special juice's 240 gallons of FOWLR glory!- Not so FOWLRish anymore!

FTS taken on 4/7/14

Equipment list: Updated 3/18/14
Planet Aquariums 240g glass tank
Coastal Aquariums oak stand and canopy with mahogany stain
ADHI Wet/Dry bio 60 trickle filter
Lighting- AI SOL Blue LED module x 3 (transferring from my 76g)
Main Pump- Eheim Compact 5000 x 2
Circulation- Ecotech Vortech MP40
Skimmer- Aquamaxx EM300
Heater- Eheim Jager tru-temp 300w
Ecotech Battery Backup
Reef-keeper lite module, ATO
Coralife Turbotwist 12x 36W UV Sterilizer
10g ATO tank
Quarantine tanks- 20g and 76g (I will use my old tank for QT for large fish with a HOB filter. I will keep this as a QT for the next 6 months.)

Livestock Updated 4/28/14
1-Chalk Bass
1-Banggai Cardinalfish
1-Starry Blenny
1-Heniouchus Butterflyfish
1-Flame Angelfish
1-Coral Beauty Angelfish
1-Striped Squirrelfish
1-Foxface Rabbitfish
2-Misbarred Ocellaris Clownfish
3-Blue Reef Chromis
1-Desjardini Sailfin Tang
1-Blonde Naso Tang
1-Yellow Eye Kole Tang
1-Maculosus Angelfish

Note- I do not use a cleanup crew since I intended on adding a Harlequin Tusk.


I am excited to begin the process of setting up my new 240g FOWLR tank. I have been in the hobby for about 5 years and have kept a variety of tanks ranging from 4g to 76g. I am tearing down an Oceanic 76g half-circle which was formerly an sps dominated reef tank. With the arrival of a new baby, and my duties as a stay-at-home dad, I decided that I was no longer willing to commit myself to the care and maintenance that sps corals deserve. I have never kept a "fish only" tank but I am excited to learn about and care for some species of fish that I have not had in the past.

I began by looking for tanks on craigslist. The majority of tanks that I saw listed were smaller than what I wanted (I was considering 200-300 gallons). The few large aquariums that were for sale were in poor condition, incomplete or just not aesthetically pleasing.

I thought that purchasing a new tank would cost more than my budget would allow. One day I was at a LFS here in the Denver area called "Liquid Kingdom." The owner, Tom is the kindest, most honest and knowledgele person that I have met through this hobby. I told him that I was looking for a large tank, either glass or acrylic and he said that he was introduced to a new wholesaler who specializes in large tanks that was trying to get some business. About a week later, Tom called me and said that he could get me a 220g glass aquarium (72" x 27" x27") with a stand, canopy and plumbing kit built by Deep Sea Aquatics in Dallas, Texas for about $2300. I thought this was more than a fair price so I pulled the trigger. It was supposed to take a few weeks to build the tank. After 2 weeks, Tom called me agin and said that his wholesaler had notified him that the stand and canopy had been built, but there was going to be at least a 4 week delay on the tank. Since the wholesaler didn't want to loose Tom's business, he talked to another tank builder in Dallas, Planet Aquariums. They were able to build me a slightly larger tank (72" long x 29" tall x 27" wide) and I didn't have to pay a penny more.

Fast forward to today. I just picked up the tank and the stand and I am very impressed. The quality of work is apparent in every aspect of the tank. Here are some pics:






Also, here is a pic of the ADHI wet/dry filter that I purchased last week. It measures 48" x 18" x 24".



I think that's it for now. I'm planning for this tank to be community fish- butterflies, wrasses, tangs, maybe an angel. I'll also be transferring 5 fish over from my existing tank. It will be at least a few weeks before I get this thing wet. It will be going in my basement home-theater room which is carpeted. I am having a section of tile installed for the tank to sit on. I'll post my proposed stock-list tomorrow. Take care!

 

Looking forward to a stock list. I just got my 250 up and running so I feel your excitement!

 

Just for fun, here is a pic. of the 76g. half-circle that I've had running for 2,1/2 years. I just sold all of my corals in preparation for setting up the FOWLR and coverting this tank into a QT.


...and a pic. of my Nuvo 16 which has been running since this March. Current fish inhabitants are a Randall's Goby and Firefish.


If you want to check out my thread discussing possible livestock choices for the new tank, here it is.
http://www.3reef.com/forums/tropical-fish/check-out-my-stock-list-225g-fowlr-tank-148959.html

 

Tom- Do you have a tank thread for your 250? I'd like to check it out.

 

The 76 looks incredible, cant wait to see what the 240 turns into!

 

After many revisions, here's what I'm thinking for fish in this tank:
-I will introduce fish in the order listed. New fish will be QT'd for 4 weeks minimum.
1 Chalk Bass (moving from old tank)
1 Bangai Cardinalfish (moving from old tank)
1 Melanarus Wrasse (moving from old tank)
1 Starry Blenny (moving from old tank)
3 Heniochus Buterflyfish
1 Auriga or Latticed or Falcula Butterflyfish
1 Spotband Butterflyfish
1 Mertensii or Pearlscale Butterflyfish
1 Harlequin Tusk
1 Green Bird Wrasse
1 Flame Angelfish
1 Yellow-eyed Kole Tang
1 Yellow Tang

I also thought about a puffer, but not sure that this is a good choice.

I originally had a large angel and Naso Tang on my list but scrapped both based on other members mentioning that a six foot long tank is not ideal for either fish. I agree with that assessment. My goal with this tank is not to push the boundaries by keeping fish that will get too large or are not good community members.

Thoughts?

 

Looks like an awesome list to me!! When will this being getting wet??! I love big FOWLR tanks!

 

Where is your tank thread??!! I looked a couple days ago and it wasn't all the way wet yet. I wanna see!!!

 

It will probably be about 3 weeks until I get this thing wet and transfer my fish and rock over from the 76g. I am having a corner of tile installed in the aquarium room. Until then I have a few tasks to keep me busy: paint the back of the tank black, attach the t-track that my sol modules will hang from to the inside of the canopy, and rinse my new dry rock and sand. That might keep me occupied.

 

Yep, that sounds like it will keep you busy!