SkinnyPete
Aquarium Advice Freak
I've struggled with this, back and forth. I need some advice and opinions.
I have 110 gallon tall tank (29" high x 48" wide), not the greatest dimensions I've lived and learned. Anyway, I've got tons of rock and lots of water movement was planning on a reef eventually when I upgrade my lights (4x65w PC right now). Been running for a year and a half, lightly stocked until recently. I've got a medium sized yellow tang, two perc clowns, a green mandarin, and a zebra moray eel. I have a 50 gallon sump with about a 15 gallon fuge built in, running an ASM G3 skimmer and about 170ish pounds of live rock (maybe a bit more). I don't have any coral except one rock with mushrooms. I don't have any inverts except some snails, several hitchiker pencil stars, one peppermint shrimp who lives with my eel, and a pesky hitchhiker pistol shrimp that I wouldn't mind losing...he's a digger.
Okay, so the dilemma is a porcupine puffer fish. My wife really wants one (don't they all?), but I'm not thrilled with the constraints it will put on me as far as inverts go. I was also a little worried about bioload with a porc AND a moray. But, so far my eel hasn't had an impact on water quality with the skimmer and water changes. EVerything has been fine.
Now, I know all fish are different and people have had dumb luck with keeping porcs with different things, but my questions are more general rule... if I surprise my wife with a porc puffer for her birthday next week, aside from sacrificing my reef plan, what would I have to sacrifice as far as livestock? I'm assuming the shrimp, clowns, and mandarin would have to go, a shame since I built the fuge just for my little mandarin. The tang may be okay? My inverts gone including snails? Also, I've got 20-30x water movement in there. Too strong for a porc? Thought I read they don't do well with lots of water movement since they aren't great swimmers.
Lastly, if I'm willing to sacrifice everything and go with a predatory tank with eel and porc, with my set-up, what other livestock can I afford (bioload-wise) to stock in addition? I'm not maxed out with probably about 140 gallons of total water volume am I? Maybe add a trigger or something? Not interested in lions. And I do realize that there is a chance the porc would outgrow the 110. We may be upgrading to a longer tank in the next year...I'm not a fan of the 110.
Sorry, I'm kind of all over the place...I'm just trying to make a decision. I may do a nanoreef with a 29 I have, so I may finally be okay sacrificing the 110 as a reef.
Any opinions would be highly appreciated. Thanks. Sorry this email was so ADD.
- Skins
I have 110 gallon tall tank (29" high x 48" wide), not the greatest dimensions I've lived and learned. Anyway, I've got tons of rock and lots of water movement was planning on a reef eventually when I upgrade my lights (4x65w PC right now). Been running for a year and a half, lightly stocked until recently. I've got a medium sized yellow tang, two perc clowns, a green mandarin, and a zebra moray eel. I have a 50 gallon sump with about a 15 gallon fuge built in, running an ASM G3 skimmer and about 170ish pounds of live rock (maybe a bit more). I don't have any coral except one rock with mushrooms. I don't have any inverts except some snails, several hitchiker pencil stars, one peppermint shrimp who lives with my eel, and a pesky hitchhiker pistol shrimp that I wouldn't mind losing...he's a digger.
Okay, so the dilemma is a porcupine puffer fish. My wife really wants one (don't they all?), but I'm not thrilled with the constraints it will put on me as far as inverts go. I was also a little worried about bioload with a porc AND a moray. But, so far my eel hasn't had an impact on water quality with the skimmer and water changes. EVerything has been fine.
Now, I know all fish are different and people have had dumb luck with keeping porcs with different things, but my questions are more general rule... if I surprise my wife with a porc puffer for her birthday next week, aside from sacrificing my reef plan, what would I have to sacrifice as far as livestock? I'm assuming the shrimp, clowns, and mandarin would have to go, a shame since I built the fuge just for my little mandarin. The tang may be okay? My inverts gone including snails? Also, I've got 20-30x water movement in there. Too strong for a porc? Thought I read they don't do well with lots of water movement since they aren't great swimmers.
Lastly, if I'm willing to sacrifice everything and go with a predatory tank with eel and porc, with my set-up, what other livestock can I afford (bioload-wise) to stock in addition? I'm not maxed out with probably about 140 gallons of total water volume am I? Maybe add a trigger or something? Not interested in lions. And I do realize that there is a chance the porc would outgrow the 110. We may be upgrading to a longer tank in the next year...I'm not a fan of the 110.
Sorry, I'm kind of all over the place...I'm just trying to make a decision. I may do a nanoreef with a 29 I have, so I may finally be okay sacrificing the 110 as a reef.
Any opinions would be highly appreciated. Thanks. Sorry this email was so ADD.
- Skins
