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

[reeffreakgeek]

Somone once told me that when keeping multiple tangs...go with one from each family and start with the smallest first.Say one from Acanthurus(powder blue,powder brown),Zebrasoma(Sailfin,Scopas,yellow),Naso elegans(naso,naso blonde).There are other species/classes or whatever they are called.The Paracanthus(Hippo),Ctenochateus(Kole,shoulder,tomini).
confuse yet?

 

[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 **9 watt turbo twist with 200 gph pump or 18 watt turbo twist with 400gph pump(probably 9 watt)**
protein skimmer **Deltec AP851**
powerheads **Hydor Koralia 2x #2 2x #3**
return pump *any ideas???*
filtration media *any ideas???*
calcium reactor (if going reef) **GEO 612 or 618**
phos reactor *any ideas???*
refugium *not sure how big...any ideas???(with lots of LR and DSB and cheato i think)*
overflow
sand bed or bare bottom? **3-4 sand bed**
Live rock... **200-400 pounds of live rock(depends on the size of tank i get)**
and lights. ** T5 aquactinic constellation 14 x39W bulbs
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.
Woot im getting alot of equiptment picked out =) any help on the ones i dont have picked out yet???

 

[fishygurl]

Originally Posted by reeffreakgeek
Somone once told me that when keeping multiple tangs...go with one from each family and start with the smallest first.Say one from Acanthurus(powder blue,powder brown),Zebrasoma(Sailfin,Scopas,yellow),Naso elegans(naso,naso blonde).There are other species/classes or whatever they are called.The Paracanthus(Hippo),Ctenochateus(Kole,shoulder,tomini).
confuse yet?
yes very

lol i think i kinda get it but are you saying that my tangs probably wont work??

i hope not hehe i like the tangs i picked out..i like the tangs i deleted...i like alot of tangs...maybe thats a bad thing

oh well im trying to make this set up go really smoothly when i start and i love the forums cause you get other peoples opinions and they just make it easier and more smoother(hopefully) so the tank will look OUTSTANDING!!!!!!

well anyways PLEASE KEEP COMMENTING and answering any questions i have through out the thread THANKS(in advance)

 

[saltn00b]

hmm i am thinking your fish list is a bit too over-ambitious for a 150. possibly pushing it even for a 225, but that would be much more comfortable as long as you had a good amount of LR for fitlration.
many wrasses are reef safe, there are also many that are not. i believe any fairy or flasher wrasse falls into the reef safe category and the yellow coris is a great addition. Red coris are considered reef safe, but not invert safe.
as for butterflys, which are very senstive like angels and should not be attempted until you have a 6 month mature tank,
the only ones that are considered reef safe are a 50/50 gamble at being so are:
the copperbanded butterfly
and the bannerfish / aka Heniochus butterfly.

 

[fishygurl]

Originally Posted by saltn00b
hmm i am thinking your fish list is a bit too over-ambitious for a 150. possibly pushing it even for a 225, but that would be much more comfortable as long as you had a good amount of LR for fitlration.
many wrasses are reef safe, there are also many that are not. i believe any fairy or flasher wrasse falls into the reef safe category and the yellow coris is a great addition. Red coris are considered reef safe, but not invert safe.
as for butterflys, which are very senstive like angels and should not be attempted until you have a 6 month mature tank,
the only ones that are considered reef safe are a 50/50 gamble at being so are:
the copperbanded butterfly
and the bannerfish / aka Heniochus butterfly.
wow thanks i am thinking i wont go with butterflys anymore since the 2 i really liked are not reef/invert safe
as for the wrasses would you think a yellow coris(which i read isnt really a coris) and a clown fairy wrasse would be good together or just one or the other??

