My new tank

[StartingInUtah]

I have been getting a lot of conflicting advice about my aquarium from different people on multiple threads and from several local fish stores and I am hoping someone here might be able to help me clear things up.

I have a 75 gallon tall aquarium that I cycled but then some crazy circumstances made it so that I had to move before I put anything living in it. I was only planning on being where I am for a couple weeks so I stored my aquarium at a friend's house but I only filled it up just over halfway and put the heater down in the water to make sure it stayed the proper temperature. I did not set up the filter or anything and now it has been about a month. Also, the situation has changed and I think I will now be where I am for possibly up to a year or more. I do not want to leave my new aquarium there and I want to get it all set up here and start to be able to get going on it again. Here is my question. I started with my tank having about 80 pounds of dry rock and I added another 15 pounds of live rock. I also added about 3 inches of live black sand that I was given from a friend that has been in the hobby for years but decided to get out of it so he sold all his fish and rock and gave me the sand and a peanut worm that was in the sand.

My concern at this point is if by not adding the filter and everything else if I have killed the rock and sand and also if I need to cycle the tank again when I get it back to where I am living or if I can start to add livestock. Obviously I will check the parameters before I do.

My next question is about snails and crabs. I have read so many things about them. I have read anything from needing to add a snail and a crab per gallon that I have but varying by the sizes of them to not adding any because they will just kill each other off to just adding a couple Emerald Crabs and a couple snails but not to get hermit crabs with snails because they will kill them.

Lastly, can anyone tell me approximately what my capacity is going to be for my tank? Also, I am being told a couple varying things about a couple fish that I would really like but I am not sure I can have. I would really like to put a couple different types of dwarf angels in my aquarium and I have been told that if I do it that I have to add them at the same time as each other when they are small and have also been told that I cannot have two dwarf angels in this aquarium because they will fight too much. I am also getting conflicting advice on chromis and on damselfish. I don't know what to do with my aquarium now and could really use some advice. Let me provide you with a list of fish that I am very interested in and then get some advice on what to get. Also if you want to give me advice on other fish I could add that would be great.

I would love a coral beauty and flame angelfish both (that is why I asked the above question). I really wanted a butterflyfish but was told they are too hard to take care of. I want a Bengai Cardinalfish and am told to maybe think about schooling them instead of the blue/green chromis that I was going to use to start the tank. I only wanted one clownfish but am told that they do better in pairs but I do want a clownfish for sure. I really wanted a four stripe damselfish but am told that they are evil fish and not to get them. I want a one-spot foxface because they stay a little bit smaller than other foxfaces. I really wanted a desjardini sailfin tang but it sounds like that is something that will have to come when I get a larger tank in several years so I have looked at other tangs but I have yet to find a tang that I like that would really work in my tank. I would love a green mandarin and a six-line wrasse but the green mandarin takes a long time before I can introduce it and I am told that I can't have both. I also want a couple starfish but am told that the ones I like will not live long and are hard to take care of. So here is what I have for sure so far. I will have either a coral beauty or flame angelfish (unless I can do both), a one spot foxface, at least one Bengai Cardinalfish, at least one clownfish and a six-line wrasse or green mandarin along with possibly a couple snails and an emerald crab or two. This seems pretty sparse for a 75 gallon aquarium. Any ideas on any of this or what I could add? I want to decide on it all now so that I can add them in the order they need to be added.

Thank you for all of your help on this long post in advance.

 

[Macscale]

Ok... That is really long, but I'll see what I can answer
.
The rock and sand don't die... The bacteria living on them will if they are exposed to air.. By not running a filter you aren't doing anything.

A CUC is never required. They really only change waste into different waste. Nothing that is worth a praise. The hermits will kill the snails out of impulse.

 

[Macscale]

As for the fish:
1- Don't mix the dwarf angels. They will fight.
2- Damsels are mean little fish, id avoid them.
3-IME Chromis don't last very long.
4- Butterfly's are hard to take care of.
5-Clowns can be very aggressive to, IMO they aren't that great.
6- Bangaii Cardinals over chromis any day.
7- Clowns don't always do better in pairs.
8- Sailfins need much larger tanks.
9- There are a couple tangs you can keep, check liveaquaria.
10- Mandarins eat pods, a refugium is required.
11- Sixlines IMO/IME are aggressive and mean.
12- Starfish in general don't do well in aquariums.

 

[StartingInUtah]

Great. Thank you for the advice. I know my post was very long so thank you for taking the time to read it and reply.

