How many fish can go in my tank?

[laxplaya]

I have a 3 foot 58 gallon tank with overflow box, pro clear 75 wet dry with protein skimmer, and a stand. I painted the back and sides with flat black krylon spray paint. I plan on getting a Odyssea 36 inch metal halide bulb with 2 pc's also in it and blue LED's. I have 50 lbs of fiji live sand and plan on getting 100 punds of live rock. The circulation (500 gph) will be great along with the 1.025 salinity level. I want it to be a reef tank as well. The fish i want to get are small and will stay relatively small so i was wondering how many fish i could put in this tank? Not all at once but gradually when i add fish what will be the maximum number of fish.

 

[20galfowlr]

it depends on what size, and species, NO TANGS, i would recommend, a nice reef safe wrass, some gobyfish, and a nice selection of inverts, and a small school of chromis, 3 or so, if you plan on a reef, i would do 15 - 30x circulation of the tanks total water
hope this helps, good luck

 

[garnet13aj]

There's really no way to answer that question without comparing the size and especially personality of the fish you want. A good book to get is Marine Fishes by Scott Michael, it will give you a lot of general information about the most popular saltwater fish. Satlwater fish like their space, so it depends on the specific fish how many you can keep together. The list you had looked pretty good. In my 55 g I have 2 clowns, a royal gramma, a sixline wrasse, and a snowflake eel. I'm planning on getting a coral beauty and unless I run into a blue or yellow assessor that will be my last fish. It is a good idea in a 55 to stick with most small fish and then a larger show fish to stand out. I would suggest getting a sixline wrasse, they have amazing coloring and awesome personalities.

 

[promisetbg]

He said he wanted small peaceful fish.
Gobies~yellow watchman, Randall's ,flamehead, neon,trimma, yashia white ray,tangaroa, clown goby
Blennies~ midas{can jump}, tailspot, lawnmower, bi-color
basslets~chalk, royal gramma
Psuedochromis~fridmani,indigo
Clowns~Oscellaris, true percula
Jawfish~pearly,tiger, bluespot{can jump}
Wrasse~ sixline{can be aggressive}, fourline, melanurus, small fairy, flasher.
Angel~ Cherub{can pick at coral}
Dartfish~red or purple firefish
In a 58 gal 3 foot tank I would suggest about 4 fish...if all very small{adult size} you might squeeze in a 5th. I think you are making a big mistake putting 100 LBs. of LR in a 58.I would also suggest you do further research on wet/dry's...good for fish only tanks, not for reeftanks.

 

[browniebuck]

[ I think you are making a big mistake putting 100 LBs. of LR in a 58.
why would this be a big mistake? I have always heard that, in terms of live rock, that more was better? I currently have about 70lbs in my 55G...is that a mistake as well?

 

[thoroughbred]

Originally Posted by browniebuck
[ I think you are making a big mistake putting 100 LBs. of LR in a 58.

why would this be a big mistake? I have always heard that, in terms of live rock, that more was better? I currently have about 70lbs in my 55G...is that a mistake as well?
Well 70lbs is a far cry from 100. Sure live rock is good but you want your fish to have some swimming room.

 

[promisetbg]

Originally Posted by browniebuck
why would this be a big mistake? I have always heard that, in terms of live rock, that more was better? I currently have about 70lbs in my 55G...is that a mistake as well?
That's old school. Less is more.. you want a decent amount of porous rock, but you don't want to wall up your tank with it. You won't get adequate flow through the rocks, and it can do more harm than good. I just reaquascaped a Dr's 125 gal tank at his home. It was packed to the gills with LR. When we took it all out it was disgusting & the sandbed was totally black & dead. We put all new sand, and just over 100 Lbs..maybe 130 Lbs or so. I made two islands with a swimming space in the middle. It looks awesome, and will be much healthier than it was. Look at my progression pics in this thread...you will see that as I got more rock and large corals blocked the flow the tank looked bad, algae, etc. Notice I have gotten away from that much rock, the tank is doing so much better.

https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/264965/comparison-first-tank-vs-current-tank