 

[fishygurl]

oh yeah and the tank is probably not gonna be a 150 it will prob be in the 210-225 range (if it was a 150 i would have to do MAJOR deleting on my fish list

) so umm about like how many inches of fish would you take out? i added fish that would stay on the rock or sand so they werent swimming and taking up more room( i was thinking i could maybe have some more fish that way)hmm what if i take a blue spot jawfish out..would that be good? or i could take out the clown gobies..or the bangaii cardinal fish(even though they dont really swim around that much) how much do you guys think i need to take out??
~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
1 clown fairy wrasse (female--how can you tell??)
1 yellow wrasse
2 scooter blennies
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 of each clown goby for sale on here

 

[saltn00b]

hmm this sounds a bit more realistic. i dont know what is involved with caring for an achilles but people find them very difficult to care for.
i also dont know what the track record with lyretails are but anthias can be hit or miss community attitudes. in a school, tho, they should be fine. i would however, research them because i have heard stories of the females all or mostly dying off in a short period of time.
scooter gobY? do you mean scooter blenny? scooter blennys are technically dragonettes and are in the same family as mandarins, and eat the same way. with that size tank i would not get more then 3, and 3 is a tough number because there may be fighting.
as for the wrasses they should get along fine, but get two females. the yellow coris all start off as females and will eventually change to a male if no other males are present.

 

[fishygurl]

Originally Posted by saltn00b
hmm this sounds a bit more realistic. i dont know what is involved with caring for an achilles but people find them very difficult to care for.
i also dont know what the track record with lyretails are but anthias can be hit or miss community attitudes. in a school, tho, they should be fine. i would however, research them because i have heard stories of the females all or mostly dying off in a short period of time.
scooter gobY? do you mean scooter blenny? scooter blennys are technically dragonettes and are in the same family as mandarins, and eat the same way. with that size tank i would not get more then 3, and 3 is a tough number because there may be fighting.
as for the wrasses they should get along fine, but get two females. the yellow coris all start off as females and will eventually change to a male if no other males are present.
yes i meant scooter blenny..my bad......so would 2 be fine?? and umm are you saying i can get a female clown fairy wrasse and a female yellow coris(but what happens if the yellow coris turns into a male will that be a bad thing?)
and when you say it seems a bit more realistic is that with taking off the blue spotted jawfish, clown gobies, and bangaii cardinals??..or that its probably not gonna be in a 150 more in the range of 210-225 gallon ??

 

[saltn00b]

i think they should leave each other alone. yellow coris is super friendly and great personality, and the other wrasse being another species should cause no problems, i just would not risk two males.
so you are basically looking at 4 dragonette fish, which witha fuge and an established tank with over 250 lbs of LR, it could be doable. also assuming you dont have sandsifting stars and sand sifting gobies and 6 line wrasses that will out compete the gobies.

 

[fishygurl]

Originally Posted by saltn00b
i think they should leave each other alone. yellow coris is super friendly and great personality, and the other wrasse being another species should cause no problems, i just would not risk two males.
so you are basically looking at 4 dragonette fish, which witha fuge and an established tank with over 250 lbs of LR, it could be doable. also assuming you dont have sandsifting stars and sand sifting gobies and 6 line wrasses that will out compete the gobies.
yay!!! i get 2 wrasses

and no i dont have any of the sandsifting things that you mentioned so umm how big of a fuge would you say i should have under here?? i still havn't had any suggestions for that =/ so maybe since you keep answering right away you could answer that question (if you know it)

i liked this last post you did its saying i can get stuff...thats pretty much a first to my fish list..i still am thinking about deleting the blue spotted jawfish even if i dont have to cuz they are kinda exspensive and i wont really get to see it that much so ya im gonna delete it now

 

[saltn00b]

lol well please take into consideration everyone's opinions and dont just jump on the first yes you get. that can get you into a lot of trouble, quickly.
as for fuge, the bigger the better.

 

[fishygurl]

Originally Posted by saltn00b
lol well please take into consideration everyone's opinions and dont just jump on the first yes you get. that can get you into a lot of trouble, quickly.
as for fuge, the bigger the better.
ya..i know..people can always say that the fish list doesnt work if they see any problems
im not sure on how big the sump and fuge are gonna be can fuge's be tall?? so they are bigger?

 

[saltn00b]

i custom built mine to be as large as i could fit it under my canopy. you can see it in my multiphase upgrade thread in the DiY section.

