Red Sea Reefer 350: My Stocking Plan

[679x]

A few days ago I got a green light for getting a Red Sea Reefer 350, rather than the 250. With the added foot I'm quite excited of the possibilities for aquascape and fish stocking.

This will be my first saltwater tank. It will be going in the living room, where people will see pretty often. So, instead of picking out all the fish myself, I've shown my family all the possible fish we could get, excluding fish that are too big, too aggressive, too expensive, or otherwise hard to keep.

We've brought it down to the following (1 of each):

-Yellow Tang
-Standard ocellaris clownfish
-Black and white ocellaris clownfish
-Bartlett's anthias
-Green reef chromis
-Carpenter's flasher wrasse
-Standard firefish
-Mandarin dragonet

I feel that this is a lot of fish, so I'm looking for help whittling it down further, so that it will reach a comfortable/safe level, assuming it isn't at that currently. I also want to make sure that this list will be compatible.

I'd also like to note that I'd like to keep a decent amount of swimming space for these fish. For the aquascape I was thinking of having two main islands of rock covered in coral (SPS and LPS), and one or two isolated islands for Hammer or Torch corals.

I want the tank to be easy to clean so that it won't get neglected, and so that algae or whatever won't build up in places that are hard to reach. I also want to make sure the sand is spotless at all times, so I will be doing sand vacuuming during water changes, so too much rock will interfere. The rock will be dry rock to start, rather than live, so obviously it'll be a long time before the tank is finished being stocked, and since I don't want TOO much rock, there will probably be a reduced filtration capability from the rock itself.

The skimmer will be a Reef Octopus Classic 150INT.

Please give me all your thoughts/ideas. Thanks.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

#reefsquad Stocking tips gang?

 

[RyanCSGO]

I actually like that list.
the one thing I would definitely consider is adding some sort of screen top for the tank. those anthias will likely try to make the jump one day.

 

[Tft12]

Consider the screen top as a must or you can be certain to lose fish from your list. It might take a couple days or a couple years, but it will happen eventually. The firefish and a few others on your list are also big jumpers. I've lost a few fish this way while I was "getting around" to putting my screen top on. Big mistake.

Many people would recommend against a yellow tang in a 75 gallon, 48" tank. My personal opinion is that if you buy a "tiny" (2" or smaller) one, it will fit fine in there for 1-3 years. Opinions vary pretty widely on this.

On the Madarin, my opinion is that you'll want to wait quite awhile before adding it so that your pod populations can become established. The mandarin would probably benefit from adding a refugium to your system if you can find room. Some wild Mandarins will eat prepared foods and there are captive bred options available that eat prepared foods. For me, they're still a hassle to feed in a moderate sized community tank because they are such slow and deliberate feeders that they can't compete...but that's a lack of effort on my part. Pods will come in on live rock or pretty much anything else you add to your tank but I like to give my system a pod boost every now and then with a kit from Algaebarn (or DocsEco).

Your list looks good. My favorite genus of fish, not included on your list, are the dwarf angels (Centropyge). To me these are some of the easiest and most interesting fish for a tank your size (but some people might say a 75 gallon is too small). They have the caveat that they aren't always "reef safe" but for me they're worth the risk.

One last suggestion is to quarantine your new fish...again, this is something that people have differing opinions on, and it's a hassle, but for me it's a must.

 

[679x]

I actually like that list.
the one thing I would definitely consider is adding some sort of screen top for the tank. those anthias will likely try to make the jump one day.

Yup! I've already started thinking about how to do the screen. I like the idea of having a small thing on each corner that the screen is attached to. I think there's a kit on a website that comes with that stuff.

Consider the screen top as a must or you can be certain to lose fish from your list. It might take a couple days or a couple years, but it will happen eventually. The firefish and a few others on your list are also big jumpers. I've lost a few fish this way while I was "getting around" to putting my screen top on. Big mistake.

Many people would recommend against a yellow tang in a 75 gallon, 48" tank. My personal opinion is that if you buy a "tiny" (2" or smaller) one, it will fit fine in there for 1-3 years. Opinions vary pretty widely on this.

On the Madarin, my opinion is that you'll want to wait quite awhile before adding it so that your pod populations can become established. The mandarin would probably benefit from adding a refugium to your system if you can find room. Some wild Mandarins will eat prepared foods and there are captive bred options available that eat prepared foods. For me, they're still a hassle to feed in a moderate sized community tank because they are such slow and deliberate feeders that they can't compete...but that's a lack of effort on my part. Pods will come in on live rock or pretty much anything else you add to your tank but I like to give my system a pod boost every now and then with a kit from Algaebarn (or DocsEco).

Your list looks good. My favorite genus of fish, not included on your list, are the dwarf angels (Centropyge). To me these are some of the easiest and most interesting fish for a tank your size (but some people might say a 75 gallon is too small). They have the caveat that they aren't always "reef safe" but for me they're worth the risk.

One last suggestion is to quarantine your new fish...again, this is something that people have differing opinions on, and it's a hassle, but for me it's a must.

Yeah, I'm thinking about the screen already. As for the rest of your points:

I was going to address the tang topic but decided not to, because I wanted to see what people would say first. If it seems that it's not getting enough room, I will be prepared to find it a new home. But in the meantime I am willing to try it, as long as I know the fish will be happy while it is in my tank.

For the mandarin, I've made a thread about that a few days ago actually. I was originally going to use a bucket as a refugium for copepods and attaching that to the tank's system, back when I was looking at the Reefer 250 opposed to the 350. However, I don't think I can do that anymore unless I use the ATO reservoir (which I would like to use and keep as-is), because the bucket refugium plan only worked if it was directly next to the sump. Since I am now looking at the Reefer 350 which has a wall/partition between the sump area and the empty chiller area, I have no room to connect a refugium. So, I think I'm going to culture pods in the chiller area in one of those jugs with the valves on them, so then whenever necessary, I can just open the cabinet doors, run a tube from the valve, outside the cabinet, then into the sump part of the cabinet and into the sump, and turn the valve to empty some pod water into the tank system.

