Can't make up my mind on fish and lighting for a 150 or 180

[fishygurl]

Well at first i was thinking a more semi peaceful reef fish and then i wanted to do sharks and rays but now i think i want more peaceful fish..i am thinking of a built in wall 150 or 180 gallon the fish i would like to add would be
~Fish~

1 Flame Angel
4 lyretail anthias (female)
1 lyretail anthia (male)
1 Blackcap Basslet
1 Purple Firefish Goby--maybe a pair of helfrichi's instead
2 Green mandarin dragonets (mated pair)--would not add till i had tank and refugium set up for atleast a year
1 Achilles Tang-added first
1 Blue Hippo Tang
1 Yellow Tang-added at same time as sailfin
1 Sailfin Tang-added at same time as yellow
1 Blonde Naso Tang-Male
~Wish~

aThreadfin butterfly-reef safe?
yellow longnose butterfly- reef safe?
flame wrasse-reef safe?
filament wrasse-reef safe?
green coris wrasse- reef safe?
blue spot jawfish- reef safe?
clown fairy wrasse- reef safe?
yellow corris wrasse-reef safe?
mystery wrasse-reef safe?
any wrasses reef safe?
is there any type of fish that looks similar to a green bird wrasse but is reef safe and not too aggresive?
1 or 2 (if two they would be a mated pair) yellow watchman goby
any other gobys or fish that stay on the rock or sand that are reef safe?
any other suggestions of fish that would look nice that are reef safe??(no more tangs or big fish like that)
Inverts i would like to put in

2 cleaner shrimp(have one in my 72)
2 fire shrimp
2 peppermint shrimp (already have in my 72)
LOTS of snails and hermits, including like 10 REALLY big nassarious snails
i would like to have some starfish..any ideas(that will live longer than a month) and are pretty easy to care for
horseshoe crab?
if i get metal halides i would want some clams (crocea and maxima)
anything else that would be good?
Corals wish list

mushrooms
the soft corals
maybe a birdsnest
torch corals
yellow leather toadstool
other leathers..any ideas?
cup corals
any other cool looking fairly easy corals?
am i going over the limit? for the tangs i COULD pass on the yellow and blonde naso..(if a yellow longnose butterfly is reef safe maybe i could have one of those instead?) if i HAD to i would like a reef i would want about 200-300 pounds of live rockwith about 150-200 pounds of live sand
for lighting i have no idea..i kinda want it where i have those lunar lights to put on at the beginning and end of the fishies day so any suggestions of good lights that i could have alot of corals?...MAYBE METAL HALIDES...would you hang the lights..or put it over the tank?
i would have a big refugium underneath...what should i put in it..how big do you think will fit nicely??
Filtration and flow...what are really good filtration things that you would put in...what are some REALLY good skimmers that can handle alot..etc (so ideas on equiptment)...the Deltec AP851 would be good?
I have been told i can get a big tank...and get really excited and wanna plan EVERYTHING out where it will hopefully go through smoothly...i really hope..hmm what else could i ask...hmm...k im not thinking of anything else..i think i pretty much covered everything....it may even be a 225 gallon cuz i have found em that are 6ft too
~i do understand~

that the blackcap basslet may or may not be interested in shrimp
the flame angel may or may not be interested in coral
mandarin dragonets need LOTS of pods (the reason for the big refugium)and i will not add till atleast a year
Any help or comments will be appreciated...please dont yell at me if i planned something wrong...please just tell me nicely..i may not want to change too much so just warning i try to not really unless i have to as far as the fish...THANKS IN ADVANCE

 

[jamparty]

