converting from fowlr to reef need some advice

[hanley0019]

Ok i have a 90 gallon fowlr. I have a 10 or 15 gallon wet dry filter. About 100 lbs of liverock. Im trying to convert it to a reef tank. Im thinkin of getting rid of the wet dry filter and putting a 35 gallon sump in. First chamber would be the water intake and a protein skimmer. Second chamber would be to diffuse the bubbles. Third chamber would be my fuge with liverock, livesand, and chaeto. The last chamber would be the pump back to the tank. Does that sound right for sump? If i do it like that it wouldnt have any form of mechanical filtration. Is it ok to have no mechanical filtration or do i need a canister filter too? Is 100 lbs of liverock enough for having no mechanical filtration? Any advice on filtration for a reef tank would be excellent. Thanks for the help and sorry im such a newb.

 

[nordy]

Here's what I did when I switched my 55 gal from FOWLR to reef: got a good light first, more LR, changed my CC to sand, gave my dogface puffer away

and got a RO/DI unit. I started being more rigorous with my water changes (I now change 10 gals every week), got a refractometer, got a new reef master test kit and started using it. I kept my wet/dry sump with bio ball media and the tank has done well. I check the bioballs and clean them once in awhile, but they are staying very clean and nitrates are staying at "zero". I also keep a canister filter on the tank and use it to help clear excess food and debris resulting from glass scraping from the water. I keep 5 filters on hand so I always have a clean one to slip in whenever I feed the tank. It also lets me run carbon if needed. I have 5 fish in the tank (3 damsels, LMB, clown), along with a bunch of corals. HTH!
John