Reef to FOWLR change over ?'s

[t11t5]

I have a 150g reef. I was thinking of changing to a FOWLR tank.

Is the maintenance the same?
Would I have to add B-Ionic still?
Do you clean them the same?
What about clean up crews are they safe?
What type of current would I want?
What could i put in a 150g?
What kind of lighting would I need?

[sir_dudeguy]

Is the maintenance the same?

Actually there's a "lot" less maintenance in a FOWLR than a reef. The reason i used the quotes around the word "lot" is because i personally dont think that there's really a whole lot to keeping a reef to begin with....FOWLR would just be that much less.

Would I have to add B-Ionic still?

Unless i'm mistaken, that is for calcium, or at least for other trace elements that corals use... Now if there's no corals, there's not really any need for the stuff

Do you clean them the same?

basically. I personally dont clean my tank really. I leave that up to the cleanup crew for the most part. But the same should apply to a FOWLR tank too, unless you have some sort of fish that eats snails and other inverts that are used as a cleanup crew.

What about clean up crews are they safe?

well...like i said before...the cleanup crew will always be safe (especially in a fowlr. There are some clean up crew members that are not safe with corals, but if there's no corals, there's no worry). As long as your fish are "cleanup crew friendly" you're fine with the same stuff that you'd have in a reef.

What type of current would I want?

For a reef, i say start w/at least 20 times turnover per hour...in a fowlr you'd be fine with maybe half that, but i still would use a lot personally because the flow is not just for the corals. Its also to keep stuff from settling as easily and it can stop some stuff like cyano from growing (sometimes).

What could i put in a 150g?

not too sure...there's too many options. Pretty much whatever fish that is small enough that wont eat the other fish that are smaller than itself i suppose. Stuff like yellow tangs, maybe a blue tang and a couple other different tangs, maybe a trigger....too many options

What kind of lighting would I need?

Whatever is cheapest and gives you the best color IMO. No sense at all in paying (to buy, and to run) MH bulbs on a fowlr tank since there's nothing at all that needs the MH. You could do with cheap pc's if you want...like maybe a 4x96w pc, or if the tank is short enough, even a 4x65 would work. OR, if you're happy with the color and brightness, you could use just a plain old strip light like the ones that just come w/most tanks.

[t11t5]

Should I go with a bare botom with a FOWLR tank?