100 gallon fish only saltwater tank...first saltwater tank ever

i went ahead and bought a skimmer, and my daughter is wanting a tang (dory) and of course nemo so as for anything other than that i have no idea what i am going to get. any ideas? i also am not doing live rock i have a artificial coral inset that i got for the 55.
 
I have also got two powerheads that were gave to me and i have for now two penguin emperor 200 pumps i think.. they are for a 55 gallon...i was also thinking about putting actinic light in because it has flourescent lights at the moment..
it has been cycling for 2 weeks and PH is at 8.3 and ammon and nitrite are 0, nitrates are about 15, the test kit i have is shady, i am buying a new one this weekend..
 
Welcome to AC. I defer to the SW people. I am a freshwater girl.
 
Do yourself, your daughter and the fish a favor and don't get a blue hippo tang. They are ich magnets and will outgrow a 100 in no time. Yellow tang or a sailfin will be ok but the bristletooth tangs like the yellow eyed kole tang would be better suited for a 100. So if you're not using live rock, what is your biological filtration? Bioballs/wet dry or some bio media in the HOB filters? Did you ever see an ammonia/nitrite spike?
 
ok i will rethink the tang and i have bio media in both of the hob. my ammonia spiked and then the nitrites. i think that using the beneficial bacteria cycled my tank pretty fast. I have read alot of things about it and some were bad and some were good, i think i just got lucky. i also have about 20 lbs of arogonite sand that i got from a friend that came out of a tank that has been established for about 2 years.. i made sure that all of his fish were not sick or anything too..and the tank that i am using is a 55..i couldnt ever get the 100
 
Ah, then definitely skip tangs all together. Maybe a small Tomini tang but that would still be pushing it. Be careful with stocking and give yourself plenty of time between additions to gauge the biomedia's ability to handle the load. Without LR, you're not going to be able to stock the tank as heavy. Sounds like your cycled though. Just need a good water change before anything goes in. Might want to start with a few crabs and/or snails.
 
ok i will def forget about all of tangs and just get a few clowns. i was also contemplating on getting a choco chip star also but i read that they will eat snails and stuff...could i get a star and a few clowns? i think that would be plenty for me and the clowns are active so it will be something good to look at...also i am in the process of building a sump/refugium that i picked up today at a yardsale (30 gallon) any ideas on it..
 
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