Originally Posted by FishyGurl
Well at first i was thinking a more semi peaceful reef fish and then i wanted to do sharks and rays but now i think i want more peaceful fish..i am thinking of a built in wall 150 or 180 gallon the fish i would like to add would be
~Fish~
1 Flame Angel
4 lyretail anthias (female)
1 lyretail anthia (male)
1 Blackcap Basslet
1 Purple Firefish Goby
2 Green mandarin dragonets (mated pair)
1 Achilles Tang-added first
1 Blue Hippo Tang
1 Yellow Tang-added at same time as sailfin
1 Sailfin Tang-added at same time as yellow
1 Blonde Naso Tang-Male
don't get the achilles...they're too difficult of a fish to maintain if you're just starting to get into the hobby. There is also a chance your yellow and sailfin will fight even if you introduce them both at the same time. I would take out the achilles and the naso personally. Naso's are great, but they too get huge...and since you already have a sailfin in there, your best bet is to choose the naso or sailfin. Don't get both. Your only hope with the mandarins is to have a reef tank that is WELL ESTABLISHED with a refugium and ESTABLISHED population of COPEPODS. Otherwise, you might as well buy your mandarins and stick them in the microwave because they aren't going to survive long...especially with two of them.
Before you start thinking of fish, you need to start thinking of your tank setup...
by tank setup I mean your life support systems
uv sterilizer
protein skimmer
powerheads
return pump
filtration media
calcium reactor (if going reef)
phos reactor
refugium
overflow
sand bed or bare bottom?
Live rock...
and lights.
Only after you have your tank setup complete, should you start worrying about what you're going to put in there. It will take you 4 months to cycle the tank, so you have a lot of time to plan on livestock.

 

[fishygurl]

Originally Posted by JamParty
don't get the achilles...they're too difficult of a fish to maintain if you're just starting to get into the hobby. There is also a chance your yellow and sailfin will fight even if you introduce them both at the same time. I would take out the achilles and the naso personally. Naso's are great, but they too get huge...and since you already have a sailfin in there, your best bet is to choose the naso or sailfin. Don't get both. Your only hope with the mandarins is to have a reef tank that is WELL ESTABLISHED with a refugium and ESTABLISHED population of COPEPODS. Otherwise, you might as well buy your mandarins and stick them in the microwave because they aren't going to survive long...especially with two of them.
Before you start thinking of fish, you need to start thinking of your tank setup...
by tank setup I mean your life support systems
uv sterilizer
protein skimmer
powerheads
return pump
filtration media
calcium reactor (if going reef)
phos reactor
refugium
overflow
sand bed or bare bottom?
Live rock...
and lights.
Only after you have your tank setup complete, should you start worrying about what you're going to put in there. It will take you 4 months to cycle the tank, so you have a lot of time to plan on livestock.
yes the reason i made this thread is to get info and ideas and suggestions on what to put in there...do you want to help me out on figuring out the set up that would be MUCH appreciated..i am somewhat new at this but i have had my 72 bow front running for a year now and i havnt had any problems except for this one time where i got ich big time...and yes i definatly am going to set up the tank and have everything running fine for awhile then i will order all live rock and sand and let it cycle for a month or two then i will add the fish and shrimp i have in my 72 right now and corals...i really need help on the equiptment cuz i really dont know too much about it i have a thread in the equiptment section hoping to get people to give me suggestions instead of just saying you will have to come up with your set up and have that all running and stuff..so like the names of the products would be nice..i really want to have everything go well and will buy everything for the tank before i even start running it...and yes i know i will have to wait ATLEAST a year with having a big refugium and having the tank set up for the mandarins..and this will be a reef with lots of rock so i would think it should be good thanks for your help if you have any suggestions on the products of equiptment like skimmers lights filtration..any thing please post on one of my threads saying the name of the product i already know i need that stuff its just im not sure what brand is one of the best..cuz i would rather not spend my money on something that doesnt do a very good job

 

[flcandy]

If you want a wrasse that is reef safe and easy to care for try a sixline I love mine. Always swimming and looking for food in the rocks.

 

[fishygurl]

six lines are ok...are any of these reef safe??
threadfin butterfly
yellow longnose butterfly
blue spotted jawfish
flame wrasse
filament wrasse
green corris wrasse
clown fairy wrasse
yellow corris wrasse
green bird wrasse
mystery wrasse
red corris wrasse

 

[andy51632]

Why not halides? With the expense of the setup you have planned, adding metal halides is not going to be much.

 

[andy51632]

Wait a minute, I am confused...... Do you already have some of this stuff and fish? or is this going to be setup from scratch?

 

[andy51632]

You need to think about a QT setup with all those fish you want to add. I would go pretty extreme on it. Like a 55gal with a couple of canister filters that have been cycled through your main tank when you cure your live rock. I would desal everything. A disease in this tank, especially towards the end of adding your stocking list would be horrible.

