Help setting up 75 FOWLR

[brianstrawberry]

Im looking to set up a 75 FOWLR and would like some suggestions on pricing, equipment, and setup options.

I have been reading the board for a couple weeks now thinking about what exactly I want to do.

My first thought was a picaso trigger, tusk and dragon wrasse--all juviniles and move them to a 125 ill have open in a year or two. However im considering the 125 a bit small now....

My second and more realistic thought was only keep an undulate trigger in the 75, keep it set up for longer and then move him to the 125 when its convenient for me so there in no rush with buying additional bigger tanks (which i will need anyways for my freshwater pets) and put less stress on my pets

Here is my situation:

I have the tank and stand and two HOB filters, one is an AC500 the other is a penguin 330. Period.

Filtration:
Ive never done a sump, and with the stand i dont think this would be in my best interest (its open bottom). Im comfortable with hang ons and was curiouse if what I have can be used. In addition I am aware that live rock helps with the filtration process of the tank and was wondering how much would be nessary and if I could slowly build a desired amount rather than buy it all at one time. Can I build the rock work with the fish living in the tank? Is live sand suggested, nessary, or can it be added later if i decide against bare bottom?

For a skimmer I am considering the Remora Pro. I have a regular remora on my 37 reef and it works great, but wanted some additional opinions as to lower costing skimmers that wont give up too much effectiveness. Again, Hang on skimmers would be in my best interest.

As for powerheads i am open to suggestions.

Lighting:
With my initial thoughts of fish selection I wanted to do MHs because I love the effect the light makes in my reef (against the rock and brings out great colors in the fish), however this could be a waste considering I am on a budget and the tank probably wont be permanent anyways. Looking at ebay, temporary PC fixtures could be had for $125 plus s&h---does anyone have a more cost effective solution as I am open to any and all opinions right now. (The tank does not have a canopy, and I dont have the resources to build one)

Lastly I am about a year-new to the hobby of SW with a very nice and entertaining reef that I am proud of, but dont really know the ins and outs of a FOWLR system I know this community is one of the most respected in the industry and am looking for some realistic advice as to what steps I should be taking to raise some of the more agressive SW species.

What I am really looking for here is a critique twards my thought process and realistic budgeted suggestions. Additionally what step in the process would be the earliest I could add the fish?

Thanks, I will be keeping a close eye on this thread.....
(sorry if my spelling is terrible)

[Trigger 2]

i would buy a young picasso trigger and thats it. when you upgrade you can add more fish.

the reason that you should only add 1 fish is that what happens if you dont upgrade? then you will be stuck with 3 large fish in a 75 gallon.

[55gSW]

From my understanding you could keep the undulate in the 75g for it's entire lifetime, so if you decided later on to upgrade the tank to the 125g then that would be excellent for the fish and it wouldn't require a certain time frame from you.
Lighting, well, from what I've read about undulates, they are a shy fish so intense lighting probably would not be desirable. Maybe just get regular NO light/hood combination for the top. Cheap too.
Live rock can be added a little at a time, just make sure to cure it in a seperate container. The large plastic coolers work really good for this kind of thing.....

One of the filters you already have would be good (make sure to keep it clean so it doesn't contribute to the waste) and a couple of powerheads, aim one at the surface to get a nice roiling effect. As far as brand, whatever you prefer really but I tend to use the penguins as they can be hung from the top of the tank (they come with a clip). I have trouble with suction cups so I prefer these types.

HTH