FOWLR Planted Tank?

[maxfrenkel19]

So I've been toying around with the idea of a FOWLR tank. I love the fish that become available without coral, but the FOWLR tanks I've seen (even the really nicely scaped ones) always look rather bare. The fish have great color, but all that colorless rock and sand is no fun for me to look at.

I used to love my FW planted tank, so I'm wondering, does anyone have a heavily PLANTED marine tank? I know there are a number of sea grasses for ground cover, some beautiful macro algaes for color, and probably some taller plants for the background (mini kelp forest anyone?). A google image search on "Planted Marine Tank" returns some nice images IMO.

Anyway, just an initial idea on a colorful version of a FOWLR tank that I'm curious if anyone has tried. I know very little about fish-only tank requirements...maybe it's possible to keep certain corals and still get that color. Maybe marine plants grow too weed-like and can't be kept in check.

Appreciate any input

 

[Labsalesguy]

I second our request- i am setting up a FOWLR myself- and would like to get some color in it, with a tang or two and some small angels. i guess the plants you/we keep have to be dependent on the fish selected.

 

[sethsolomon]

I have a large shipment of sea grasses and macro algae's coming in and I will let you guys know.

 

[sethsolomon]

Also, on a side note you will need in the ballpark of t5's to keep the plants alive.

Edit: * some of the more decorative macro's caulerpas can handle lower light.

 

[jda123]

The requirements are very similar to softie reefs.

Most of the caulerpa algae are awesome at this. Red, red grape, etc. They root into the rocks and they don't get too tall. Bryopisis stays rather short and makes a really nice looking wheat-swaying-in-the-wind look. You will have to trim them back from time to time, which I imagine that you can imagine. You can use these in the foreground and plant some taller stuff in the back. Kelp is typically colder water, but you can find some other stuff that will work. Most of what you see in Google Images are freshwater tanks.

Most tangs won't eat macro, but some will, so this can be tricky... of course, you will end up getting the only one in captivity that will eat bryposis if that is what you plant in the tank. I have mostly seen this in a few large tanks with triggers, puffers, groupers, butterflies semilevartus, angelfish and a few tangs.

Here is the real trick - you have to somewhat keep reef parameters. These are very similar to softie reefs. You will need some N and P, but not too much. If you get to FOWLR levels of nutrients, then you can kill the algae. You will also need to keep reef level salinity so you will have to QT and deal with reef type diseases since you cannot drop down to 1.018-1.019 to help the fish. I would really suggest some T5 or VHO lighting since these algae do like some light and you can get some good looking bulbs that will have some nice green/yellow/red in them to really help the algae take off - some LEDs with less blue might be OK, but they will look very yellow to human eyes.

You will need to test and dose for iron since the macro will quickly deplete it and won't grow without it - SeaChem has a kit that will get you pretty close and is good enough. If you don't dose for iron, then your macro will grow only after water changes when the salt mix adds it back. This can be a good way to slow down growth once your plants take off to where you like them... cut back on the dosing.

If you choose a calcium based algae, then you still might need to dose calcium and alk, but you can avoid this by not choosing these plants or even get by with water changes or a manual tablespoon of dowflake and baking soda every week, or so.

You will need some cleaners. You will still get aiptasia that will hide in the macro. Peppermints and some snails are a good idea. ...so you have to keep the water quality good for these guys too.

These basically become a semi-reef with different type of inhabitants. The great thing is that if you keep it as a semi-reef, then coralline will encrust and everything will look crisp and clean. If you are looking for a typical FOWLR tank that is more dirty, then that will likely kill the plants.

 

[maxfrenkel19]

Thank you so much jda123...what a nice write-up. I did see that a lot of them were freshwater tanks (I recognize the plants from my FW days...) but I saw some really nice marine planted tanks scattered in there as well (not sure if I'm allowed to link to other websites, but they are there!).

I don't mind that I would have to keep reef-like conditions. My reasons for wanting a FOWLR tank are not so that I can slack on my water changes, but so that I can keep coral-nipping fish.

One of my MAIN reasons is my love for puffers. It sounds like I would need to keep snails/shrimp in the tank though, which i know don't mix with puffers, and likely not w/ angels, butterflies, etc either. Does this contradiction screw up the whole concept?

