Need help on FOWLR tank setup

[noob35]

Hi to all the reefers out there, i am practically new to this so here goes. I have just acquired an ios tank + cabinet dimension 5.5ftx2ftx2ft(12mm thickness). My bro picked it out for me at an online auction and it was delivered to me just this afternoon. Was initally meant to house an arowana, but the seller back out last minute. My Mrs has always been bugging me to try keeping marine life. I've been reading online in your forum that its not too difficult to keep & maintain marine fishes. So i was wondering if i could get some tips/pointers + equipment setup to get me started. Not too sure if the tank is ldeal for such a setup though. Any help from you guys is much appreciated. I have attached some pics of the tank.Thanks

[Terryz_]

See that you are not using sump? I dunno what FOWLR you are planning to keep... But with a tank that size, a skimmer is a must... It also depends on your livestocks, if you are going for big angel and predator fishes the more you need a big skimmer..

[noob35]

See that you are not using sump? I dunno what FOWLR you are planning to keep... But with a tank that size, a skimmer is a must... It also depends on your livestocks, if you are going for big angel and predator fishes the more you need a big skimmer..

Thanks for the tip. I am planing on using the partition for housing the filtration system, but i'm worried that it might be too small to handle it. I have calculated the amount of water will be more than 600Liters. Btw what type of skimmer will be viable for this tank size?

[Earth]

i had a fowlr which was an IOS system before. but the tank was only 3.5 ft by 1.5ft by 2.3ft which i felt was manageable. u definitely need a skimmer to clean the water as i doubt u will be satisfied with very small fishes or a small number of fishes especially with your tank size. if space permits, u can consider placing the skimmer out of your tank. if not, u can also do partitions within the main tank to hide the skimmer.

On the current overflow section, u can put in various medias which will help to culture good bacteria and cleans the water.

[RockyBoy]

I think you should read on marine setup first before starting anything. You might be conned by LFS into buying expensive stuffs.

I'm not sure whether your cabinet can take the weight of the salt water as salt water is about 20-30% more than the tap water. You might need some rocks, etc, so the weight is huge. I think you should change the cabinet to a stronger one with those wooden beams such as chengal or kapor to support the massive weight.

Then you need a sump below to house your filteration systems. A good skimmer, may be Deltec or H&S

Ok, your glass thickness is 12mm. Should be barely ok. Since it will be fish-only tank, then, can let the salinity to be 1.020, lighten the weight abit.

[samchenz]

I agree with what RockyBoy said. The cabinet don't seem to have any "main beams"? Normally, its at 4 corners and 1 at center-front.

Main thing is to read up first before starting. Once you have some idea (ie including the intended budget etc), then you can share with us your plans at SRC and many bros here will be glad to advise.

Proper cycling of tank is very important and QT is good to have.

Take the advice from LFS with a pinch of salt.

[noob35]

I agree with what RockyBoy said. The cabinet don't seem to have any "main beams"? Normally, its at 4 corners and 1 at center-front.

Main thing is to read up first before starting. Once you have some idea (ie including the intended budget etc), then you can share with us your plans at SRC and many bros here will be glad to advise.

Proper cycling of tank is very important and QT is good to have.

Take the advice from LFS with a pinch of salt.

Thanks for all the tips guys; will read up somemore before venturing further. Also need to check up how much its gonna cost me to replace the cabinet. Thanks once again.

[Fuzzy]

Thanks for all the tips guys; will read up somemore before venturing further. Also need to check up how much its gonna cost me to replace the cabinet. Thanks once again.

And while you're exploring getting a new cabinet, it would make it a lot less painful in the long run to purchase a sump tank to go with the cabinet.

A sump tank about 60% to 80% of your main tank length would be great!