New - The Dark side? is that what they call it over here?

[dghby]

Hi all, I have been keeping fish for roughly 6 years now. all on the fresh side. from Discus (20 in house at the moment) to Angels (3 breeding pair) to tetras, bloody parrots and beyond.

This will be the 9th tank in the house and to be honest, were kinda excited to get started. with that said, we are in no hurry, plan on cycling up the tank for a couple months before anything goes in it.
(how many people say that and really stick to it? gonna try )

So, give me any advice you see fit. here are the plans (up and running as of yesterday)

75 gl tank plan is to have a reef system but will begin with fish and slowly begin to add corals and such. no sump no refugium.
at the moment 90 lb of Figi premium live rock, 80 lb Argonite sand. 2 HOB Aquaclear 70's.
2 Korilia 1150 powerheads and an Octopus 2000 HOB Skimmer. obviously heater.

this should be plenty of water flow, correct??

So, couple questions

1. what type of media should I use for these Aquaclear HOB's ? I am thinking Activated carbon in one, suggestions for the other?
I am aware that these can become nitrate traps, BUT wit 20 Discus, 7 of which are juvies I am in this fishroom everyday doing something.
maintenance is not an issue andi plan on rinsing and cleaning thes out once a week.

2. Temperature?? I plan on 80 degrees. is this ideal?
3. already ask, I should be good with water flow, correct?

feel free to add anything you feel needs brought up, suggestions are never frowned upon with me.

thanks, Tom

 

[Reefing Madness]

 

[revhtree]

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[NanaReefer]

Get a refractormeter and a good reef test kit. Research! Good luck and welcome to the world of reefing

 

[dghby]

Get a refractormeter and a good reef test kit. Research! Good luck and welcome to the world of reefing

Reef test kit is in the mail. I have a hydro but will look in the refractormeter. thanks for the info.

So, couple questions

1. what type of media should I use for these Aquaclear HOB's ? I am thinking Activated carbon in one, suggestions for the other?
I am aware that these can become nitrate traps, BUT wit 20 Discus, 7 of which are juvies I am in this fishroom everyday doing something.
maintenance is not an issue andi plan on rinsing and cleaning thes out once a week.

2. Temperature?? I plan on 80 degrees. is this ideal?
3. already ask, I should be good with water flow, correct?

feel free to add anything you feel needs brought up, suggestions are never frowned upon with me.

thanks, Tom

 

[Sully]

I would run Chemi pure in one. Not sure you need the second. For a little over kill you could also run a purapad in the HOB.

I would personally shoot for 78 but I think 80 is fine depending on what you keep.

Flow looks good to me.

Reef test kit is in the mail. I have a hydro but will look in the refractormeter. thanks for the info.

So, couple questions

1. what type of media should I use for these Aquaclear HOB's ? I am thinking Activated carbon in one, suggestions for the other?
I am aware that these can become nitrate traps, BUT wit 20 Discus, 7 of which are juvies I am in this fishroom everyday doing something.
maintenance is not an issue andi plan on rinsing and cleaning thes out once a week.

2. Temperature?? I plan on 80 degrees. is this ideal?
3. already ask, I should be good with water flow, correct?

feel free to add anything you feel needs brought up, suggestions are never frowned upon with me.

thanks, Tom

 

[dghby]

I would run Chemi pure in one. Not sure you need the second. For a little over kill you could also run a purapad in the HOB.

I would personally shoot for 78 but I think 80 is fine depending on what you keep.

Flow looks good to me.

Thanks Sully, I have changed my mind on the temp. all fish I am looking at are rated for 72-78 degrees. should I go 78 for them or 76.

definitely look into the Chemi pure, ahould I do the purapad in the other HOB, I am all about overkill when it comes to filtration.

 

[dghby]

OK, how about a shot at a stocking list.

please give me your thoughts, I have researched as much as possible. now time to ask the experts what they think.

* means really don't want to delete from the list

2 - Ocellarius Clownfish *
1 - Kole yellow eye Tang *
1- Dwarf Flame Angel *
1 - Lemon Butterfly Fish *
1 - Wrasse 6 line
1 - Green Manderin
1 - Royal gramma Basslet
1 - Green Clown Goby
3 - Spotted Cardinal

???? what do you think???

 

[Sully]

The one thing I'd concerned with would be the cardinal fish. Not sure how they would do as they are peaceful. The Mandarin would have to wait 8-12 months to ensure your pod population will support it. Also heard people here say the clown gobies aren't reef safe but others say they've not had any issues.

Yes, the purapads go in the HOB filter.

OK, how about a shot at a stocking list.

please give me your thoughts, I have researched as much as possible. now time to ask the experts what they think.

