75 Gallon Stocklist?

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Amaroq

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Dec 14, 2008
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So I've had my 75 gallon tank set up for almost four months now and I'm thinking of switching it up a bit. My original plan was to stock it with larger fish and upgrade to a 125 within a year, I've decided to instead stick with small fish for now and not rely on an upgrade. When I do get the 125 I can still stock it how I was originally planning but for now I'm gonna have fun with the 75.

So to give a little information on the tank;

75 Display
40 Breeder Sump
AC110
7" 200 micron filter sock for filtration
Coralife Super Skimmer 125 (Maybe for Christmas I can upgrade to something better)
1100 GPH Return pump (Need to swap this out for something smaller as my skimmer doesn't get enough contact time to skim properly)
24W UV Sterilizer
250W Heater
70lb of LR
60lbs of sand (I want to add 20lbs more, what is the best way to do that?)
two Korilia 425's (Would like to swap these out for two WP25 eventually)
ATI PM 4x54W (2 Blue +, 1 Coral +, and 1 Purple +)
Reef Keeper Elite Controller

My current stock list consists of two small Lamarck's Angels, three Peppermint shrimp, eight Zoa frags, and about 25 snaills (Cerith, Trochus, Nassarius). I plan on removing the Angels and trading them in to a LFS and will have a clean slate from which to stock the tank. I think I'd like to stick with multiple smaller fish rather than a few larger fish. So with that being said here is my proposed stock list, I'm not 100% sure if everything will get along and for the most part this list consists of just fish I've found to be pretty.

1 x Leopard Ornate Wrasse (Centerpiece fish, I'd like this to be the main concern as far as compatibility with other fish)
1 x Springeri Dottyback
1 x Neon Dottyback
3 x BiColour Chromis
1 x Harlequin Basslet
1 x Royal Gramma
2 x Black Clowns or Fancy Clown Morph
1 x Carpenters Flasher Wrasse

1 x Striped Fang Blenny
or
1 x Horned Blenny
or
1 x BiColour Blenny

I'm not sure if two Dottybacks is too much for a 75 gallon? As far as aggression levels go I think most of what I like is within the same range?

In regards to inverts I'd like the tank to be mainly LPS dominated with some softies for movement and colour. I would like to get maybe a clam or two, a pair cleaner shrimp, three peppermint shrimp, and maybe a pretty starfish or urchin if there is any leftover room; so the fish need to be invert safe.

I think thats everything for now, I'd love to here some thoughts of the proposed stock list and hear any answers you guys/gals might have towards my questions :)
 

greech

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Good choice and the tank sounds great. Nice light!!!!

If you don't want to run the risk of aggression and/or food competition for the leopard, leave the dottys and the chromis at your LFS. All other fish are fine except for the blennies you picked could be potential LPS munchers. Midas blenny would be a great tank mate with your list or if you wanted to stay with a smaller blenny, you could consider a tailspot.
 

greech

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BTW, what's the purpose of the AC 110? Media?

You may want to upgrade the flow before you get too carried away with a heavier fish load.
 

Amaroq

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Dec 14, 2008
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Thanks for the nice words :)

I figured the Dottys might be an issue, oh well. I was unaware the Chromis would be an issue though, thanks for letting me know! Are there any other fish that might be alright instead? Anthias? Kole Tang?.... Harlequin Tusk?... It's still really hard for me not to want to go back to my original plans of getting a Tusk, upgrade to a 125 in 6-8 months, then to a 180 in a year or two after that. :D I'm trying to stay away from that though as I've been suggested it wouldn't be fair to the Tusk even if it was small when I got it.

I thought Midas Blennys were aggressive? Maybe I'm confusing them with something else! haha

The AC110 is running a sponge I need to remove, but I'm thinking of just using Purigen. Would that be a good idea? I'm currently stuck on running on dechlorinated tap water, but I hope to grab a BRS RO/DI unit next month or so. It can't come any sooner, my tank is full of algae from stuff in the tap :(

You think I need more flow? I have the two 425s, the AC110 (500gph), and the sump at 1100GPH. I feel I need more flow but I thought it was just me wanting an excuse to buy a WP-40 or two WP-25s! haha :D
 

greech

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The chromis won't pick on the leopard but they are very competitive for food. Its hard enough to get a leopard eating prepared foods to also have to worry about other fish darting in to steal it from them. Anthias would pretty much do the same thing. Midas blenny will be fine IMO. If it were me, I would look into other smaller (but peaceful, not 6 line :)) wrasses to go with the leopard and the flasher.