So since the rock and sand don't die since they are in the water still, am I going to be able to get away with little to no cycling or is it all going to have to cycle again as soon as I set it up now? Again, I know I have to test my water parameters, I am just trying to figure out what I am looking at at this point.

Also, as for the fish. We have decided which ones are our priorities and that we definitely want and now we just need to build around them. Here are what we are thinking of at this point that we want to make sure to put in then I want to add to them but need to decide what kinds of fish and how many. Here are the ones we definitely want:

Coral Beauty Angelfish
Ocellaris Clownfish (because I have kids and they want Nemo more than anything else of course)
Bangai Cardinalfish (maybe3?)
One Spot Foxface
Possibly a Green Mandarin but you say they eat pods which means what exactly as far as care?

This mixture seems very sparse so I need help on choosing more. I have been looking into a lot of fish and have found some more that interest me. Can you tell me about any of these or others that you would recommend?

Bartlett's Anthias
Striped Blenny
Orchid or Purple Dottyback
Longnose Hawkfish
Saddle Valentini Puffer
Kole Yellow Eye Tang
Wartskin Angler
My favorite fish of all has always been a lionfish but I am told it is too aggressive to have with these kind of fish is there a kind that I could get that would be fine with the ones we want for sure and other kinds of fish?
We would really like to add some blue to this aquarium as well

Thank you again for any help you can give.

 

[Macscale]

Alright, I'll tackle the fish stuff later. As for the rock, I'd still monitor parameters. I wouldn't expect anything big though.

 

[baron1282]

I had a Six Line Wrasse in my 29 gallon aquarium with a Coral Beauty and had no issue. If I were you I would get one! They are very neat looking fish and very active between the rocks. Mine Jumped out and died unfortunately. :-( I replaced him with a Lyretail Wrasse in my bigger tank. I was upset, but I love my wrasse now!

A six line Wrasse is good for eating bristleworms and keeping them in check.

Stay away from the mandarin for now! They require a established tank with a large colony of pods. They will even go though the established pods really fast in an established tank, that's why you would need a place for the pods to grow and live without being eaten so they can be continually fed into the main tank for the mandarin. A big headache, but worth it! If you want to set all that up and wait for a year or two before you get one.

As far as everything. I would get rid of all the water for sure! Stir up your sand really good and suck out all of the cloudy water that it produces. This will loosen up the sand and get all the gas bubbles out and anything really dirty out of the sand before you put new water back in.

I would recommend a full cycle, just to be safe. It won't take too long if the tank is housing good bacteria already. Get yourself a good test kit and go from there. Before you put any fish in, your ammonia should be at 0. You need an ammonia source, so my suggestion would be to go to the store and buy yourself a few large uncooked shrimp. Get some clean stockings and throw the shrimp in the stockings and hang them in your tank. Once the tank starts to read a ammonia spike, you are cycling! Once the ammonia reaches 0 after the spike you are done! Do a massive water change (I did 80%), and fill it back up and go to the fishy store! Took me three weeks because of all the live rock and sand I bought!

Add fish slowly after! One or two at a time, and give it a week or two in between adding. Once you put your fish in, keep testing so you know if your tank is ready for more. Your ammonia should always be 0 even after you put fish in. If it goes up at anytime, I would do a 50% water change and keep testing each day until it reads 0 every day! This is only for the first few months of your tank, I cut back on testing to twice a week once I was established and had everything running smoothly.

Here is my advice for your live stock. Go here:

Saltwater Fish: Marine Aquarium Fish for Saltwater Aquariums

Look up all the fish you would want that could fit in your tank, than check computability. The reason I say this and not tell you what to get is because my list changed 100 times before I was finished adding fish to my tank. As long as a fish is compatible with any of the fish you currently have, your tank is not overstocked already, and it can live in your size tank, go for it! Just remember, a understocked tank is a better tank! Especially if you are moving again within a year! Because the less you have, the less of a headache you will have moving your tank and breaking it down for travel. It also makes keeping it clean easier!

 

[StartingInUtah]

Thank you for all the advice. So I went and talked with a lady at a store that specializes in saltwater fish here in Utah. She told me to make sure to get a good cleanup crew or I would be cleaning it nonstop. She said to not get the cheap hermit crabs but to get the ones that are larger than the small snails (such as the red leg one, etc) and to get about 10 of them and about 10-20 nerite snails but that I would have to replace probably 10 of the snails every 6 months to a year. What do you guys think about that?

