even too much copper for angelfish.

But I would so a FOWLR and maybe SOME soft corals to help clean the water. Seriously, Xenia nad anthelia and a toadstool will love the high NO3 of a FOWLR tank. They do not have high light demands, they do not have to be supplemented with stuff, They just run themselves.

A FW tank might be nice but I would want a FW planted tank and that would take CO2 and other set ups which are expensive and complicated. And forget a Discus tank.. You think a reef is bad...

So that is that I would do.. Or I would just take a break for a bit. Believe me, in my 18 years of doing this, I have taken plenty of 2-3 year breaks til I had the drive and passion again. (Most recent case in point LOL )

 

[tony_caliente]

Thanks anyway. No need. enjoy the beautiful day!

Ringo®;937710 wrote: Hey Tony. Got your message. Watching my daughter right now.....I'll try to call later if I get home early enough.

 

[usvi diver]

I remember Bob Renner's book putting a lot less emphasis on RODI. Who knows, you could give it a try and see. Worst case is you get algae and then move to FW.

Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk 2

 

[ringo®]

Tony_Caliente;937736 wrote: Thanks anyway. No need. enjoy the beautiful day!

Will do buddy.....you do the same. And I hope you got bandsaw for an answer.

 

[usvi diver]

USVI Diver;937745 wrote: I remember Bob Renner's book putting a lot less emphasis on RODI. Who knows, you could give it a try and see. Worst case is you get algae and then move to FW.

Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk 2

That was supposed to be Bob Fenner. I hate auto-correct...

Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk 2

 

[xyzpdq0121]

Where did you see Bob putting a lot less emphasis on RO water? maybe RO over RODI but not RO over tap... I would like to see source. Not that it may not be out there just would be really surprised.

I did not use RO water in Michigan and never had a problem. However that water was much better than much of the water here. Marietta and cobb county used to have some of the worse. Lawrenceville had some of the best. You can call your water provider and ask them for a water report for that year. They have to give one to you when it is ready. Pay close attention to the level of PO4 and CU in the water.

Regardless, i would never run a SW tank without RO water. Not a tank that you just made a FOWLR because you got sich of algae issues!!!