 

[fishygurl]

i havnt really got anything yet im just planning right now i was thinking i might even get a 225 gallon cuz i found out they can be 6ft too so i like that idea...i was thinking i might go with metal halides cuz everyone is asking me why i dont want to if i do how many watts do i need and do i need any other lights..do you suggest hanging em or having em in a hood? how many fans should i buy to make sure that the halides dont overheat?
as for a skimmer i am thinking of going with the deltec AP851
as for a uv sterilizer i was thinking a turbo twist 9 watts with a 200 gph pump
any other suggestions on equiptment or any other questions i had on fish, etc

 

[fishygurl]

added updates in first post

 

[fishygurl]

Originally Posted by andy51632
Wait a minute, I am confused...... Do you already have some of this stuff and fish? or is this going to be setup from scratch?
yes i have not gotten anything yet its just planning..i am just looking at aquariums for sale and pricing around i would buy all the equiptment first then i will buy the rock all at once and put it in it will be uncured so it will be just live rock and saltwater in there for a month or 2 or until the cycle is over then i would buy all the sand and put it in leave it be if it will do another cycle..not sure

and then i will add the stuff from my 72 and wait awhile and then i will begin purchasing fish and or corals when i have money (only one or two at a time)

 

[fishygurl]

bump

 

[fishygurl]

bump again

 

[fishygurl]

Well at first i was thinking a more semi peaceful reef fish and then i wanted to do sharks and rays but now i think i want more peaceful fish..i am thinking of a built in wall 150 or 180 or maybe as big as a 225 gallon the fish i would like to add would be
~Fish i am thinking on~
1 Flame Angel
4 lyretail anthias (female)
1 lyretail anthia (male)
1 Blackcap Basslet
1 Purple Firefish Goby
1 Achilles Tang-added first
1 Blue Hippo Tang
1 Sailfin Tang-added at same time as yellow
1 Yellow Tang-added at same time as sailfin
2 bangaii cardinal
2-3 scooter goby's
2 Green mandarin dragonets (mated pair)--would not add till i had tank and refugium set up for atleast a year
1 yellow watchman goby
1 blue spot jawfish
1 of each clown goby for sale on here
~Wish~
filament wrasse-reef safe?
clown fairy wrasse- reef safe?
if they are both reef safe(including shrimp, feather dusters, crabs, snails, clams, etc) could i put both of em in there?..i have seen your not supposed to put 2 wrasses of any kind in a tank but this tank will be 6' in length you would think they would be able to have enough space to claim their own

~Inverts i would like to put in ~
2-4 cleaner shrimp(have one in my 72)
2-4 fire shrimp
2 peppermint shrimp (already have in my 72)
LOTS of snails and hermits, including like 10 pretty big nassarious snails...how many and what type of snails and how many blue legged hermits do you guys think???
i would like to have some starfish..any ideas(that will live longer than a month) and are pretty easy to care for
i would want some clams (crocea and maxima)
anything else that would be good?
Corals wish list
mushrooms
the soft corals
maybe a birdsnest
torch corals
yellow leather toadstool
other leathers..any ideas?
cup corals
any other cool looking fairly easy corals?
am i going over the limit? for the tangs i COULD pass on the yellow..if i HAD to. i would like a reef i would want about 200-400 pounds of live rock with about 150-250 pounds of live sand
*for lighting i want the T5 aquactinic constellation 72"Lx 14"Wx3"H does that come with those moon lights that make it like blue or dawn or w/e for an hour before and after in the day
*i would have a big refugium underneath...what should i put in it...how big do you think will fit nicely??
*Filtration and flow...what are really good filtration things that you would put in...what are some REALLY good skimmers that can handle alot..etc (so ideas on equiptment)...the Deltec AP851 would be good?
*for a calcium reactor i will probably go with a GEO 612 or 618
*for a UV sterilizer i will probably get a Turbo Twist 9W with a 200 gph pump
*for powerheads im not too sure but maybe the Hydor Koralias
hmm what other equiptment will i need...any ideas? with the names of the brand that are pretty good..i think i got most of the major stuff
I have been told i can get a big tank...and get really excited and wanna plan EVERYTHING out where it will hopefully go through smoothly...i really hope..hmm what else could i ask...hmm...k im not thinking of anything else..i think i pretty much covered everything..it may even be a 225 gallon cuz i have found em that are 6ft too
~i do understand~
that the blackcap basslet may or may not be interested in shrimp
the flame angel may or may not be interested in coral
mandarin dragonets need LOTS of pods (the reason for the big refugium)and i will not add till atleast a year
Any help or comments will be appreciated...please dont yell at me if i planned something wrong...please just tell me nicely..i may not want to change too much so just warning i try to not really unless i have to as far as the fish...THANKS IN ADVANCE

