Nice setup. Do you use XP3's? Sump? I noticed the tubes at the back. How many inches sand do you have?

I run 2 Rena XP3's with mostly mech media in them. I also have a good skimmer on there and 2 SEIO 1200 pumps for circulation(very important). As for sand, about 2" but the fish move it around all the time. Also, it is not the fine sand as the pumps would move that around too much. I plan on adding another 50lbs of LR to the 50 already in there.

HTH :)

What brand skimmer are you using? Euroreef (pricey)good? How big is your sump? Did you buy your tank reef ready?

Ed, where are you from, if your in the lower mainland then I'd say you don't need an RO filter, tap water that's conditioned will do fine. If you do regular water changes and feed regularly you can get away with out a lot of stuff, how ever if you feed like your trying to grow your fish to market size in a week then you'll need all sorts of stuff to keep the water clean. Bare bottom means less places for crud to hide, sand means natural look but crud trap so you'd have to deal with that. If I were going a FOWLR I'd probably go bare bottom and if you want you can put some sand in your sump with some critters/scavengers to keep it clean.

Doug

I live in South Surrey. What kind of Critters? Snails? Brittle stars? What's the advantage of having sand in the sump? Isn't sand a dirt trap?

The skimmer is a Deltec MCE600, a bit underpowered for that sized tank but I plan on adding another in the longrun.

No sump, i rather hate them. The two renas are the filters with the SEIO's for circulation. Hence, the tank is not drilled.

That's a nice skimmer and it doesn't take up too much space at the back. If you don't have a sump, do you use surface skimmers to deal w/surface scum? What's the disadvantage of installing a sump?

I also read about a lot of good stuff about SEIO pumps. There's even a package at J&L's that comes w/a wave controller. Nice equipment you got there.

The skimmer is really great for an HOB and only takes about 3-4" of space behind the tank....it pulls out lots of smelly stuff from the water, I was surprised!

As for surface skimming, the pumps combined with the spraybars from the renas help break up that. Obviously it won't be as good as surface overflow as with a sump but very manageable.

This is a personal opinion, but many(not all) sumps have several things that I dislike. Firstly, i find excessive evaporation with sumps with a neccesity to keep up on top ups for feer of running air into the pumps. Secondly, salt creep, because of the water movement and splashing in a sump, there tends to be saltcreep on many surfaces, including the stand in which the sump resides...Thirdly, fairly poor mech filteration, most sumps have little to no mech media...many have just a drip tray on which floss is set....I find one layer of floss tends to let a lot of crud through. Fourthly, noise...I find many sumps way to noisy in both water movement from the overflow and into the sump to pump humm noise. Lastly, the danger of overflow/leaks. IMO, the less holes in your tank, the better. Also, plumbing over time can develop leaks or can suddenly develop leaks. I prefer a filtration system that is contained and safe. For all the above points I mentioned, there are sump designs/top off systems that help or negate those problems, but with many sumps, these problems are still commonplace.

Again, these are my personal opinions, many will disagree and tell you sumps are the way to go. So really it is up to you to decide. :)

What type of lights are you using on your FOWLR? T5s? Anyway,your tank looks so clean and seems devoid of algae,it seems like the skimmer and your filters are doing a good job.

yup, T5's. as for algae, it is a fairly new tank still in that pic. :)