80 gallon beginner stocking

[Patrick M Bodega Aquatics]

Hello! I am interested in buying a 80 gallon aquarium as my first saltwater tank. A couple of months ago I was really getting into the saltwater care but got sidetracked in my freshwater collection but I am circling back to more saltwater research. I was thinking that an 80 gallon would be a good size to prevent ammonia spikes and I was able to find a reef ready tank with a tower for an overall reasonable price. I would like to get corals but I understand that I have to let my saltwater tank acclimate and stabilize with fish before adding coral. I was curious what stocking do you recommend for a person with aquarium experiences but with no reef experience? Thanks in advance!

 

[MaxTremors]

It really just comes down to how much time, money, and attention/effort you want to put into it. Do your research, and look at tanks you want to emulate. As far as stocking, it really depends on what you want, there are a lot of fish that even 80g would be too small for, but there are tons that would do well in that size tank. It just depends on what you like and what will be compatible. If there are one or two fish that you really want, we could come up with a list of compatible tank mates. It also really depends on whether you plan on doing a fish only tank or a reef tank (corals and inverts).

 

[Rmckoy]

I’d recommend starting slow ...
setup and let cycle ,
Slowly add a few fish .
testing and waiting to stabilize as it matures .

 

[Patrick M Bodega Aquatics]

Okay thank you very much! Are there any fish in particular that you'd recommend?

 

[nereefpat]

What do you like?

Some popular hardy fish would be:
clowns
blennies
watchman gobies
hawkfish
royal gramma
cardinals

A 75 gallon is a standard tank that is 48x18x about 20" tall that is a great tank size.