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I have a 55 gallon tank with fish only, I've had the fish only set up for a year, before that I did a fish only with live rock. Crashed that puppy like three times so shy'd away from live rock for a year, hence why my current system doesn't have any. However I recognize the benefits of it, so I set up a 20 gallon test tank with a 4 inch deep sand bed with 20 pounds of live sand and at the moment 5 1/2 pounds of tonga live rock. I love the look of Tonga so that's what I'm going to go with, had Fiji last time. I will be adding another four or five pounds to the 20 just didn't have enough rocks with growth on them IMO at the LFS. Anyway this is the test tank, as far as me trying live rock again and a DSB. The point of this is I have decided to upgrade my fish only 55 into a 125 gallon. At the moment all I have decided to do is use a Deep sand bed. I'm familiar with all the types of filtration and what wattage of UV sterilizer I should have on there, however I'm curious what you guys would use, and which products are the best in your opinion. So if you can answer the following questions I would appreciate it.

1. what type of filter (ex refigum, wet/dry etc.)
2. Brand of Skimmer
3. wattage of UV, or if you'd even use one, I don't currently use one and I havne't had any problems.
Thanks! Shannon
www.angelfire.com/az2/Hollandbunnys/index.html

I have 2 125gal tanks, one reef, and one FOWLR. For a FO tank you will need 150 pounds of sand, this will give you a 2" sand bed, which is all you need unless you have digging fish. For filters all you need is a HOB filter. No need for a wet dry. A UV will kill any bacteria that goes threw it, includign the benificial kind. A skimmer can be added later on, but can be avoided with frequent water changes. In the long run, a skimmer will be worth while.



Dan

I guess this is what keeping fish is all about - different opinions and styles...... but my preference would definately be a wet and dry filter in a sump, with a skimmer being an 'absolute must have' from the start - especially for fish-only that will 'probably' be housing larger and more aggressive fish? Personally I'd combine both the filter and skimmer in one unit - Aqua Medics 'Reef' range is my choice - I'm sorry but I'm not entirely sure of the US/UK conversion rate but the 'Reef 1000' would probably cover it but the '2000' would be amazingly good! - They include turboflotor skimmers. I think a UV is also very beneficial (although I wouldn't say its a must from the start)

Sorry for the double post but at approximately 475 litres, I'm assuming your tank is 5ft x 2ft x 2ft ish? If so, then the 'Reef 500' would be more than adequate and is a lot cheaper than the other two mentioned above.

haven't bought it yet however those would be the dimensions. Actually not doing the agressive guys, I currently have a lavendar tang, sailfin tang, two four spot butterflys and a red coris wrasse I was planning to integrate into the tank. So yes some larger but not really agressive. Thanks for the input, I've had such a hard time deciding filtration on this thing.
Shannon

Sorry, when I said aggressive, I was directing it towards fish that are not suited to corals/inverts etc as well as those which are aggressive to other fish.
As for the filtration, its such a big decision and hopefully the fact that people employ different techniques should help in the end. When I first started, I was baffled by the different recommendations from people but I guess the more you know, the more choices you have. I find the 'complete unit' methods easier for me to manage and run. Good luck whichever you choose.