Stock list and fish introduction order for a 6 foot 150 or 180g reef

[BelieveInBlue]

So it's come to my attention that some of my freshwater tanks downstairs are nearing the end of their lifespans and could use replacing or upgrading. Then I had the idea that instead of upgrading to a larger freshwater system, I could upgrade to a 6 foot reef system.

Here's the stock list I've come up with so far. Let me know what you guys think. Tank will be a mixed reef leaning towards SPS, probably something like 60% SPS 30% LPS 10% zoa/palys.

TANGS: 1 tomini, 1 yellow-eye kole, 1 white tail bristletooth, 1 yellow OR purple --- 4 tangs total
WRASSES: 1 yellow coris, 1 melanurus, 1 radiant, 1 red lined (H. biocellatus) ----- 4 wrasses total, all Halichoeres. I will have a sand bed around 1.5-2 inches. From what I can tell yellow coris + melanurus wrasses are a pretty common combo and do fine together, so I figured 1 more shouldn't be an issue, but 4 might be pushing it? Any experience here?
BLENNIES: 1 starry, 1 lawnmower, 1 midas, 1 bi-colour
GOBIES: 1 diamond sandsifter, 1 golden head sandsifter, 1 purple firefish
ANTHIAS: thinking 5 lyretail anthias, all females to start, eventually ending with 1m4f. Is this too many for a 150/180? I would like a trio at least
BASSLET: 1 black cap. I don't foresee any issues here.
ANGELS: trio of Genicanthus, leaning towards bellus angels; 1m2f or 3f which should hopefully turn into 1m2f. Thoughts on this? I picked G. bellus on purpose because they apparently don't get as large as some of the others (~7" max size)
BUTTERFLYFISH: 1 copperband, maybe 1 yellow pyramid? I assume a trio of them would be too much for this tank size in addition to the angels? I'd be ok with cutting the CBB and a tang to accomodate the trio. Could also cut the lyretails to a trio as well.
DAMSELS: 1 talbot's, 1 black cap, 1 azure, 1 yellow tail, 1 green chromis. Still not sure on the chromis tbh. Probably add one as part of the initial introduction if I can find healthy ones (no uronema) and see what happens. I've seen plenty of people mix 2-3 Chrysiptera species with no issues. Wonder if 4 is pushing it, but I figure it's worth a shot?

Now for the order of introduction. This is where I'm not as certain. Took a look around my LFS and also what's available online. Plan is to add fish every 2-3 weeks, assuming nothing goes wrong (hey let me dream).

First introductions after tank cycles: midas blenny, bi-colour blenny, purple firefish, maybe green chromis

second round: yellow coris wrasse, melanurus wrasse, diamond goby, golden head goby, lawnmower blenny

round 3: lyretail anthias group

round 4: black cap basslet, radiant wrasse, red lined wrasse ---- ideally I'd like to add all 4 wrasses at once but these 2 aren't as common and I'll likely have to special order them

round 5: tomini tang, yellow eye kole tang, white tail bristletooth tang

round 6: bellus angelfish trio

round 7: yellow pyramid butterfly trio. If not, then CBB + damsels. Also, I heard yellow pyramids can be shy, especially with more boisterous fish like tangs. Would adding these early on be a good idea? From what I've read/heard, they're not as delicate as other butterflyfish, but they are still butterflyfish.

Final round (if pyramid butterfly): damsels, purple OR yellow tang - may skip these if the butterfly trio is added.

Thoughts on this order? I'd like to add the wrasses fairly early on just in case anything sneaks pass my coral dips. I can probably delay the tangs as long as I don't run into a massive algae outbreak. They're likely the most aggressive fish on this list, especially the purple tang if I go with that, so I'm fine with adding them last if need be. I'm also not certain on when to the add lyretails. I've seen some people mention that they can be aggressive, but it seems like only males are aggressive, and most of it is towards the females. They also seem to be fairly slow to change sex, so I figure if I add a group of all females I should have a good number of months before any issues could pop up.