* means really don't want to delete from the list

2 - Ocellarius Clownfish *
1 - Kole yellow eye Tang *
1- Dwarf Flame Angel *
1 - Lemon Butterfly Fish *
1 - Wrasse 6 line
1 - Green Manderin
1 - Royal gramma Basslet
1 - Green Clown Goby
3 - Spotted Cardinal

???? what do you think???

 

[fishroomlady]

I think your stock list looks good. I've never kept one but six-lines have been known to be aggressive - should add toward one of the last fish - there are a ton of very colorful wrasses - as already said, you'll want some maturity of your tank before looking at a mandarin - I'm not a fan of cardinals - I love my flamehawk and midas blenny - you may also want to look at a goby/pistol shrimp pair - very unique little relationship they have - I love the looks of the yellow watchman goby.

 

[stan13ag]

I'll say that I think that is a lot of rock....

I would only do around 60 lbs or order around 50 pounds of dry reef saver rock

 

[mfinn]

As long as you have plenty of time to plan it out, I'd drill the tank and plan on adding a sump.
Eliminate the hang-on's

 

[Karen]

Welcome!

 

[Eienna]

First of all...don't run it with HOBs. It can be done but it's a royal pain in the butt, especially if you want corals. Invest in a tank with overflows, and sump, and a good skimmer from the get-go.

I would eliminate the sixline. They can be killers. Yes, some are nice, but...

Be aware that mandarin is going to require a good pod population. Mine took a bottle or two of tigger-pods (and the occasional addition of three of four bottles) PER MONTH to maintain him, and he was small still. I loved him but they are money-eaters...said bottles are about $30 a pop.

 

[dghby]

OK,
made some changes

2 - Ocellarius Clownfish *
1 - Kole yellow eye Tang *
1- Dwarf Flame Angel *
1 - Lemon Butterfly Fish *
1 - Royal gramma Basslet

new additions
1 - Flame Hawkfish
1 - Red Head Solon fairy wrasse
1- Tiger snapping Shrimp ( I am thinking this is a Piistol Shrimp, please correct me if I am wrong)
1- Peppermint Shrimp
1 - yellow prawn goby

thoughts please, if something doesn't work let me know why.
feel free to make other suggestions and let me know what I should eliminate or if I can add anything else without eliminating.

thanks, Tom

 

[3dees]

most butterflies are not reef safe. flame angel is hit or miss.

 

[mikellini]

OK,
made some changes

2 - Ocellarius Clownfish *
1 - Kole yellow eye Tang *
1- Dwarf Flame Angel *
1 - Lemon Butterfly Fish *
1 - Royal gramma Basslet

new additions
1 - Flame Hawkfish
1 - Red Head Solon fairy wrasse
1- Tiger snapping Shrimp ( I am thinking this is a Piistol Shrimp, please correct me if I am wrong)
1- Peppermint Shrimp
1 - yellow prawn goby

thoughts please, if something doesn't work let me know why.
feel free to make other suggestions and let me know what I should eliminate or if I can add anything else without eliminating.

thanks, Tom

The Flame Hawkfish will most likely eat your shrimp. Otherwise they're a great fish. I would suggest holding off on the butterfly, probably the most difficult to keep on your list but if everything is going well with all of the other inhabitants you could consider adding it last. If you are mostly interested in fish, then don't worry too much about 'reef safe', but if you're planning on spending big bucks on corals, you want to be sure your fish won't make a meal out of them. In that case, both the butterfly and the flame angel should be very carefully considered.

 

[dghby]

The Flame Hawkfish will most likely eat your shrimp. Otherwise they're a great fish. I would suggest holding off on the butterfly, probably the most difficult to keep on your list but if everything is going well with all of the other inhabitants you could consider adding it last. If you are mostly interested in fish, then don't worry too much about 'reef safe', but if you're planning on spending big bucks on corals, you want to be sure your fish won't make a meal out of them. In that case, both the butterfly and the flame angel should be very carefully considered.

Thanks Mike, I don't believe I will get carried away in this tank with corals. maybe a seprate tank for that. not sayin I won't have them just be more focused on the fish.
I was thinking that of the Hawkfish ( anything yo would recommend instead?) and I understood the lemon butterfly to be a good beginner fish???

I also understood that the flame and butterfly angels were coral nippers and not necessarily ones that would destroy the corals??

 

[mikellini]

Some are fine, some will eat the polyps to the point of killing the coral. It's a roll of the dice... IMO there are better beginner fish out there. Have a look on liveaquaria, they have a section of beginner friendly fish

 

[mikellini]

Beginner Fish: Tropical Fish for Beginners in Saltwater Aquariums

Just be careful with ones that are described as "reef compatible with caution". Also I personally would avoid dottybacks and most damsels just due to aggression, but they sure are hardy