 

[fishygurl]

So is my fish list looking a little better??
Does everyone think that a yellow wrasse and a clown fairy wrasse are reef safe and can be together??
For the scooter blennies since they are like dragonets and eat pods all day would i add them after 6 months to a year too like the mandarins or what??
How many and what type of snails would you add to this tank??
How many blue legged hermits would you add??
Are there any starfish that wont eat my fish or corals or anything that dont die within a month or two...i like the blue, red and purple linkia would i need to feed them or can i just let them roam around eating what ever??
Any other inverts you think will be good and cool in the tank??
any ideas for a sump, return pump, filtration media, overflow, refugium(thinking about the DIY refugium so i can get as big as possible), phos reactor, heaters, and anything else i dont have planned out
someone said not to add all the livesand at once, only like 1/2 inch or so at a time...why cant i add it all at once after the live rock cures and there is nothing in the tank except for live rock??
i am gonna have the tank drilled..unless there is a bad thing with this?..my 72 is drilled and i love it

 

[saltn00b]

Originally Posted by FishyGurl
So is my fish list looking a little better??
Does everyone think that a yellow wrasse and a clown fairy wrasse are reef safe and can be together??
yes, and most likely.
For the scooter blennies since they are like dragonets and eat pods all day would i add them after 6 months to a year too like the mandarins or what??
yes
How many and what type of snails would you add to this tank??
2-300, atlantic turbos, cerith and nassarius
How many blue legged hermits would you add??
personally, none. they deplete your snail population.
Are there any starfish that wont eat my fish or corals or anything that dont die within a month or two...i like the blue, red and purple linkia would i need to feed them or can i just let them roam around eating what ever??
linkia's are good but you need excellent water quality and a mature tank. wait 6 mos.
Any other inverts you think will be good and cool in the tank??
skunk cleaner shrimp, blood shrimp, peppermint shrimp, coral banded shrimp, blue reef lobster, mexican turbo snail, BTA or LTA possibly, emerald crabs, arrow crabs, porcelain crabs, brittle stars (not green)
any ideas for a sump, return pump, filtration media, overflow, refugium(thinking about the DIY refugium so i can get as big as possible), phos reactor, heaters, and anything else i dont have planned out
someone said not to add all the livesand at once, only like 1/2 inch or so at a time...why cant i add it all at once after the live rock cures and there is nothing in the tank except for live rock??
use plain aragonite sand and then seed the top 80 lbs or so with good LS. do that while the rock is cycling so you dont have 2 cycles.
i am gonna have the tank drilled..unless there is a bad thing with this?..my 72 is drilled and i love it
it makes for a great tank, just throughly plan out the diamater of the bulkheads before drilling.

 

[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--it will probably be in the 210-225 gallon but maybe less
~Fish i am thinking on~
1 Flame Angel
9 or 11 Blue/Green Chromis
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
1 Yellow coris (or yellow wrasse)
1 Clown fairy wrasse
2 scooter blennies--would not add till i had tank and refugium set up for atleast six months
1 Green mandarin dragonet--would not add till i had tank and refugium set up for atleast six months
1 yellow watchman goby
~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)
200-300 atlantic turbos, cerith, and nassarious snails and some hermits,
i would like to have some starfish..maybe red, blue and or purple linkia(after i have my tank set up for ATLEAST 6 months with the water stable
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

 

[fishygurl]

oh yeah i think arrow crabs look really cool but i thought i read that they can harm something..i dont remember what...would you guys suggest it for a reef with small fish and inverts and corals and stuff?? maybe i could get 2 cuz they are really interesting creatures to watch..i think

 

[fishygurl]

any ideas for a sump, return pump, filtration media, overflow, refugium(thinking about the DIY refugium so i can get as big as possible), phos reactor, heaters, and anything else i dont have planned out

 

[fishygurl]

oh yeah im just wondering what your guys/gals opinions on the fish list now..like do you think i am still overstocking or their will be any problems, or its just right, right now, or maybe i could get a lil more?
just wondering what you guys are thinking about that