 

[MnFish1]

Planning is great, but since you asked - IMHO, you might be trying to 'over plan'. There is no way to answer whether the plan you made above is the 'best' - or whether it will work. There are lots of times, when I've added fish and there were totally unexpected reactions fighting, aggression, etc. But here are my suggestions:

1. If you're going to do that many fish, I would source them from the same place, and preferable a place where you can observe them.
2. Have a good QT system in place (at least observation).
3. Chromis (especially 1) - seem hard - and can bring in other diseases
4. I would play the order by ear. Damsels can be extremely scrappy and territorial. Tangs, depending on size are not always 'the most aggressive'

Not meant to criticise - but you asked for an opinion. That seems like 'a lot' of fish. Probably adding them over several months. You can also add some 'bottled bacteria' per directions - with new additions. It will be a nice tank. Good luck with it

 

[BelieveInBlue]

Planning is great, but since you asked - IMHO, you might be trying to 'over plan'. There is no way to answer whether the plan you made above is the 'best' - or whether it will work. There are lots of times, when I've added fish and there were totally unexpected reactions fighting, aggression, etc. But here are my suggestions:

1. If you're going to do that many fish, I would source them from the same place, and preferable a place where you can observe them.
2. Have a good QT system in place (at least observation).
3. Chromis (especially 1) - seem hard - and can bring in other diseases
4. I would play the order by ear. Damsels can be extremely scrappy and territorial. Tangs, depending on size are not always 'the most aggressive'

Not meant to criticise - but you asked for an opinion. That seems like 'a lot' of fish. Probably adding them over several months. You can also add some 'bottled bacteria' per directions - with new additions. It will be a nice tank. Good luck with it

I'm definitely overplanning. Not much else I can do since I still need to rehome my freshwater set ups and purchase a saltwater one.

I do plan on getting all my fish from one source; they do a pretty rigorous quarantine method that includes copper, prazipro, metro, and freshwater dips, amongst others. However, they are the next province over, which is part of why I wanted to plan things out, to minimize shipping costs.

Chromis and damsels I'm still not sold on, and will probably skip them.

I'll probably also go down to 2-3 tangs and 2-3 wrasses. Still hopeful on the pyramid butterfly trio, but maybe I'll just settle for 1. Could also cut an anthias or 2.

I have microbacter7 on hand and I'll be doing it every time fish are added for sure.

Criticism is more than welcome. Especially from people with more experience. Much better to learn from other people's mistakes than your own since it doesn't cost money .

 

[MnFish1]

I'm definitely overplanning. Not much else I can do since I still need to rehome my freshwater set ups and purchase a saltwater one.

I do plan on getting all my fish from one source; they do a pretty rigorous quarantine method that includes copper, prazipro, metro, and freshwater dips, amongst others. However, they are the next province over, which is part of why I wanted to plan things out, to minimize shipping costs.

Chromis and damsels I'm still not sold on, and will probably skip them.

I'll probably also go down to 2-3 tangs and 2-3 wrasses. Still hopeful on the pyramid butterfly trio, but maybe I'll just settle for 1. Could also cut an anthias or 2.

I have microbacter7 on hand and I'll be doing it every time fish are added for sure.

Criticism is more than welcome. Especially from people with more experience. Much better to learn from other people's mistakes than your own since it doesn't cost money .

I think the most important thing is the source of the fish. Healthy, etc. The sooner you can get them from the store to the tank the better. I know canada is a little different (I'm assuming you're from canada) - 1 Provence can be 900 miles away.

 

[JumboShrimp]

In a 180 I’d skip all those wrasse and get one fantastic Paddlefin Wrasse— and grow him out to be a monster.

 

[BelieveInBlue]

I think the most important thing is the source of the fish. Healthy, etc. The sooner you can get them from the store to the tank the better. I know canada is a little different (I'm assuming you're from canada) - 1 Provence can be 900 miles away.

Yea I'm Canadian lol. He's in Edmonton, so not too bad shipping wise. I've bought fish from him before and they've been excellent.

In a 180 I’d skip all those wrasse and get one fantastic Paddlefin Wrasse— and grow him out to be a monster.

Beautiful fish. Unfortunately, it seems to get pretty mean, and doesn't eat a lot of pests. They're also known to go after shrimp it seems which'll be problematic since I want skunk cleaners/blood reds. Definitely going to add this to the list for my FOWLR though. Hopefully they aren't too rare up north.

I always dip my corals, and if I see pests I'll scrub it down with a brush, but it's nice to have the extra insurance.