Stocking Questions

[Bettababe1011]

I'll probably have t5's. I just have to find affordable ones! So I'll skip on the colony polyp for now, I think it would drive me nuts to have it spreading all over!

 

[Bettababe1011]

This is my definite list for now:
2 Occelaris Clownfish (one regular & one b&w)
1 Orange Lined Cardinalfish
1 Yellow Banded Possumn Wrasse
6 Sexy Anemone Shrimp
2 Purple Firefish
3? Peppermint Shrimp
1 Skunk Cleaner

What else can be added from my list of possibles, or am I stocked?

 

[Bettababe1011]

Oh, and what about a couple of halimeda plants?

 

[Bettababe1011]

Okay, for a clean up crew, what do you think of this:
3 scarlet reef hermits
10? nassarius snails
? Astrea Turbo Snails or Mexican Turbo snails
? Cerith snails

That is the build your own option on liveaquaria, and here is the 55 gallon pack on reef cleaners:
ReefCleaners.org | Clean Up Crews and Macro Algae - Quick Crew w/Hermits (55 Gallon)

Is the reefcleaners one too full? Should I get a smaller sized one?

 

[Bettababe1011]

Anyone have any answers to my questions?

 

[Bettababe1011]

Found a bunch of the stuff I need at my lfs. They have a good protein skimmer, granted its expensive, but my dad is going to help me buy stuff. The lfs has live rock for like, 11 bucks a pound, with a special of 7 bucks for the next few days, live sand for 1.50 a pound. They have actinic lights. Will those work? They also are getting the API Master Saltwater test kit back in soon.

 

[carey]

You can use just a few lbs of live rock so it shouldnt be too too bad. The actinics are the "blue" lights that you will need for coral.

Do you have a light fixture in mind? Or have you not gotten that far yet?

 

[Bettababe1011]

I'm not really sure on the fixture. They have the lights in the back, so they might have fixtures back there with them. Would lights go in the hood that came with the tank, or would they not fit?

 

[Bettababe1011]

I'm gonna get a little bit of live rock and the rest just dry rock. Where can I get the dry stuff?

 

[carey]

I'm not sure what you mean with the lights, lol , do you have a picture of it?

I get my base rock from reefcleaners.org, abotu $100 shipped for 50lbs

 

[Bettababe1011]

I can get a picture posted when I get to my moms. What about the clean up crews?

 

[carey]

If you are going to have coral frags i would stay away from the turbo snails. They are bulldozers and knock things down all the time. lol

otherwise looks good, you can even add a few things here or there. But start out small on the cuc and then increase if you need or want to. I happen to love nassarius snails so i always have way too many of them but its ok since I like them so much. Also, nassarius snails dont eat algae btw, they eat leftover food and other stuff though and sift the sand decently enough

 

[Bettababe1011]

If you are going to have coral frags i would stay away from the turbo snails. They are bulldozers and knock things down all the time. lol

otherwise looks good, you can even add a few things here or there. But start out small on the cuc and then increase if you need or want to. I happen to love nassarius snails so i always have way too many of them but its ok since I like them so much. Also, nassarius snails dont eat algae btw, they eat leftover food and other stuff though and sift the sand decently enough

Okay, I will skip on the turbos then. That's why I wanted the nassarius, so they could sift through my sand. The ceriths eat algae, don't they? The hermits are okay? How many of each would you say? I have absolutely no clue where to start on numbers!

 

[Bettababe1011]

5 scarlet reef hermits
15 nassarius snails
15 Cerith snails
1 fighting conch

Does that sound good? Is it too much for all at once, or can I add it all at the same time?

 

[Bettababe1011]

I'm not sure what you mean with the lights, lol , do you have a picture of it?

So, my question is if this hood will hold actinic bulbs, or if its completely different.




That's the best pic I can get. Its just a regular tank hood.

 

[carey]

If youre planning on corals you will for sure need a new light. :-( That looks like a standard T8 bulb setup.

You can get a fixture pretty cheap at fish need it;lights; food;Sponge and it has legs so you wont need that hood at all.

For the intital setup and cycle you can of course use that hood though.

 

[Bettababe1011]

Okay. Thanks.

 

[Bettababe1011]

This is the stocking I'm planning:
2 Occelaris Clownfish (one regular & one b&w)
1 Orange Lined Cardinalfish
1 Yellow Banded Possumn Wrasse
6 Sexy Anemone Shrimp
2 Purple Firefish
1 Royal Gramma
3? Peppermint Shrimp
1 Skunk Cleaner

What order should these go in? Shrimp first or later? Maybe this order:
Orange Lined Cardinalfish
Yellow Banded Possum Wrasse
Purple Firefish
Sexy Shrimp
Cleaner Shrimp
Peppermint Shrimp
Royal Gramma
Clownfish

Does that work? What needs to be moved around?

 

[carey]

Personally i think that order and stock will be just fine. You might find the sexy shrimp to be too small in such a large tank though. You will probably never see them. :-(

 

[Bettababe1011]

Okay. I'll try it, and if I never see them, oh well... But maybe I will!