What do you think of this setup?

[seafan]

Thanks to spiderman for suggesting Michael Paletta's The New Marine Aquarium I changed my plans completely and now want a set up like this. 55gal glass tank. 1"-2" coral sand bed (collected from a dredger off the Miami,FL coast). Remora protein skimmer with maxi-jet12000 + Pre-Skimmer. 90 lbs of LR from (www.liverocks.com). Two Maxi jet 1200 ph's. 2*96 actinic+full spectrum light hood.

For fish I want to get 1.Ocellaris Clownfish 2. Orchid dottyback 3. (4) green/blue chromis 4.Royal Gramma 5.Yellow Tang

In the order I'll put in my tank. [/list]

 

[sicklidkid]

UNless you plan to upgrade you should pass on the tang.

 

[blorkiemom]

Seafan, I really like the Paletta book but I've learned that some of his stocking recommendations don't agree with what folks on here say--he okays a regal tang in a 55, IIRC, and on here most say the bare minimum is a 75 and really at least a 90. So if you got your yellow tang recommendation from Paletta, you might get some disagreement on this board. But it's still a great book!

 

[darb2]

sounds good on the equip. I like a bit more sand, but each tank is different.
I would try to get fish tr. And would reccomend clowns in pairs. And the tang is questionable, they enjoy the swimming room of a larger tank. He should alsop go in last if you decide to get a small one.

 

[seafan]

Ok, I had my heart set on a tang, can you recommend any tang-like fish, or algae eaters.

 

[millipede]

nice avatar sicklidkid
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=3223&password=&sort=1&cat=500&page=4

Sounds pretty exciting seafan... can't wait to see some pictures.

 

[xxmoorishmanxx]

be careful with the three dotty's they can be tempramental with eachother, orchids aren't as bad as arabians, but there is still a chance of aggression

 

[seafan]

They can be temperamental, I thought they were schooling fish? Also, the clown I want to get is aquacultured, will it know what an anemone is. I also want more and but it is illegal to collect sand in florida (I think), so I had to save on the sand.

 

[Salttanker]

It sounds like you are off to a good start there. I would hold off on the Tang as well. They are beautiful specimens, but speaking from experience with a 90G, it is a challenge to maintain due to their sensitive nature. What about a Lemonpeel Angelfish? I don't know much about it, but they are colorful as well.

" The Lemonpeel Angelfish requires a 30 gallon or larger aquarium with hiding places and large amounts of live rock to graze on the microalgae growth. It is very prone to nip at large-polyped stony corals and clam mantles. It is best not to keep Lemonpeel Angelfish with fish of the same genera."

Liveaquaria.com quote

Mike

 

[sicklidkid]

thanks millipede, you gotta love spongebob!

 

[austinsdad]

I would only recommend 2 orchids Dottybacks, not 3. One male and a female. The tails look completely different between the two - so if the tails look alike, don't get both. Two males or two females will fight. I've read that the orchid is about the most peaceful of the dottybacks, but two of the same sex in a 55g is asking for trouble.

Looked at the yellow eyed Kole tang? One of the smaller ones and a bristletooth variety that can help keep algae mowed on the rocks. Let's see what others may say about that in a 55g.