She also said to choose 2-3 of the medium size fish (the ones that require about a 70 gallon aquarium and are about 4-7 inches long) and 5-7 small fish (the ones that require a 30 gallon or smaller aquarium and are 1-5 inches long) and not to do more than that and then add as many invertebrates as I want. She was talking about adding them to coral, though. As I am reading angelfish are not really reef compatible and neither are the foxface and neither are a couple other fish I am looking at. Would that make a difference and does that sound like a good amount of fish?

Here is what I am looking at but I am worried about a couple of the fish on this list. Tell me what you think, please.

Coral Beauty Angelfish
Kole Yellow Eye Tang
One Spot Foxface
Ocellaris Clown
Banggai Cardinal
Six Line Wrasse (or some kind of fairy wrasse, not sure which yet)
Orchid Dottyback
Saddle Valentini Puffer (I am worried about this)
Longnose Hawkfish (I am really worried about this)
Some sort of Blenny, jawfish or goby (I have no idea what kind to get with these)

Am I even on the right track at all? Is this too many fish for a 75 gallon aquarium, does it seem about right or could I add more? Do you have any advice on what type of blenny, jawfish or goby to get? What if I wanted coral in the future, what fish would I not be able to have on this list?

Thank you again for all your help.

 

[baron1282]

Just to let you know, the puffer will eat all your clean up crew!

I still have 6 hermit crabs in my tank, but I never see them until night time. The clean up crew I had was wiped out by my Puffer and my Six Line.

Clean up crew is not necessary, there will be so much life in your tank once it gets established that uneaten food will disappear overnight and you will wonder where it all went. LOL

 

[baron1282]

Also, 10 fish that can live in a 75 gallon happy should be fine.

I would say you are stocked to the hilt, and I would buy a good skimmer!

Good luck!

Your Hawkfish will eat some clean up crew too.

 

[StartingInUtah]

Thank you for the reply. How often will I need to clean the tank and how much will I need to replace if I do not go with a cleanup crew? Will the algae get out of control? Also, will those fish cause problems with other fish if that is my community? Can you recommend either a blenny, jawfish or goby? Lastly, if I wanted to add coral in the future would I have a problem with these fish?

Thank you again for your help.

 

[Macscale]

Thank you for all the advice. So I went and talked with a lady at a store that specializes in saltwater fish here in Utah. She told me to make sure to get a good cleanup crew or I would be cleaning it nonstop. She said to not get the cheap hermit crabs but to get the ones that are larger than the small snails (such as the red leg one, etc) and to get about 10 of them and about 10-20 nerite snails but that I would have to replace probably 10 of the snails every 6 months to a year. What do you guys think about that?

She also said to choose 2-3 of the medium size fish (the ones that require about a 70 gallon aquarium and are about 4-7 inches long) and 5-7 small fish (the ones that require a 30 gallon or smaller aquarium and are 1-5 inches long) and not to do more than that and then add as many invertebrates as I want. She was talking about adding them to coral, though. As I am reading angelfish are not really reef compatible and neither are the foxface and neither are a couple other fish I am looking at. Would that make a difference and does that sound like a good amount of fish?

Here is what I am looking at but I am worried about a couple of the fish on this list. Tell me what you think, please.

Coral Beauty Angelfish
Kole Yellow Eye Tang
One Spot Foxface
Ocellaris Clown
Banggai Cardinal
Six Line Wrasse (or some kind of fairy wrasse, not sure which yet)
Orchid Dottyback
Saddle Valentini Puffer (I am worried about this)
Longnose Hawkfish (I am really worried about this)
Some sort of Blenny, jawfish or goby (I have no idea what kind to get with these)

Am I even on the right track at all? Is this too many fish for a 75 gallon aquarium, does it seem about right or could I add more? Do you have any advice on what type of blenny, jawfish or goby to get? What if I wanted coral in the future, what fish would I not be able to have on this list?

Thank you again for all your help.

Alright, well it is common for LFS to give advice just for a sale. So, here are the things I find wrong. Not an attack against you, just in general. I apologies if it sounds rude :/ not trying to be .

1.) The cleanup crew statement is false, CUC are never required. They don't really "clean", they simply change one form of detritus into another. With or without them, you will be cleaning the tank, that's the way it goes.

2.) Cheap hermit crabs? It doesn't matter their price, and I find that anyone who is calling a beautiful piece of nature "cheap" isn't really respectable. Also sounds like she wants you to spend more money.

3.) If they are saying you'll have to replace your CUC, that's a problem. They are knowingly selling you too much of something, and then telling you it's ok if they die, just replace them...

4.) I wouldn't start off the bat with 10 fish, maybe 8, and if the system can handle it then you can increase the amount. Don't add them all at once, not what I am trying to say.

