I am starting a beginner reef tank, and I think I have a plan of what to do, but I wanted to run it past people on this forum who undoubtedly have more experience than me on these matters (I’ve had freshwater fish before but never a salt water tank). So I’ll outline my plan and ask a few questions along the way!
I want to do a 55-gallon tank with a 20-gallon sump. Big sump, I know, but I kind of want it there in case any fish turns out to be a jerk and needs to be banished to it. Plus, it increases the amount of water, which means more stability so yay stability! I was thinking about possibly going up to 75 gallons for the main tank, but that plus a sump would be a lot more weight, and our house was made in 1946, so I don’t want to put too much weight on the floor (I know which way the joists go, and it’ll be placed along a load bearing wall). That said if someone knows a way that I could reasonably go that big and spread the weight out more, I’m all ears. My plan for fish: I definitely want a yellow watchman goby and tiger pistol shrimp combo. I know the randall, tiger and candy cane pistol shrimp are the safe ones, I’ve just seen stuff about tiger shrimp the most, but if another variety is better than tiger I’m interested. After that I’d like a bicolor blenny, 1-2 firefish and a royal gramma. I’m curious if these fish might have any compatibility issues since they are all of the same general shape and all gobies (I’ve read mixed things online, so thanks internet). I’d also be pretty happy with a couple clowns, though I must admit they don’t tickle my fancy quite the way the various gobies do and I would kind of want an anemone for them to pair with. I have some friends in the area who have tanks who said they’d be happy to frag me some soft corals (beginner friendly
) and then obviously there will be some snails and hermit crabs as the cleanup crew. I’m thinking Cerith snails though they might be attacked by the hermit crabs? Nassarius are also on my radar, but I like the idea of a snail that eats algae, on the other hand I know the nassarius do a great job of mixing up the sand. Does this sound like an appropriate amount of sealife for a 55 gallon tank with 20 gallon sump?
Possibly, if that all above isn’t too much, I’d be interested in adding an anemone and a pair of clowns. I know that would be best left until the tank is established for the anemone, so that wouldn’t be immediate anyhow, I just want to see if that’s at all reasonable? I’m guessing not, but wanted to throw it out there.
I’m going to start the tank with dry rock. I want to do that to minimize parasites coming in. I know someone who said they’d give me a couple live rocks. They’ve had a couple bristleworms in the past but I have read that as long as they aren’t fireworms (this person has just had common bristleworms), they’re actually a very valuable part of the cleanup crew. If they become a problem? The tweezers of god shall fall upon them. As far as cycling the tank, My plan is to put in a bottle of bacteria and try to seed some coraline algae at the same time, then after 3 days put in some hermit crabs. A week after them, I’ll put in some snails, and a couple weeks after that introduce fish, one species at a time, with a couple weeks separation between introduction. I’m curious what would be a good order to introduce the fish above to the tank? Also when to introduce coral? Particularly I'm interested in the pistol and goby, as I definitely want them to pair. I might be able to get paired ones from a local fish store, and in that case do I introduce them at the same time? Going to get pre-quarantined fish to ensure no diseases
Finally, I’d love a good suggestion list for things to maintain the tank, to test the water etc. A good friend recommended an ATO (specifically the tunze nano osmolator) and AI prime lights, I think I will do a skimmer, I know I’ll need a refractometer, but what other good options are out there for things to monitor the water and keep it going well? I am also going through the equipment threads on this forum as well. I want to do it right, so thank you for any suggestions and wisdom!
I want to do a 55-gallon tank with a 20-gallon sump. Big sump, I know, but I kind of want it there in case any fish turns out to be a jerk and needs to be banished to it. Plus, it increases the amount of water, which means more stability so yay stability! I was thinking about possibly going up to 75 gallons for the main tank, but that plus a sump would be a lot more weight, and our house was made in 1946, so I don’t want to put too much weight on the floor (I know which way the joists go, and it’ll be placed along a load bearing wall). That said if someone knows a way that I could reasonably go that big and spread the weight out more, I’m all ears. My plan for fish: I definitely want a yellow watchman goby and tiger pistol shrimp combo. I know the randall, tiger and candy cane pistol shrimp are the safe ones, I’ve just seen stuff about tiger shrimp the most, but if another variety is better than tiger I’m interested. After that I’d like a bicolor blenny, 1-2 firefish and a royal gramma. I’m curious if these fish might have any compatibility issues since they are all of the same general shape and all gobies (I’ve read mixed things online, so thanks internet). I’d also be pretty happy with a couple clowns, though I must admit they don’t tickle my fancy quite the way the various gobies do and I would kind of want an anemone for them to pair with. I have some friends in the area who have tanks who said they’d be happy to frag me some soft corals (beginner friendly
) and then obviously there will be some snails and hermit crabs as the cleanup crew. I’m thinking Cerith snails though they might be attacked by the hermit crabs? Nassarius are also on my radar, but I like the idea of a snail that eats algae, on the other hand I know the nassarius do a great job of mixing up the sand. Does this sound like an appropriate amount of sealife for a 55 gallon tank with 20 gallon sump?Possibly, if that all above isn’t too much, I’d be interested in adding an anemone and a pair of clowns. I know that would be best left until the tank is established for the anemone, so that wouldn’t be immediate anyhow, I just want to see if that’s at all reasonable? I’m guessing not, but wanted to throw it out there.
I’m going to start the tank with dry rock. I want to do that to minimize parasites coming in. I know someone who said they’d give me a couple live rocks. They’ve had a couple bristleworms in the past but I have read that as long as they aren’t fireworms (this person has just had common bristleworms), they’re actually a very valuable part of the cleanup crew. If they become a problem? The tweezers of god shall fall upon them. As far as cycling the tank, My plan is to put in a bottle of bacteria and try to seed some coraline algae at the same time, then after 3 days put in some hermit crabs. A week after them, I’ll put in some snails, and a couple weeks after that introduce fish, one species at a time, with a couple weeks separation between introduction. I’m curious what would be a good order to introduce the fish above to the tank? Also when to introduce coral? Particularly I'm interested in the pistol and goby, as I definitely want them to pair. I might be able to get paired ones from a local fish store, and in that case do I introduce them at the same time? Going to get pre-quarantined fish to ensure no diseases
Finally, I’d love a good suggestion list for things to maintain the tank, to test the water etc. A good friend recommended an ATO (specifically the tunze nano osmolator) and AI prime lights, I think I will do a skimmer, I know I’ll need a refractometer, but what other good options are out there for things to monitor the water and keep it going well? I am also going through the equipment threads on this forum as well. I want to do it right, so thank you for any suggestions and wisdom!
