Ok, I'm confused...

[whaase]

I've been reading like crazy and I'm confused on something.

If I had a FOWLR, is that not a reef tank? If not, what is the difference?


Walter

[Aquattro]

Walter, essentially a FOWLR caters to the needs of the fish, which are the "centerpiece" of the tank. A reef centers on the corals, with fish choosen mostly for a function, for example a herbivore for algae removal, etc.

[BCOrchidGuy]

Fowlr is Fish only with live rock, meaning no corals, no sponges etc. The live rock is for filtration not for show. Usually when someone says Reef tank they mean a tank they are keeping corals and maybe some fish in. Don't let it confuse you, if you want a FOWLR and you want to call it a reef tank you can. With a reef tank we (I do anyway) try to imitate what we think would be the ideal reef setting... for me... nice clear bright water, lots of coral and inverts and a few fish moving around to add colour and character. FWIW in my reef tank I keep 3 firefish, 2 yellow coris wrasses, a 6 line wrasse and a lawnmower blenny. I may add some kind of small angel in the future but I haven't decided yet. I keep 4 peppermint shrimp, 2 cleaner shrimp and a ton of snails, I DO NOT keep any blue legged hermit crabs anymore, they are all in my FOWLR tank seeing as I've found them often ripping the polyps out of my Montipora, it does recover but not for a couple weeks. The triggers in my FOWLR tank like to chase the blue legged hermits around.

[whaase]

Ok, thank you. I actually think I understand now. :lol:

Walter