5.) Angelfish are really a hit or miss. Some won't nip at corals, some will. As for fox face, they are typically fine.

6.) The puffer will eat your CUC.

7.) I'd still be cautious of adding a tang.

8.) you are right to be cautious of the hawlfish.

9.) I'd stay away from jewfish if you don't have a DSB.

10.) Watchman goby, bicolor blenny, anything really.

 

[TheTodd]

My two cents..,

Coral Beauty Angelfish - fine in a 75g. I would not do two dwarfs.

Kole Yellow Eye Tang- fine in a 75g. Could also go with a Tomini Tang.

One Spot Foxface - should be okay, but they can get big.

Ocellaris Clown - fine.

Banggai Cardinal - fine, but IMO they are kinda boring, especially in a big tank.

Six Line Wrasse - can be nasty. I would go with a fairy wrasse over a 6 line any day.

Orchid Dottyback - dottybacks can be super aggressive and are fearless . I'd say no.

Saddle Valentini Puffer - should be ok, just can't have a CUC. The blue spots are beautiful too. They are messy eaters, so they add waste more than the others.

Longnose Hawkfish - other Hawks can be aggressive. I've never had an issue with a Longnose. I'd say sure.

Blenny, jawfish or goby - All are okay , but sand bed needs to be fairly deep. I'd go Blenny.

I think you would be okay with this lineup, minus the Dottyback and with the fairy wrasse over the six line and with maybe something like a Midas Blenny. Add fish slowly...one, maybe two per month to allow your BB to grow with the added bioload. If nitrates start to rise quickly, you know you are pushing it. Alot depends on your filtration.

Thank you again for all your help.[/QUOTE]

 

[StartingInUtah]

Thank you for your advice. I am going to add the fish one to two at a time. I was not planning on adding more than that. I am just trying to get an idea of what I want so I can make a plan of what order to add them in.

My sand bed is about 3 inches. Is that going to be enough if I wanted a jawfish or whatever else I wanted? Do I need to worry about the puffer destroying the coral? How about the hawkfish?

 

[StartingInUtah]

What do you think about dropping the Dottyback and the Sixline Wrasse and adding a Royal Gramma? After that I still want some sort of wrasse and either a blenny, jawfish or goby which is where I need some help before deciding.

I am having a hard time figuring out what kind of wrasse to add to my tank. I think the Sixline Wrasse is beautiful but everyone is telling me not to go with that so now I am looking into a couple other wrasses. Would anyone be able to recommend a type of fairy wrasse that would be good in my tank as I am having a hard time figuring out what I want? Please tell me why you are recommending that as well. I am also considering a flasher wrasse instead. Does anyone know anything about them? Also, as far as a blenny/jawfish/goby is concerned what do you recommend and why? Right now I am leaning toward a striped blenny but I am not sure and I love watching a jawfish work. I have a 3 inch sandbed so I don't think that is really an issue to worry about.

After I decide on what fish I want for sure then I will need help figuring out what order to add them. Any ideas on that?

Thank you for all of your help with this aquarium.

 

[baron1282]

I am a little bias when it comes to the Six Line Wrasse! LoL

Loved my wrasse!

 

[baron1282]

Six line should be one if the last you pit in if you decide on it!

 

[BigRedsReefs10]

I love the flasher wrasses, carpenters are probably my favorite but they're all beautiful and peaceful. And a 3 inch sandbed would be fine for a jaw fish IMO.

 

[StartingInUtah]

Thank you again for the advice. So here is my new updated list. Tell me what you think. Now what order should I introduce them? I obviously only want to do one to two fish at a time.

Coral Beauty Angelfish
Kole Yellow Eye Tang
One Spot Foxface
Ocellaris Clown
Banggai Cardinal
Carpenter's Flasher Wrasse
Royal Gramma
Saddle Valentini Puffer (I am still trying to decide between this or something else with a cleanup crew)
Longnose Hawkfish
Some sort of Blenny, jawfish or goby (I am still not sure what kind. Any recommendations? I am kind of leaning toward a striped blenny but not sure)

Please tell me what you think.

Thanks again for all your help.

 

[baron1282]

Honestly, my list of what to add fist was blown out the window.

You got to find the fish first, and most of the time it will not be the fish you want to add fist.

My suggestion and how I was able to get around a lot of aggression when introducing a new tank mate was simple. I feed my current fish first, while I am acclimating and I turn off the lights. I have not had a single issue so far.

This is what I did for my new guy in my 120 tank, and from the looks of things no aggression from the Wrasse! So just get the fish you want in the tank as soon as you can find them.

The Coral Beauty and wrasse should be at the end if you can!