75 gal reef stocking questions

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Youngeshark70

Member
I knowww another stocking post. Seems like there is tons out there and trust me i have reviewed them all and have a decent idea of what to do. I bet you guys are tired of these same old post but id rather bug you guys than risk harming the oceans magnificent creatures. So i have a 75 gal tank with a 20 gal sump. Around 90lbs of live rock. I have a few questions as to what to put in the sump too. So let me ask them first.
So the sump is just a simple three section that i built, one with the filter sock then refugium then pump. Im planning on putting in a basket to hold a bag of activated carbon(replace once a month). What eles do i need to put in there? And what should i put in the refugium i hear alot of the chetto stuff, i just have some sand in there at the moment. Btw i am goin to complete all the filtration before adding fish. And keep in mind i want to have the option to add soft corals to this tank down the road just dont have the money rn to get the skimmer, ro/di, and lighting and such. Anyways i have picked out.

1 yellow eye kole tang
3 pajama cardinals
2 ocellaris clownfish (can i do two different color patterns with these?)
Couple orange spot gobies
Carpenter wrasse
Bi color dottyback
Maybe a blenny

And for cuc
Serpent sea star
Banded coral shrimp
Peppermint shrimp
Some snails (opinions on which type and how many)
 
I would do a royal gramma instead of dotty back, they look almost identical but grammas are much nicer. Yes you can do 2 colors of occelaris clownfish, I would get them both as juveniles and let them figure out the dominance issues on their own. I would only do 1 goby and then 1 blenny.
 
I agree with Martini on the royal gramma. I love dottybacks but they can get very aggressive. You can have different pattern on the clowns. I'd stick to only 1 goby and/or 1 blenny because you don't want to overstock your tank. Also, if you decide to get the dottyback make sure you get large gobies or the dottyback will kill them. As for the CUC, all those are good but I'd recommend getting even more if you can afford it. They are very exciting and add lots to the tank. Not only that, they really do clean and make things like over feeding much less worrisome. They don't have to be expensive either. Hermit crabs are great and barely cost anything. On top of that they are basically impossible to kill. As for snails, I recommend getting many aestria snails and a couple turbo snails. Also get a couple carnivorous snails as well. They will eat fish food off the bottom and devour any dead fish/CUC immediately so they don't rot and poison the tank. Beware, if you are set on getting corals in the future, certain snails aren't reef safe. Aestria snails are perfect and turbo snails are good but they get large and can be a pain in reef tanks because they'll knock down corals. Also, I would highly reccomened a couple emerald crabs. If you can afford it, have a little more fun and get some unique (and peaceful) additions like a sea urchin, feather duster, scallop, clam, etc (clams need coral lighting though). I hope you enjoy your new tank!
 
Fine as singles or pairs, with 3 one will likely get killed off. Just try to get a mates pair. Also, snails
Or hermits not both. Hermits kill snails. And snails are better clean up crew
 
Also what would be the best order to introduce these fish?
1. Goby, blenny
2. Royal gramma, carpenter wrasse
3. Clownfish and tang
3.
 
Just a word of caution on the feather duster. My Coral banded Shrimp eats these everytime. He tries to eat the hermit crabs, too. He's even tried to grab fish from time to time, but most are too fast for him. I don't know how other shrimp would fair with him in the tank. Yours may be nicer than mine, but he's really neat looking and very active, but a pain since I really liked my feather duster worms too.
My hermits and snails seem to co-exist with no problems that I see. A few snails do disappear from time to time, but they did that even wen I had no hermits in the tank. And the hermits do a really good job on any leftovers on the tank floor.

Just my $0.02. YMMV

Steve
 
I can do without the Coral banded Shrimp, also prolly gana drop the blenny too. Trying not to get too stocked being that i want to do soft corals. What kind of extra filter media do i need for the time being while i just have fish? Then what all should i add for the soft corals?
 
Welcome to the hobby!
I have a 75g with 20g sump as well. I started without a RODI and really regretted it. It took a long time to get rid of the phosphates that accumulated from the treated tap water. And I did have a skimmer at the time.
If I were you, I'd buy a RODI before anything else. It'll save you lots of hassles (and money) down the road. This is a necessary piece of equipment.
Good luck and have fun!
Michelle
 
Youngeshark70 said:
Thank you Michelle, does it matter what type RO/DI system i get? I found one on ebay (never used) for cheap. It says its a 75gpd
Click to expand...


It can, yes. Depending on the water quality of the tap water in your area and whether your area uses chloramines. But for a starter system it doesn't really matter, but I would first figure out where you are going to attach the system to. They are pretty big, fair warning. If you post a picture we can help you more.
 
Honestly, I would just get one from bulk reef supply. I used an aquatic buddy for a year and it did ok but then one of the connecting hoses got all weird. Actually, if you want to talk
To the company and figure out how to fix it, then you can have it. Just pay for shipping. I'm sure it's an easy fix, I just wanted to upgrade so I went with brs
 
The one i found online is for $65 and one from brs is $150 minimum. So id rather just take the chance of it lasting only a year. I'll be goin to college in a year anyways, in the process of teaching my dad all of this so that he can run it when i leave. So i can leave him havin to replace it lol
 
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