Anyway I greatly appreciate your feedback, do you have a tank like this w/ pics that I could see? Or are you just a research junkie : ).

 

[maxfrenkel19]

I downloaded a couple of the nicer images so I wouldn't have to link to another forum...hope this is not against any rules, images are obviously not mine.[attachment=65852:name]

 

[jda123]

I had a FOWLR tank for years. I kept it at near-reef parameters including MH or VHO lighting so that I could grow macros or coralline. I think that the fish do better at near-reef parameters as well. It was a home for wayward coral-eating ex-reef fish (and my crosshatches)... I had multiple purple tangs, black tang, large angels, sailfin and many more tangs that start to get a taste for coral as they get big.

These are the ONLY types of tank that I would suggest using sugar/vinegar/vodka to keep N and P low since the fish are so dirty and the plants are less sensitive than most coral (other than some softies). I did use a bit of sugar in mine. ...so you can cheat a little if you feed heavy.

A awesome skimmer is a must still. Maybe some GAC from time to time to take the yellow out of the water.

I would start with REAL live rock so that you can also use it to handle/process the N and P in the tank. Wholesale use of dry rock is not good IMO and you won't get the luxury of waiting 2 years for the already-dead organics to decay and disappear and then wait for the rock populate with good bacteria.

Mexican Turbo snails will work just fine with puffers and triggers. I had a Gunea Fowl puffer once that would eat anything in the tank, including glass heaters, suction cups and my hands, but it could not dislodge Mexican turbos. You might have to skip the shrimp if you have too many puffers and triggers - this is no big deal so don't sweat it. The Mexican Turbos learn to come out at night for a easier path around the tank. I had a black cuc in my tank too which the fish completely left alone - it grew like crazy.

I kept a substrate of larger reef sand (not sugar) mixed pretty well with a larger hunk-type substrate like the current Carib Sea CORALine - I used the older CaribSea Sea Flor. The larger hunks kept the fish from making too much of a mess. The hunks settle to the bottom over the years (sand on the top), so you have to go in there with your hands and sift them back up to the top sometimes when you clean the sand. The substrate WILL need cleaned - a typical gravel vacuum will work just fine.

These are fun tanks. They are easy to set up and keep going as long as you keep the fish load reasonable and the N and P down.

I had a tank with a blue painted back panel and hated the contrast. I might suggest a black or dark grey with the plants in front.

 

[kmcmurtry]

Geesh, now you got me thinkin I need a planted tank, lol. It sounds pretty cool!

 

[jda123]

One more though... you have to figure out how to keep your algae from sexually reproducing since this can really foul a tank. I forgot how you do this, but somebody has to know.

 

[kmcmurtry]

Isn't it also triggered by the lighting times?

 

[SynDen]

Only certain macros will go sexual, you would just need to know you plants well and be sure which kind you have. If you have macros that will go sexual you will have to do 24hr lighting, but there are a good many out there that wont go sexual and turn you tank a milky white

 

[MartinsReef]

GREAT THREAD! The one thing that I did when I had my fowlr was also use a uv and skimmer just in case a macro when asexual. That way the water did not cloud up as bad or very long.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

 

[jda123]

If you keep the macro healthy and happy it will go sexual. Just gotta have a plan for it. I think that limiting iron can help a bit, but it could still happen - for the life of me, I cannot remember what you can do. This is one reason why I suggested a big skimmer, but the UV is a great suggestion too.

 

[Arn24]

Subbed.... sounds like a cool idea. D&G in FtC had one like this. I'll see if I can dig up a picture I took of it. I like the second tank picture you posted.

 

[Arn24]

Dangit.... Dropbox was full last month and I cleaned house... I'll try to snag a picture of it next time I'm in there.

 

[MartinsReef]

If you ever need some macros hit me up.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

 

[maxfrenkel19]

Appreciate all the advice from everyone! Sounds like it is feasible and can be very attractive IMO. Unfortunately I'll be moving within the next 6 months so my next tank is still a little ways into the future. I will definitely keep this thread in mind and refer back to it when the time comes.

In the meantime, if anyone builds out a tank of their own like this, I'd love to hear about your process and see pics!

Thanks again.