how many fish and coral in a 72 gal.??

[vic]

I have a 72 gal. with approx. 70lbs. live rock & 30 lbs. live sand.Tank has been up several weeks added a purple tang & a flame angel.Also just added a cleaner package (30 sm. hermits,5 turbos,6 shrimp,6 misc. crabs)Everything is fine so far..I was wondering how many more fish i can add if i plan on adding approx. 5 pieces of coral later. I want to add next a pecula,6 line,& royal gramma.Later a jawfish and mandarin and then the coral..is this ok??I have a wet dry system/protein skimmer and a powerhead

 

[krazzydart]

Well if you want to add those fish it should be fine....BUT, first off you are adding them in the wrong order..... TANGS ALLWAYS LAST< after angels.... territoial.... also depending on the type of filtration that you have and if you have a sump setup depends on the fish load you can have..... if you want a reef only then having fewer fish is better.... also be sure to have the cleaner shrimp if you have a tang in the tank.... will save you lots of headaches...... soooooo I guess if you have another tank set up put the tang and angel in it first then add the other fish to you main tank.... rearange it a bit before adding the LAST FISH ( tang,angel) good luck

 

[adrian]

I agree your adding things in the wrong order. Not sure about the fish, but if you want keep some corals it would be advisable to add your corals first and then slowly add your fish. Make sure you reseach the dragonett, they will perish quickly if there is not a constant live food source. Unless you plan on feeding it nutrient enriched brine twice daily, feeding live foods will only prolong death. They also do not fare well in tanks with more out going fish, especially a 6-line who feeds on the same things as the dragonett and will quickly out eat it. HTH

 

[burnnspy]

I recommend removing all chemical and mechanical filtration from the WD and use it as a sump only. It may cause you nitrate problems down the road.
Your LR, LS and protein skimmer will perform all biofiltration needs with the low fish load you plan, with the added benefit of being capable of nitrate reduction.
BurnNSpy