Setting up a120 FOWLR

[rfd 4]

Can you please answer a few questions- 120 FOWLR 24" D X24" H X 48" W
Can I used crushed coral and sand for the bottom of the tank?
Can i use a combination of live rock and dead coral in the tank 70/30 split- or 70 lbs of LR and is that enough?
For lighting what is the minimum T5 wattage on the tank?
thanks

 

[bigtankbigfish]

id stay away from crushed coral and use aragonite.
But as much LR as possible at first so u only have to cycle once. Rule of thumb is roughly 2lb per gallon so your looking at 240 lbs of LR. U can buy some live and some dead and let the dead regenerate. Get on your local craigslist and look for deals.
Also on a FOWLR u dont need any light at all unless u want to keep an anemone, and on a tank that size you will need a lot of watts. Wait to buy the light unless u know for sure u want to keep an anemone.

 

[srfisher17]

The one big advantage with LR is its ability to eliminate nitrate. Nitrate is not really a problem in fish-only tanks, so 70# should be enough to handle normal ammonia levels. Do you plan any other filtration, like a canister, etc? BTW, dead coral is a real pain to keep clean. This is all we had years ago and the coral cleaning chore caused a lot of hobbiests to give up. I still have some in one tank and love it, though---nostalgia, I guess. I agree with Big Fish (my nickname for years) on the lights. In a FOWLR, whatever lights the tank is fine; the only thing that matters is your personal taste. Of course; the more watts/hours---the more algae.