If you want a Tang, I would suggest a Kole, especially if you can find one that has blue lips and blue spots on the face. Very cool and rare. I've only seen one. It was at a *****, and amazingly it was the same price as a regular Kole, about $40. Unfortunately I didn't have room for it at the time. The Kole I had at one time was active, got along good with it's tankmates, and stayed fat and happy on Formula 2 and Mysis. Yellows are very common and and never look very healthy to me, even when they're in huge tanks. A lot of the Koles you see in the LFS don't look very good either. Hold out for a nice, fat, dark colored one with well defined stripes.
I don't know much about the longnose, but my Flame Hawk started attacking 2 very large peppermint shrimp as soon as I put them in the tank.
The green chromis are a very good choice for starter fish. They're cheap and fairly hardy, so a lot of people use them to cycle their tank. I would get about 5 of them at first and see how they do. If they seem to be acclimated doing well after several weeks, maybe add a few more over time until you get a nice sized group going. Their scooling behavior is fascinating, They seem to change from green to blue to white as the swim around, depending on how the light hits them. Green is also hard to come by sometimes, if you're looking for "color diversity". The only drawback is, any large predator will gladly snack on these guy's if given a chance. Predators aren't good for a newbie anyway, so this would hopefully help you resist the temptation,
It's very good to hear you decided against the Picasso. I saw one at a LFS that was almost a foot long and would kill anything they put in the tank with it. They had signs on the tank warning customers keep their fingers away. Imagine your big, beautiful tank with only one inhabitant. This is why being patient and doing your homework before you put anything in your tank is essential to being a successful marine aquarist.
Sounds like you're thinking is pretty sound so far. Very unusual for a newbie. I envy you're opportunity to set up a big tank like that from square one. It's going to be a lot of fun if you take your time and make wise choices. If you rush into it, you're in for a lot of headaches, and it will seem more like work than an enjoyable hobby. Not to mention all the money you'll waste. Believe me, I've made every mistake in the book.
I wouldn't even attempt to make a hard, fast stocking list for you. Something like that would take me months to decide, I've never owned a tank that big, and the possibilities are endless. You're idea of what it should look like when fully stocked might be completely different than mine.
You've already decided you want interesting, color diverse fish that don't eat inverts. Do some research, make a list of fish that fit the bill, and go from there. Make sure a fish is healthy, active, and feeding well before you buy it. Avoid fish that get large, agressive, and territorial or you will severely limit your diversity. Observe your tank closely and don't add anything new unless the current inhabitants are stress free and well aclimated.
Follow these simple rules of thumb, and you should be OK. If you have any further questions don't hesitate to post again on this thread. Enjoy that new tank!!!
