What to know going from reef to fish only

Brieninsac · 09/11/2018, 02:38 PM

I'm considering going from a reef system to a fish only system. If I do so I would remove all the live rock and go with an artificial coral insert. I already have bio-media in my sump and would add some more to compensate for the removal of the live rock.

Here are a few questions I have...

Dosing
I have an auto-doser and I'm dosing about 50 ml of soda ash and Ca per day. With a fish only system will I still need to dose to maintain a certain Kh and Ca level?

Water flow
I have two grye pumps for flow. Will a fish only system need pumps?

Clean-up crew
Should I maintain a clean-up crew to take care of fish waste and detritus?

Reactor
I have a reactor that I run a mixture of GFO and carbon. Should a reactor be used in a fish only system and if so what medium should I be running?

Coral insert
The insert I'm looking at would go along the back wall. Should I be concerned about it being a trap for detritus since there will be no water flow behind the insert. This is a picture of the type of insert I'm considering.

sacremon · 09/11/2018, 03:25 PM

1) Dosing. Not going to be needed. Fish don't grow that quickly so as to require dosing like that. I don't know if the puffers/triggers/boxfish need any supplementation, others here would know better than I would.

2) Water flow. Depends on the fish you keep, but most will want some water flow. Some only thrive with good water flow.

3) Cleanup crew. Again, depends on what fish you plan on keeping. Some will pretty much eat anything in a typical cleanup crew (like the non-planktonic triggers, puffers, non-reef safe wrasses), others not so destructive.

4) Reactors. Not as critical as a reef tank, but good to have nonetheless for a fish-only

5) Coral Insert. If that is the route you want to go. Live rock is fine, indeed probably preferable - again depending on the fish. Butterflies like to pick over live rock all day. Definitely have some water flow behind it to make sure detritus doesn't build up behind it.

TheCamaroShow · 09/11/2018, 04:06 PM

keep one grye and sell the other and for clean up crews id go with conchs and urchins and other inverts predators can't really eat

09/11/2018, 02:38 PM	#1
Brieninsac Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2015 Posts: 782	What to know going from reef to fish only I'm considering going from a reef system to a fish only system. If I do so I would remove all the live rock and go with an artificial coral insert. I already have bio-media in my sump and would add some more to compensate for the removal of the live rock. Here are a few questions I have... Dosing I have an auto-doser and I'm dosing about 50 ml of soda ash and Ca per day. With a fish only system will I still need to dose to maintain a certain Kh and Ca level? Water flow I have two grye pumps for flow. Will a fish only system need pumps? Clean-up crew Should I maintain a clean-up crew to take care of fish waste and detritus? Reactor I have a reactor that I run a mixture of GFO and carbon. Should a reactor be used in a fish only system and if so what medium should I be running? Coral insert The insert I'm looking at would go along the back wall. Should I be concerned about it being a trap for detritus since there will be no water flow behind the insert. This is a picture of the type of insert I'm considering. __________________ Red Sea Reefer 350 (73gal/18gal sump) / Kessil a360WE Lights

09/11/2018, 03:25 PM	#2
sacremon Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Atlanta Posts: 446 Blog Entries: 29	1) Dosing. Not going to be needed. Fish don't grow that quickly so as to require dosing like that. I don't know if the puffers/triggers/boxfish need any supplementation, others here would know better than I would. 2) Water flow. Depends on the fish you keep, but most will want some water flow. Some only thrive with good water flow. 3) Cleanup crew. Again, depends on what fish you plan on keeping. Some will pretty much eat anything in a typical cleanup crew (like the non-planktonic triggers, puffers, non-reef safe wrasses), others not so destructive. 4) Reactors. Not as critical as a reef tank, but good to have nonetheless for a fish-only 5) Coral Insert. If that is the route you want to go. Live rock is fine, indeed probably preferable - again depending on the fish. Butterflies like to pick over live rock all day. Definitely have some water flow behind it to make sure detritus doesn't build up behind it. __________________ 300DD, MRC MR-3 skimmer with dual Becketts, two Reefbreeders.com value LED fixtures, MRC fluidized reactor with GFO & GAC.

09/11/2018, 04:06 PM	#3
TheCamaroShow Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2018 Location: northen Wv Posts: 192	keep one grye and sell the other and for clean up crews id go with conchs and urchins and other inverts predators can't really eat