Saltwater & Reef

Khij159753 · 06-07-2012, 04:34 AM

My friend and i are getting a reef tank aprox. 300 gallon. These are just some ideas, idk what would really work. Obviously I doubt I can have even close to all these. I checked compatibility charts and they all seemed to work decently with each other. I'm sure personal experience would be a more reliable source however. I don't NEED any of these fish so similar suggestions are perfectly fine. As for fish I would like a few clowns-not picky on the kinds. Tangs- would like a yellow and a blue hippo tang. A false moorish idol-bannerfish. Dwarf angels- flame and or lemonpeel. Cardinal-bangaii. Dartfish-firefish. Jawfish-yellowheaded. Foxface- rabbit or foxface lo. Dottyback- indigo, bicolor, and or purple. Dragonet- blue or red. Wrasse-leopard or cleaner. Blennies-horned, lizard, segmented sailfin, and or scooter. Goby- neon, Catalina, cave transparent, tiger, and or my personal favorite engineer. Damsel-yellow tail, blue velvet, neon or tuxedo. Chromis- blue green, blue reef, and or limbaughi. For inverts I'm thinking snails, shrimp, crabs and hermit crabs but not sure what I like to watch their behavior. Sponges are nice. I like soft corrals especially with bright colors or weird shapes. And I like the idea of a couple anemones but idk what kinds. Anything that looks cool feel free to tell me about. As you can tell I'm still deep in planning and any info or help and suggestions is very appreciated. as for lighting and flow and filter ect. I will buy what is recommended for what I will be placing in my tank. Money isn't really a factor I will spend whatever will make my tank happy and enjoyable.
Thanks- Joe

JustinKBreen · 06-07-2012, 05:08 AM

Oh my oh my what a shopping list lol. I say only one dwarf angel your choice as to the lemon peel or the flame.

Catalina gobies are very cool looking but need a lot cooler water than most salt water fish.

As for mandarins wait a bit as they need a mature tank with lots of copepods for food.

Also may not be that big a deal on that large tank but you may have turf wars so to speak between bottom dwellers such as the gobies and jaw fish.

I would also limit it to one pair of clowns.

This is the fun part imo, starting with a clean slate and planning out the stock list.

You also may consider a royal gramma as opposed to a dottyback. If I am thinking of the right fish they look similar.

JustinKBreen · 06-07-2012, 05:09 AM

Oh can't believe I missed it, my own opinion, I would never have a damsel fish other than the chromis.

Josh1158 · 06-07-2012, 05:18 AM

I had a engineer that went all rouge fish eater on me so watch it if there is fish smaller then it's mouth.

Khij159753 · 06-07-2012, 10:30 AM

Thanks Justin. That helped narrow my list. And josh, what kind of fish would I have to cut off my list to keep the engineer? Cause he's a personal favorite and the closest to an eel I could get.

Kio707 · 06-07-2012, 10:35 AM

You angels may eat ur corals, so watch for that.

Khij159753 · 06-07-2012, 10:41 AM

I will. That was one of the threats I read about but figured 1 angel with some corrals wouldn't do too much harm as long as I kept it well fed, and gave it other things to nibble at. An if it is too much of a problem ill start another tank as well.

Khij159753 · 06-07-2012, 10:48 AM

So this looks like my list. Does anyone see any problems? And Can anyone tell me how many of each species would work well in a 300 gallon? Besides the clowns.
Clowns-(ocellaris)(1pair)
Tangs-(yellow, hippo)
False moorish idols-(bannerfish)
Dwarf angel-(flame)
Cardinal-(banggai)
Dartfish-(firefish)
Jawfish-(yellow headed)
Foxface-(foxface lo)
Gramma-(royal)
Dragonet-(blue, red)
Wrasse-(leopard, cleaner)
Blennies-(horned, lizard, segmented sailfin, scooter)
Goby-(engineer, neon, cave transparent, tiger)
Chromis-(blue green, blue reef, limbaughi)

Kio707 · 06-07-2012, 10:53 AM

With as big of a tank and small fish, ur going to have plenty of room... here is my tank and it's only a 180g... Try a naso tang too...

Jlsardina · 06-07-2012, 11:02 AM

You could do a school of the yellow tangs. Look at lieutenant tangs or black spot (bariene) tang. Try to get a male leopard wrasse as they have brighter colors. Just a head up that they will be constantly kicking up sand.

Khij159753 · 06-07-2012, 11:16 AM

Okay. Awesome. And I'll take a look. I like your tank by the way. Also how many would a school of yellow tangs be? How many of the other fish should I have? I like the idea of schools of the little fish... The ones that will school.

Jlsardina · 06-07-2012, 11:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Khij159753

Okay. Awesome. And I'll take a look. I like your tank by the way. Also how many would a school of yellow tangs be? How many of the other fish should I have? I like the idea of schools of the little fish... The ones that will school.

A school is a minimum of three. Why not go for schools of different sizes of fish?

Three yellows. 5 cardinals, 9 chromis, 3 schooling banners, etc. the smaller the fish, the more you can have.

And thanks. I like my tank too. Lol

Nu-Nu the eel · 06-07-2012, 11:26 AM

Trio of chalk bass and anthias!

JustinKBreen · 06-07-2012, 12:18 PM

Yes, anthias are a great "schooling" fish to consider. Especially neat are the ones where the one male has a different color scheme than the group of females.

Khij159753 · 06-07-2012, 12:30 PM

Sounds good. Anyone got any idea on cool corrals inverts and anemones?

Josh1158 · 06-07-2012, 12:45 PM

The engineer bleny I had ate 4 chromis, a royal gama, zebra goby, and a few others. I think he ate a total of $130 in fish. He was fine till he got about 6-7 inches long.