dacia
Active Member
Well, I asked in another forum about my cleaners, but I want to also get a little input from others on other livestock.
Right now I have a 75 gallon tank with built in overflows connected to my 30 gallon DIY sump/fuge. I have about 65 pounds of live rock that came from my 55 gallon tank, and that LR has about 5 years of coralline algae growth as well as a couple of feather dusters here and there, sponges, and various other hitchhiker organisms. I currently have NO corals and NO fish. I also have no cleaners right now either. I want to get my inverts first, then fish, then coral... Oh, and I figured I would let you know that I have crushed coral in this tank due to previous bad experiences with DSBs including the recent crash of my sand bed in the 55 gallon reef causing major water issues and ultimately the death of corals and fish...
I have decided to get some turbo snails, hermit crabs, peppermint shrimp, and a cleaner shrimp. I would also like a starfish. Would it be better for a reef to have a brittle star or a serpent star? I had a green brittle previously that did battle with a purple lobster, both ended up dying from their injuries...so I will leave the lobsters at the store. But I also had a cute little lettuce nudibranch that was gobbled by the green brittle star as well. So I am concidering a serpent instead...which would you suggest as being a better choice for a reef with softies, LPS, and a handful of fish?
Now for the fish...I would really like at least 1 or 2 large fish, and I am leaning towards a couple of tangs (1 yellow and 1 blue hippo). In addition to the large fish, I want a couple smaller ones. I want a pair of percs, definitely. I was also considering a coral beauty angelfish (I prefer flame angels, but I have heard that they nip corals...is that true?). And I was also thinking of a sixline wrasse or a couple of firefish gobies since they do well in groups. Obviously I don't want to overload the tank...but I really want the tangs and some smaller fish as well. Are the above choices good ones that are compatible with each other and reef safe? How many fish TOTAL should I even consider for a 75 gallon reef with 30 gallon sump/fuge?
And of course...corals. I have 6 65W bulbs in my fixture, 4 of which are 10k white and 2 are true actinic. So at 5.2 wpg, would you please just name off some softies and LPS that would be good additions to the tank? I definitely want zoos, colt coral, hammer coral, GSPs, a brain coral, and possibly a short tentacle plate coral...but what else would be OK to have? I want lots of color, not just pink/brown/gray leathers and such. I want a "rainbow" tank, so to speak, haha.
The tank is cycled and ready for me to start adding to it, so I'd like to make a decision and take my prepared list to the LFA. Without that list, I buy too much...
Right now I have a 75 gallon tank with built in overflows connected to my 30 gallon DIY sump/fuge. I have about 65 pounds of live rock that came from my 55 gallon tank, and that LR has about 5 years of coralline algae growth as well as a couple of feather dusters here and there, sponges, and various other hitchhiker organisms. I currently have NO corals and NO fish. I also have no cleaners right now either. I want to get my inverts first, then fish, then coral... Oh, and I figured I would let you know that I have crushed coral in this tank due to previous bad experiences with DSBs including the recent crash of my sand bed in the 55 gallon reef causing major water issues and ultimately the death of corals and fish...
I have decided to get some turbo snails, hermit crabs, peppermint shrimp, and a cleaner shrimp. I would also like a starfish. Would it be better for a reef to have a brittle star or a serpent star? I had a green brittle previously that did battle with a purple lobster, both ended up dying from their injuries...so I will leave the lobsters at the store. But I also had a cute little lettuce nudibranch that was gobbled by the green brittle star as well. So I am concidering a serpent instead...which would you suggest as being a better choice for a reef with softies, LPS, and a handful of fish?
Now for the fish...I would really like at least 1 or 2 large fish, and I am leaning towards a couple of tangs (1 yellow and 1 blue hippo). In addition to the large fish, I want a couple smaller ones. I want a pair of percs, definitely. I was also considering a coral beauty angelfish (I prefer flame angels, but I have heard that they nip corals...is that true?). And I was also thinking of a sixline wrasse or a couple of firefish gobies since they do well in groups. Obviously I don't want to overload the tank...but I really want the tangs and some smaller fish as well. Are the above choices good ones that are compatible with each other and reef safe? How many fish TOTAL should I even consider for a 75 gallon reef with 30 gallon sump/fuge?
And of course...corals. I have 6 65W bulbs in my fixture, 4 of which are 10k white and 2 are true actinic. So at 5.2 wpg, would you please just name off some softies and LPS that would be good additions to the tank? I definitely want zoos, colt coral, hammer coral, GSPs, a brain coral, and possibly a short tentacle plate coral...but what else would be OK to have? I want lots of color, not just pink/brown/gray leathers and such. I want a "rainbow" tank, so to speak, haha.
The tank is cycled and ready for me to start adding to it, so I'd like to make a decision and take my prepared list to the LFA. Without that list, I buy too much...