55 Gallon reef tank stocking ideas

[POIUY678]

Hi, as the title suggests, I'll be stocking my 55 gallon tank that I'm also planning to turn into a reef tank. Here are my ideas so far, please let me know if there are any problems or improvements, thanks

2 ocerallis clownfish
1 purple firefish
3 pajama cardinal
1 diamond watchman goby
1 longnose hawkfish
1 Carpenter's wrasse
1 Chalk Bass (maybe, if it's not too overstocked, let me know)
1 cleaner shrimp (CUC)
other CUC I haven't decided yet.

The tank will mostly contain Soft corals and LPS corals

 

[thomas_neil]

Hi, as the title suggests, I'll be stocking my 55 gallon tank that I'm also planning to turn into a reef tank. Here are my ideas so far, please let me know if there are any problems or improvements, thanks

2 ocerallis clownfish
1 purple firefish
3 pajama cardinal
1 diamond watchman goby
1 longnose hawkfish
1 Carpenter's wrasse
1 Chalk Bass (maybe, if it's not too overstocked, let me know)
1 cleaner shrimp (CUC)
other CUC I haven't decided yet.

The tank will mostly contain Soft corals and LPS corals

The hawk fish will most likely kill any shrimp you put in the tank. Other than that you should be fine. As long as everyone has hiding spots and space to swim youll be good.

 

[Andreas' Reef]

Hawkfish may kill ornamental shrimp like sexy shrimp. May be fine with cleaner shrimp. Instead of a chalk bass I would get a royal gramma but its up to you.

 

[kevgib67]

I love my diamond watchman goby, so much fun to watch and a great personality. You will need a well established sand bed to meet its nutritional needs. I would wait about 6 months for that to occur before adding it. That being said, mine eats everything I put in like a pig. Pretty sure if I put in a slice of pizza it would eat it. Good luck and nice selection of fish. I agree with Andrea’s Reef about the royal gramma, mine’s color really pops.

 

[ElementReefer]

Hi, as the title suggests, I'll be stocking my 55 gallon tank that I'm also planning to turn into a reef tank. Here are my ideas so far, please let me know if there are any problems or improvements, thanks

2 ocerallis clownfish
1 purple firefish
3 pajama cardinal
1 diamond watchman goby
1 longnose hawkfish
1 Carpenter's wrasse
1 Chalk Bass (maybe, if it's not too overstocked, let me know)
1 cleaner shrimp (CUC)
other CUC I haven't decided yet.

The tank will mostly contain Soft corals and LPS corals

I have a 55 and it is stocked similar to this actually. Only difference is instead of the goby I have a blenny, a melanarus wrasse, and a foxface instead of a bass.

My female clown killed the male, no idea why except that they were always fairly even in size.
Purp firefish spends about 80% of the day in a cave.
PJ cardinals are nocturnal, during the day mine literally float in place in one spot.
The rest of my fish have been fantastic. Lawnmower B is very inquisitive, friendly, and a wonderful algae eater. The wrasse and foxface are active and peaceful, they follow each other everywhere hunting pods and algae, respectively.

 

[POIUY678]

I have a 55 and it is stocked similar to this actually. Only difference is instead of the goby I have a blenny, a melanarus wrasse, and a foxface instead of a bass.

My female clown killed the male, no idea why except that they were always fairly even in size.
Purp firefish spends about 80% of the day in a cave.
PJ cardinals are nocturnal, during the day mine literally float in place in one spot.
The rest of my fish have been fantastic. Lawnmower B is very inquisitive, friendly, and a wonderful algae eater. The wrasse and foxface are active and peaceful, they follow each other everywhere hunting pods and algae, respectively.

How many PJ cardinals do you have in your tank?
Doesn't a foxface require a bigger tank size than 55 gallon?

 

[ElementReefer]

How many PJ cardinals do you have in your tank?
Doesn't a foxface require a bigger tank size than 55 gallon?

I have 3. They don’t school, but they don’t kill each other either so I let them do them.

The foxface is still small, but my view on tank size is that it’s one part a blend of factors that you balance to keep your fish happy. I was *right* on the edge about getting one. 55 isn’t a ton of water, I certainly wouldn’t get a hippo tang for example, but it is 4’ long. It’s plenty of run length to keep a wrasse and one rabbit fish moving around quite vigorously all day. I also have a pretty open aqua scape and a lighter bio load. If he turns into a giant chonker (he might) or displays signs of stress, boredom etc, then “oh no it’s time to upgrade to that Waterbox 104.5”

 

[sam2216]

I have 3. They don’t school, but they don’t kill each other either so I let them do them.

