changing from freshwater to fowlr

[Anonymous]

i have a 330l freshwater tank and am about to change it into a fowlr. Went to my lfs and have been quoted £1375 to have my tank drilled, a wier installed, cabinet modified, a sump, protien skimmer, fluidized bed filter, ecoaqualizer 150, 40 kg of fiji live rock, all the piping, 25kg of salt, return pump,50g per day ro unit, substrate and a refractometer. the skimmer is a multi sl 1000. I am just wondering if this sounds reasonable , another lfs i went to could not match this.

 

[ChrisRD]

Hi and :welcome:

The price sounds high to me, but honestly, I have no idea what stuff goes for in the UK. It's usually possible to save a lot of dough if you DIY some of it yourself and start out with some used equipment.

The rest of the plan sounds reasonable except, personally, I would eliminate the fluidized bed filter and eco-whatever-150 from the mix. Neither are necessary in a saltwater setup where you already have a good skimmer and adequate amounts of live rock/sand.

HTH

 

[Anonymous]

This is cheap compared to other quotes, all they are going to do is drill the tank for me and provide me with material to alter the cabinet. I want to set it up myself so i know how all the equipment works. They said that the fluidized bed filter is there to reduce phosphate levels and i have read up on the equalizer and it provides crystal clear water.Thanks for your help.

 

[cindre2000]

I agree with ChrisRD, skip the fluidized bed filter and the ecoaqualizer 150.

If you are using a RO/DI you should not have phosphate problems. As for the ecoaqualizer 150, I have never seen anyone use them and their tanks are crystal clear. Simpler is better, especially when you are just starting out.

 

[Anonymous]

The guy at the shop said that they are worth it and they use them. I had my doubts at first but i have done some research recently and they seem like a good idea. They are said to improve the quality of water, improve the effectiveness of filtration, increase the bio-availibility of oxygen and increase the efficiency of the nitrogen cycle. Another store near said that they were a good thing to have and that they improve your water quality. I did not know what noe was until a couple of weeks ago and was not going to get one, after asking about and looking on the internet they seem to be a good idea. Still not 100% sure though.