Opinion on my stocking list

steveo9043

I created a spreadsheet on excel to make sure all the parameters can be met and they are all identical then added the full adult size to make sure I dont over stock.

Tank = 72G bow front, starting with a FOWLR tank and maybe adding coral in the future.



I really want a tang to go with the clown fish but my tank isn't large enough according to liveaquaria.

I also want to add 2 of these clean up crews

Saltwater Aquarium Inverts for Marine Reef Aquariums: The Keep It Clean Caribbean Package

What do ya'll think?

onefish2fish

ive never kept chromis but ive heard of them slowly picking off the weaker one until your left with 1. i dont know how true that is, but potentially something to research. the cardinals will also eventually pair up and go after the others in the tank. i think i would only add a pair of them.

i think you could do a single tang in this tank, i would advise a kole, tomini or bristletooth ( c. flavicauda or c.truncatus ) all of which are "smaller" tangs

inches of fish isnt an accurate estimate, esp. in a saltwater tank. the live rock will take up a good amount of space which is why you want to create good gaps, arches, pillars and such to enable fish to interact with their environment ( as well as good water flow ) not to mention fish create territories, some may have specific feeding habits, different bio-loads, tempers, and so forth which can all impact the number of fish.

as for your clean up crew option, 2 coral banded shrimp will kill each other, and potentially other shrimp. i also see alot of crabs, which i personally am not a fan of. they are opportunistic feeders and will eat what they get their hands on, this can include hermits which ive found like to kill snails for their shells. of course people can and do keep crabs, i just personally like my tanks without them and use a nice variety of snails and maybe a cleaner shrimp, instead of a coral banded shrimp ( which somewhat acts more like a lobster )

maybe check out reefcleaners.org, and remember its alot easier to start out with less and order/buy more down the road if needed then to try and re-home critters.

steveo9043

Thanks for the reply. I should of added these will not all be purchased together or even at a quick pace. Once I have the tank setup I am giving myself a $100 a month budget on food/chemicals/fish/etc. So this WILL take a while to accomplish. Obviously anything I don't spend out of that $100 for month 1 gets added to month 2.

As for the Chromis, I have decided to only get one.

Cardinals 2 will work good?

I think i am adding a jawfish and/or a watchman gobie in the mix and taking the butterfly out of the equation.

are there any shrimp that can get along together? I like shrimp! lol

steveo9043

UPDATED LIST:

Reefing Madness

Looks doable. And yea, you can get a few Peppermint Shrimp.

onefish2fish

a watchman goby and pistol shrimp makes a fun combo

Reefing Madness

steveo9043

well went out yesterday and bought a few lbs of live sand... need to pick up about 60 more lbs of regular sand.

I also picked up 45lbs of rock.

my favorite rock so far


also... WHAT IS THIS?

it fits perfectly inside the inlet side of my refugium

steveo9043

is it really a protein skimmer? I found some images on google and its ontop of the inlet and when the water comes in it bubbles and then catches like a mechanical protein skimmer?

Reefing Madness

I have aboslutely no idea what that thing is.