The foxface is still small, but my view on tank size is that it’s one part a blend of factors that you balance to keep your fish happy. I was *right* on the edge about getting one. 55 isn’t a ton of water, I certainly wouldn’t get a hippo tang for example, but it is 4’ long. It’s plenty of run length to keep a wrasse and one rabbit fish moving around quite vigorously all day. I also have a pretty open aqua scape and a lighter bio load. If he turns into a giant chonker (he might) or displays signs of stress, boredom etc, then “oh no it’s time to upgrade to that Waterbox 104.5”

what happened now? still in the same tank or bigger? I plan to keep one in a 55 gallon too.

 

[ElementReefer]

what happened now? still in the same tank or bigger? I plan to keep one in a 55 gallon too.

He’s doing great, and has been invaluable for algae control. I recently upgraded to a 110 gallon system (pic), but he seemed happy in the 55.

 

[littlefoxx]

Hi, as the title suggests, I'll be stocking my 55 gallon tank that I'm also planning to turn into a reef tank. Here are my ideas so far, please let me know if there are any problems or improvements, thanks

2 ocerallis clownfish
1 purple firefish
3 pajama cardinal
1 diamond watchman goby
1 longnose hawkfish
1 Carpenter's wrasse
1 Chalk Bass (maybe, if it's not too overstocked, let me know)
1 cleaner shrimp (CUC)
other CUC I haven't decided yet.

The tank will mostly contain Soft corals and LPS corals

Looks good but hawks dont mix with shrimps as already said

 

[Exotrezy]

The hawk fish will most likely kill any shrimp you put in the tank. Other than that you should be fine. As long as everyone has hiding spots and space to swim youll be good.

Hey, I was planning on getting a 4ft 55 gallon and was wondering if I could keep a Tang in there. Something like a tomini.

 

[sam2216]

Hey, I was planning on getting a 4ft 55 gallon and was wondering if I could keep a Tang in there. Something like a tomini.

I have a tomini in a 55 gallon now and he's doing great.

 

[Exotrezy]

I have a tomini in a 55 gallon now and he's doing great.

Ok

 

[ElementReefer]

Ok

For the love of god don’t reef in a 55 gallon. Get a 40 breeder or a 75.

Yours truly,

Someone who reefed in a 55 for 3 years

 

[Exotrezy]

For the love of god don’t reef in a 55 gallon. Get a 40 breeder or a 75.

Yours truly,

Someone who reefed in a 55 for 3 years

Why? I am thinking either 55 or 75 but can’t find any good deals on 75. 75 was my original plan but deals were good on 55 so I was thinking maybe I can try it.

 

[ElementReefer]

Why? I am thinking either 55 or 75 but can’t find any good deals on 75. 75 was my original plan but deals were good on 55 so I was thinking maybe I can try it.

It’s a bowling alley. Long yeah, but it’s only 11” wide. You can’t really aquascape it, and even when you do, there’s not enough width for things to grow out and cleaning it is a pain.

I could never figure out a good flow pattern that didn’t involve putting power heads where I didn’t want them. I tried a gyre, it was too much. The narrow space funnels all the flow into a jet.

I would go with a 75. Same length, you get the width you need for good indirect flow, good pad for aquascaping. And the extra water volume makes your parameters more easy to control. Things don’t change as fast.

A good alternative is the 60 breeder, but they tend to be expensive.

 

[sam2216]

It’s a bowling alley. Long yeah, but it’s only 11” wide. You can’t really aquascape it, and even when you do, there’s not enough width for things to grow out and cleaning it is a pain.

I could never figure out a good flow pattern that didn’t involve putting power heads where I didn’t want them. I tried a gyre, it was too much. The narrow space funnels all the flow into a jet.

I would go with a 75. Same length, you get the width you need for good indirect flow, good pad for aquascaping. And the extra water volume makes your parameters more easy to control. Things don’t change as fast.

A good alternative is the 60 breeder, but they tend to be expensive.

Yea, true. The only reason why I have a 55-gallon is because the place where I keep it is a bit awkward, and the width of the 55-gallon fits best. I had a 29-gallon before, and it was the same width.