If you are truly getting 1100 gph from your return you might be ok. Are you really getting that at the height of your return (taking head loss into account)? I think you will have a healthier tank with more flow but the FWLR doesn't necessarily require it. Do you notice dead spots where detritus collects?

You could run purigen in lieu of carbon if you don't mind the extra costs (unless maybe you're recharging it with bleach?). I would run a good GFO like Rowphos or what BRS sells to control PO4 (especially if you are using tap water).
 

Amaroq

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Last night I reaquascaped the tank, it now allows for a much better flow pattern. I haven't noticed any dead spots since moving the rock around, thats not to say they don't exist though! I'm still not 100% loving it but I think I only have a few minor tweaks left to get it where I want it. Here is a picture with just the actinics on though so you can see what I have so far, sorry for the quality haha.
IMG_0749.JPG
I tried to get a picture of my little Zoa garden in the bottom left but my phone takes horrible pictures and they just look like brown/blue blobs compared to their actual vibrant colours haha.

I was using the current pump on this tank when it was a FW cichlid tank so thats why I'm running such a overkill pump at the moment. The pump is actually 1350GPH but taking into consideration headloss its running right around 1100 GPH. Like I said though once I get a bit more cash flow I plan to swap out the pump for a more appropriate sized one and replace my Korillia 425s with two WP-25 or a single WP-40. Likely the two WP-25 so I can have them run for half the day each to create a tidal swell effect.

IMG_0749.JPG
 

greech

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Nice work! Right side looks a little structured to me but it'll be great for coral placement and fill in nice to make it more natural.

If you're getting that kind of output from the return you don't need more flow at this time, especially with the open scape. If you downsize the pump or add high flow SPS, you'll want more random flow that you will not get from the single output. The 425's aren't going to cut it even with the return running at that rate. IMO of course :).
 

Amaroq

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Dec 14, 2008
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Hey again, sorry for the disappearance haha I'm going to go with a different route with the tank and try to stick to slightly hardier species for now. So this is what I was thinking for the stock list, let me know your thoughts.

1xKole Tang (I'd love to do a Purple but it seems to be hit or miss if they'd be alright)
3xAnthias (Lyretail or Barlett's)
2xClownfish (Black with a Black Misbar)
1xBicolour Blenny
1xRoyal Gramma
1xDottyback (Indigo or Springeri)

Then for inverts I was thinking;
2xScarlett Cleaner Shrimp (is it relatively easier to pair them up?)
3xPeppermint Shrimp
1xTuxedo Urchin
Nassarius Snails
Trochus Snails (I had 15 but my peppermint shrimps have brought me down to what appears to be only 1 :(, are there any better suggestions?)
Cerith Snails

Than finally for corals I was thinking a mixed reef that is LPS dominated. I'd like to avoid having to getting into dosing and what not. Is that possible with mainly just softies and LPS with a couple tough SPS thrown in?

The lights in my ATI fixture are getting a little old now and I'd like to replace all 4. Would it be recommended to do this before I get the majority of my corals? Should I move my current corals (Zoas) down to the sand bed again to avoid possible bleaching? For bulbs I was thinking 2 Blue +, 1 AquaBlue Special, and 1 Purple +. I'm playing around with maybe 1 Purple + and 1 Coral + instead of the AquaBlue Special, would I get better growth or similar results?

Thanks! :)
 

Amaroq

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Dec 14, 2008
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So after doing some research today I realized that the list I put together last night wasn't that great. What with Dottybacks killing shrimp, and Anthias being recommended a larger tank. I think I've come up with a more suitable stocking list, it seems like I have a lot of fish but with the majority only being around the 3" mark is it actually overstocked?

1x Kole Tang
3x Black Bar Chromis
2x Clownfish
1x Firefish
1x Tailspot Blenny (I think the Blenny/Goby combo is alright as far as aggression goes?)
1x Twospot Goby (Read above)
1x Carpenter Flasher Wrasse
1x Royal Gramma (Not sure if he will be too aggressive or not?)

Then for inverts
1/2x Scarlett Cleaner Shrimp
3x Peppermint Shrimp
1x Green Emerald Crab
1/?x Clams (I'm thinking Maxima, but as this is my first Clam I'm not sure what would be best?)
Whats left of my Nassarius/Trochus/Cerith snail population

What order would be suggested for adding the fish in? I was thinking the Kole Tang and Royal Gramma would be the last two in hopes that the more peaceful fish can get their territories established beforehand. Lastly, sorry for jumping around so much, but I think I'm finally happy with my choices of fish/inverts.
 
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