75 gallon stocking help for macro tank

[Flatearth]

I am looking to set-up my first saltwater aquarium, and I wanted to try something simple with my 75 gallon. I love the look of green macro-algae and sea-grass(although it sounds like this is difficult to grow), and it sounds like macro-algae is beneficial to have anyway.

First I am not sure which algae species to go with. I prefer the way green looks, and of course being easy to grow is important.

For livestock I was looking at these fish:

1. Pair of either Tomato or Cinnamon clowns
2. One Rusty Angelfish(Centropyge ferrugatus)
3. One Eibli Angelfish (Centropyge eibli) my fish store swears it is okay to keep two dwarfs together in a 75, but I would be open to re-homing if it becomes a problem.
4. One yellow watchman goby

For inverts:
1. Two skunk cleaner shrimp
2. One fire shrimp
3. Five peppermint shrimp
4. A group of hermits(one of the smaller species for sure) not sure how many I should get?
5. One Tiget Cowrie
6. One Knobby Black Cowrie
7. One sea urchin(Are these safe with macro-algea? Can't seem to find a straight answer).
8. Some kind of standard crab like an emerald crab? Unsure on this as I hear bad things about pretty much all crabs.
9. A conch
10. Maybe a few snails? Seems most are a danger to macro-algae so might skip these?

How does this stock sound? Are any of these species actually really difficult to care for? From what I read the answer seems to be no, but I would like to make sure.

 

[Spare time]

You can't keep 2 dwarf angels in a 75. They will run into each other too frequently. Also, sea urchins will eat a lot of macro algae. Snails and hermits don't eat macro very fast so you should be fine on that. Emeralds will snack on the macro. Which macros are you looking at?

 

[ichthyogeek]

For macroalgae, you can't go wrong with Caulerpa prolifera, it's a very "seagrass"-y looking macroalgae. C. pasapaloides also looks nice as well, a "palm tree"-y macro. Caulerpa in general is quite easy to grow, especially if you feed heavy. You might also be interested in looking into bushy red macroalgaes for contrast, like Red ogo, and Botryocladia.

Fish wise, my only concern is that dwarf angels might munch on macros. I had a couple of good bunches of Ulva in my main tank during a fallow tank, and upon re-addition of the flame angel and hippo tang, the Ulva magically started to disappear....

 

[Flatearth]

For macroalgae, you can't go wrong with Caulerpa prolifera, it's a very "seagrass"-y looking macroalgae. C. pasapaloides also looks nice as well, a "palm tree"-y macro. Caulerpa in general is quite easy to grow, especially if you feed heavy. You might also be interested in looking into bushy red macroalgaes for contrast, like Red ogo, and Botryocladia.

Fish wise, my only concern is that dwarf angels might munch on macros. I had a couple of good bunches of Ulva in my main tank during a fallow tank, and upon re-addition of the flame angel and hippo tang, the Ulva magically started to disappear....

Wow I really love those algae! What do you mean by feed heavy? As in plant food or fish food to raise the ammonia level in the tank?

Also what about my stocking levels? I am having a hard time grasping what it considered overstocked for saltwater. How close to fully stocked is my list? I don't want more fish, I just would like to know for reference.

 

[ichthyogeek]

Fish food, I'm still a novice when it comes to feeding plants/macroalgaes outside of "stick a pellet in the substrate and feed your fish too much" haha. The food itself won't only raise ammonia/nitrates, but also phosphates and a few other things that most plants need as well. Oh, and miracle mud/other mud substrates. I hear good things about that from time to time.

I honestly feel like you could go more with the stocking list. Not more herbivorous fish like dwarf angels, but more carnivorous/omnivorous fish. If you're absolutely set on multiple dwarf angels, buy a very large one, and a very small one, both of the same species, so you're more likely to get a pair of them. Other fish you could consider include banggai cardinalfish (which I'm fairly certain have been found in seagrass habitats), and small pipefish. Think of fish that you think would work well in a tank where there's constant cover that they can dive into and dip into/weave through. Oh, and QUARANTINE your fish. Especially any omnivores. That way you can see if they'll start munching on that precious, precious macroalgae.

As for invertebrates: Make sure you have enough caves for all of the shrimp. Fire shrimp are shy, as are peppermints, and both enjoy cave structures/overhangs. Make sure they get fed well, as otherwise you may have a self-culling shrimp population. Hermits will most likely go after snails, I recommend you look at the General Invertebrate forum's stickies to see what works best. I wouldn't bother with the crab, too many specimens go rogue, and for somebody new, it's hard to catch the warning signs. Oh, and like Spare Time said, no urchins.