I looked at the dwarf angels... bicolor, flame, and coral beauty are amazing-looking fish, but me and my family have decided we don't want to risk getting anything that will potentially cause problems for coral. Thanks for the suggestion though.

And last, but certainly not least important, is the quarantine tank. I didn't want to have to have fish tanks all across the house, since I already have two freshwater tanks, but I do agree that a quarantine tank is pretty important for me, so yes, I will be setting one up.

I actually do have a question regarding copepod culturing for the Mandarin... I could post it on my other thread, but I may have asked it already, I don't remember... do copepods (e.g Tisbe) need aeration from an air pump, or is something like an open-top jug sufficient? If they need more aeration, I will probably culture copepods somewhere other than inside the tank's cabinet, because I want the tank to be as silent as possible and air pumps make noise, and I don't know of any better way to create aeration in something like a water jug.

 

[Sabellafella]

A few days ago I got a green light for getting a Red Sea Reefer 350, rather than the 250. With the added foot I'm quite excited of the possibilities for aquascape and fish stocking.

This will be my first saltwater tank. It will be going in the living room, where people will see pretty often. So, instead of picking out all the fish myself, I've shown my family all the possible fish we could get, excluding fish that are too big, too aggressive, too expensive, or otherwise hard to keep.

We've brought it down to the following (1 of each):

-Yellow Tang
-Standard ocellaris clownfish
-Black and white ocellaris clownfish
-Bartlett's anthias
-Green reef chromis
-Carpenter's flasher wrasse
-Standard firefish
-Mandarin dragonet

I feel that this is a lot of fish, so I'm looking for help whittling it down further, so that it will reach a comfortable/safe level, assuming it isn't at that currently. I also want to make sure that this list will be compatible.

I'd also like to note that I'd like to keep a decent amount of swimming space for these fish. For the aquascape I was thinking of having two main islands of rock covered in coral (SPS and LPS), and one or two isolated islands for Hammer or Torch corals.

I want the tank to be easy to clean so that it won't get neglected, and so that algae or whatever won't build up in places that are hard to reach. I also want to make sure the sand is spotless at all times, so I will be doing sand vacuuming during water changes, so too much rock will interfere. The rock will be dry rock to start, rather than live, so obviously it'll be a long time before the tank is finished being stocked, and since I don't want TOO much rock, there will probably be a reduced filtration capability from the rock itself.

The skimmer will be a Reef Octopus Classic 150INT.

Please give me all your thoughts/ideas. Thanks.

I dont think thats alot of fish. I have 2 tangs along with 6 small fish in my 450 and im having a little trouble with such a "light" bioload compared to my filtration

 

[679x]

I dont think thats alot of fish.

Really? I thought that I'd get people saying it was too many. Good to hear that I won't have to cut it down any more, if everyone else thinks the same.

 

[Maritimer]

As mentioned (you've had a lot of excellent advice!), you've got some jumpers on the list. Bartlett's and wrasses can certainly vault over the rim, and most clowns can manage it as well. Firefish ... well, let's just say that fiery tail makes 'em look like a Saturn V while they're acting like ... well, a miniature Saturn V.

I'd note a point about the Bartlett's / Flasher combo: Flashers are pretty mellow wrasses, while Bartlett's are pretty feisty anthias. My dominant Bartlett's chased my flashers in a 3' tank, and they started hiding more and more . . . and now I can't find them at all. Might choose two flashers, instead - say, a McKosker's and a blue - and let them flash for one another.

~Bruce

 

[Sabellafella]

Really? I thought that I'd get people saying it was too many. Good to hear that I won't have to cut it down any more, if everyone else thinks the same.

Depends, a couple small fish with a single zebrasoma variety. Doesnt seem like alot givin the tank size, and im sure youll have some type of filtration

 

[679x]

I'd note a point about the Bartlett's / Flasher combo: Flashers are pretty mellow wrasses, while Bartlett's are pretty feisty anthias. My dominant Bartlett's chased my flashers in a 3' tank, and they started hiding more and more . . . and now I can't find them at all. Might choose two flashers, instead - say, a McKosker's and a blue - and let them flash for one another.

~Bruce

Thanks for the reply. What if I don't get an anthias, and instead get a Solon fairy wrasse? How would that work with the carpenter's flasher wrasse?

 

[Maritimer]

The solon will get a bit larger, and I've heard that some can be a bit aggressive, but mine is a pussycat. (This could be due to the fact that he's a bit nervous about the larger (for now) orange-back wrasse and much more active exquisite wrasse in the same tank.)

~Bruce

 

[679x]

The solon will get a bit larger, and I've heard that some can be a bit aggressive, but mine is a pussycat. (This could be due to the fact that he's a bit nervous about the larger (for now) orange-back wrasse and much more active exquisite wrasse in the same tank.)

~Bruce

Hmm... I like most flasher and fairy wrasses, but I was thinking about some more diversity in terms of fish appearance. E.g. two flasher wrasses would be too similar in appearance to one another.

I personally would be ok with it, because I like watching wrasses swim when I've seen them at a few LFSs, so I think I would enjoy having two... but my family might think they look too similar, because we've whittled down our list of possible fish by taking out those that don't add much to the tank in terms of colour, etc. But as I said before I don't really think that way, me being the fish enthusiast in the house. I'll have to see what they think.

Thanks for your help.