 

[andy51632]

Well I can help you alittle bit here. The dusk and dawn setting you are describing with you lights is usually made by a blue actinic bulbs. You shutoff your daylight bulbs and leave on your actinic bulbs. They also have moon lights which are small LED lights that produce just a little bit of light at night time so you can see alittle in your tank. The actinic bulbs are also recommend because they produce more color in your tank. LED are not nessary but are pretty cool. If you buy a complete fixture they usually will have LED built in.
I am pretty sure a horseshoe crab is on the do not list. They get really large and can knock overy your liverock.
I would put alot of live rock in your fuge along with chaeto and a DSB seeded with live sand. The reason for alot of live rock is to have some where for pod production.
IMO I would scratch the UV and just go with a good qt procedure. If you keep it you don't want to run it for a while. You might want to research that a little bit not a expert.
You won't want to add all the live sand at once. Just add enough to increase your sand bed by a 1/2". Wait a few weeks and do it again.
If I had it to do again I would of used uncured live rock from different areas of the world. Make sure and get all pests off. This will provide alot of diversity in your tank.
hope this helped.

 

[fishygurl]

Originally Posted by andy51632
Well I can help you alittle bit here. The dusk and dawn setting you are describing with you lights is usually made by a blue actinic bulbs. You shutoff your daylight bulbs and leave on your actinic bulbs. They also have moon lights which are small LED lights that produce just a little bit of light at night time so you can see alittle in your tank. The actinic bulbs are also recommend because they produce more color in your tank. LED are not nessary but are pretty cool. If you buy a complete fixture they usually will have LED built in.
I am pretty sure a horseshoe crab is on the do not list. They get really large and can knock overy your liverock.
I would put alot of live rock in your fuge along with chaeto and a DSB seeded with live sand. The reason for alot of live rock is to have some where for pod production.
IMO I would scratch the UV and just go with a good qt procedure. If you keep it you don't want to run it for a while. You might want to research that a little bit not a expert.
You won't want to add all the live sand at once. Just add enough to increase your sand bed by a 1/2". Wait a few weeks and do it again.
If I had it to do again I would of used uncured live rock from different areas of the world. Make sure and get all pests off. This will provide alot of diversity in your tank.
hope this helped.
wow thanks lots of info

hmm one question what is DSB for in a refugium..i probably know...OH WAIT!!!!!!!!!! its deep sand bed isnt it haha see i told you i probably knew =)..i guess i will send that part anyway just to make sure..its kinda funny when you start asking a question and then the answer pops into your head lol

 

[fishygurl]

another question
why cant i add all the live sand at once if i have nothing in there except live rock?...just wondering

 

[fishygurl]

HEHE

im getting really excited

..the longer i have these posts up and the more people commenting on em it just makes it seem more like a reality

of finding all the equiptment, the right fish list etc....even though im having a hard time going to 3 tangs..i hope you guys say 4 is ok..i really dont wanna take out another one =/

 

[nycbob]

yellow and sailfin tangs dont fight, look!
http://s190.photobucket.com/albums/z...7-27-20077.jpg

 

[fishygurl]

Originally Posted by nycbob
yellow and sailfin tangs dont fight, look!
http://s190.photobucket.com/albums/z...7-27-20077.jpg
ya i know i have seen yellow tangs and sailfins together so im not TOO worried on em fighting but they are both tangs and they do have a similar shape so unfortunatly if one of em is mean and wants to pick a fight they very well could fight with eachother unfortunatly thats why you should have bigger tanks so they have more room (although they still could fight ='( in a big tank) but i am probably going to end up taking that risk as long as i am not convinced i NEED 3 tangs in this tank instead of 4 (i used to have 7 hehe even i was doubting that would work) but taking out the blonde naso gives me some more room for the other fish that i have on my list/wish so i guess its good to look on that as a positive for taking yet another tang out