What are your thoughts on a single seahare/macroalgae eating nudibranch, once your tank fully fills in? They're not as aggressive as fish are, but do help clear through some of the denser growth throughout the tank. You're going to have to carefully "mow" your caulerpa "lawn" anyways to prevent it all from going sexual.

Run us through your thought process on what's going into the tank: how much rock and in what way? what substrate? What flow/where? How will filtration go? Sump or no sump?It helps to brainstorm about what you plan to do, so you can catch any discrepancies you overlook at a later date.

 

[Flatearth]

Fish food, I'm still a novice when it comes to feeding plants/macroalgaes outside of "stick a pellet in the substrate and feed your fish too much" haha. The food itself won't only raise ammonia/nitrates, but also phosphates and a few other things that most plants need as well. Oh, and miracle mud/other mud substrates. I hear good things about that from time to time.

I honestly feel like you could go more with the stocking list. Not more herbivorous fish like dwarf angels, but more carnivorous/omnivorous fish. If you're absolutely set on multiple dwarf angels, buy a very large one, and a very small one, both of the same species, so you're more likely to get a pair of them. Other fish you could consider include banggai cardinalfish (which I'm fairly certain have been found in seagrass habitats), and small pipefish. Think of fish that you think would work well in a tank where there's constant cover that they can dive into and dip into/weave through. Oh, and QUARANTINE your fish. Especially any omnivores. That way you can see if they'll start munching on that precious, precious macroalgae.

As for invertebrates: Make sure you have enough caves for all of the shrimp. Fire shrimp are shy, as are peppermints, and both enjoy cave structures/overhangs. Make sure they get fed well, as otherwise you may have a self-culling shrimp population. Hermits will most likely go after snails, I recommend you look at the General Invertebrate forum's stickies to see what works best. I wouldn't bother with the crab, too many specimens go rogue, and for somebody new, it's hard to catch the warning signs. Oh, and like Spare Time said, no urchins.

What are your thoughts on a single seahare/macroalgae eating nudibranch, once your tank fully fills in? They're not as aggressive as fish are, but do help clear through some of the denser growth throughout the tank. You're going to have to carefully "mow" your caulerpa "lawn" anyways to prevent it all from going sexual.

Run us through your thought process on what's going into the tank: how much rock and in what way? what substrate? What flow/where? How will filtration go? Sump or no sump?It helps to brainstorm about what you plan to do, so you can catch any discrepancies you overlook at a later date.

I would rather be understocked than overstocked.

Some other fish I like are: Jawfish,firefish, basslets, Blennies,and gobies. The jawfish in particular I like a lot.

Aren't pipefish considered difficult to care for? I want to stay away from difficult species.

I love the seahare and the nudibranch(what species eat macros?), but I heard they did not do well in captivity.


As for live rock amount I am not sure, I had read around 90lbs was needed for a 75 gallon. I am not sure I understand your question about "In what way". As in how do I plan to stack it? If that is what you mean I wanted two piles with space in the middle to place some algae.

Substrate I was planning to use regular aquarium sand? I would be open to using something like miracle mud, I didn't know you could use something like that in saltwater. Unsure about a sump although I have spare tanks and space below/next to this tank I could use for that. For other filtration related items I am also unsure as I planned to get it off craigslist.

 

[ichthyogeek]

Well...in this case your tank's definitely going to be understocked.

You'll have to do some research on what nudis/seahares eat macros; most of the time they fail to thrive due to being predated on, or because their food source has disappeared.

To clarify, how much rock/structuring do you want to have, and how will that be structured (caves? shelves? negative space?)? How will that compare to open tank space for your macroalgae, which will either preferentially grow on the sand bed (C. prolifera, C. paspaloides), or on the rockwork (most Gracilarias).

Sounds like you need to do a fair amount of research first. Time to read the stickies in the forums (New to Saltwater, Reef Discussion, General Invert, Macroalgae), pick up some good books on saltwater tanks, and figure out what you want vs. what you need to make sure the tank succeeds!

 

[Spare time]

PS I would avoid caulerpa. There are many species in aquaria that have the potential to reproduce asexually and bomb your tank. I have no clue what triggers this behavior but it is a possibility. There are lots of macros other than caulerpa that would look great.

 

[ichthyogeek]

PS I would avoid caulerpa. There are many species in aquaria that have the potential to reproduce asexually and bomb your tank. I have no clue what triggers this behavior but it is a possibility. There are lots of macros other than caulerpa that would look great.

C. prolifera is one of the least likely to go asexual in my experience. The only time I've lost C. prolifera is when I've accidentally put too much light on it.

C. taxifolia and other taxifolia-esque Caulerpas are the ones that make a bad name for Caulerpa in hte hobby. Avoid the feathery ones, and it's a lot better.