lighting for fowlr

[norweiganwood]

Need to know what lighting is required for a fowlr tank. Too many differences in internet pages I've visited. From NO to VHO??
What is the minimum??
Also need to know if a filter is really needed with this type of tank.
Thanks

 

[trido]

AFAIK. Lighting for a FOWLR deosnt require high output light of any kind as fish do not photosynthesize light. N.O. lighting should be plenty adequate. AS far as filtration. Yes, you will need something. Depending on the size of tank, how many fish and how often you do water changes will determine what you will need. Some people with Nano tanks simply run a HOB filter and use carbon and keep up on regular frequent water changes. Others with larger tanks use skimmers and water changes.

 

[ChrisRD]

As Trido already mentioned - lighting on a FOWLR can be pretty much whatever you want. The bacteria living in/on the rock don't require light. Personally I prefer some decent lighting, even on an FOWLR as it helps the coralline grow (nice look IMO) and shows off the fish colors.

As for filtration. Since the system will already have live rock I would just use a good protein skimmer in addition to that. Also, make sure you have decent circulation so crud doesn't accumulate anywhere (which can lead to water quality issues and nuisance algae problems)

HTH

 

[norweiganwood]

Thanks, I was hoping to hear that. Guys at the lfs trying to sell me really expensive lighting.
thanks again

 

[norweiganwood]

I have a 40g tank, what type of skimmer would you suggest.

 

[ChrisRD]

Will you have a sump? If so, I'd go with something like an ASM (good bang for the buck), Euro-Reef, etc.
Do a search here for other suggestions too as there are some other, newer brands out now that are supposedly good but I don't have experience with those...

If you're not going to have a sump then a decent hang-on like the ones from AquaC (Remora or Remora Pro) would work.

Personally, I prefer going bigger than recommended on skimmers because I like to feed heavily.

 

[norweiganwood]

Thx again.
Been reading alot about using a dsb. Is this a necessity or is aragonite a good choice? Can I use both?
Tank is a AGA40L using a penguin 350 filter, have a skimmer also, and have everything else except the live rock and a power head(which I'm waiting to see how the movement is before I buy).

 

[ChrisRD]

It's not really an either/or question. Aragonite is the type of sand that is typically used in reef aquaria and DSBs typically consist of fine aragonite sand. It's OK to use other types, but aragonite is what is found on a real reef so this is what we typically use.

As for using a DSB - it's optional, not required. Like any setup, they have their ups and downs. Personally I don't care for them, but they are fine to use if you want to go that way.

I recommend investing in a good skimmer. With a decent skimmer and adequate amounts of quality live rock you can pretty much use whatever you want for substrate - ie. no sand, a little sand, DSB, etc. At that point it becomes more a matter of preference and/or what you need for the type of fish you want to keep.

HTH