Help me stock my 210g mixed reef

[HarlequinTusk]

Almost 10 yrs ago I have an aggressive FO 90g tank. A case of ick took out all my fish very quickly, so I got out of the hobby for awhile. This time, I'm taking it EXTREMELY slow. I've been buying equipment over the last 2 years and it's FINALLY all together. I'm currently cycling my display tank and my quarantine tanks. I've spent so much time researching equipment, that I have somewhat neglected the actual fish research. I'll give my equipment list at the end in case any one is interested in what I've built.

Goal: 210g Mixed Reef

Fish desired:

• Clownfish - mated pair
• Tangs (Yellow and Powder Blue and Desjardini Sailfin and Purple)
• Wrasse (looking for suggestions)
• Butterflyfish (Pakistan or Latticed or Copperband)
• Angelfish (Emperor)
• Dwarf Angelfish (Flame or Coral Beauty or Bicolor)
• Chromis (blue reef or green)
• Damselfish (blue sapphire)
• Cardinalfish (Pajama or Banggai)
• Anthias (looking for suggestions)
• Gobies (looking for suggestions)
• Hawkfish (Flame or Falco or Longnose)
• Mandarin (after tank is established and I'm breeding copepods)

Current Equipment (Display Tank)
Aqueon 210G (72"L x 24"W x 29"H) Tank
Custom built Stand and Canopy (haven't built the doors yet!)
Aquatic Life 61" T5HO 4 x 80W Fixture (will eventually adding 3 or 4 Kessil A360X LEDs)
Ecotech Vortech MP40WQD Powerhead (will be adding another eventually)
150+ lbs of MarcoRocks

Current Equipment (Basement - directly under DT)
Custom PVC plumbing

• 1.5" plumbing for return and drains
• 1" plumbing for manifold

Reeflo Hammerhead/Barracuda Gold External Pump
Trigger Systems Sapphire Sump 39
Kessil H160 Tuna Flora LED Algae Grow Light (will be growing chaeto in sump)
(2) 500W Finnex TH Deluxe Titanium Heaters
Ink Bird Temperature Controller for the heaters
1/2 cubic foot Marinepure ceramic bio media 2" cubes (in sump)
Equipment running off manifold (each with separate valve)

• Skimz Monster SM252 External Protein Skimmer (runs off manifold)
• BRS Deluxe Reactor (will be running BRS ROX 0.8 Carbon)
• BRS Deluxe Reactor (will be running BRS High Capacity GFO)
• BRS Jumbo Reactor (will be running BRS biopellets)

Watermaking station

• BRS 6 stage RO/DI system
• (2) 65G tanks
• Pan World 100PX-X pump

 

[lionfish300]

Any live stock yet?

 

[HarlequinTusk]

Any live stock yet?

Mated pair black snowflake clownfish, 4 emerald green crabs, 5 snails. I do have a flame angel and sail fin tang, but they just started quarantine.

 

[clevername]

Any updates, funny cause im starting the exact tank and VERY close to the same equipment.

One thing i personally upgraded was the MP60's. However note, my tank its 1 foot longer and 6 inches shorter (same water volume). Your build is spot on (all your "will buy later" was what i ended up saving for initially). I really think this will be a solid build and shouldn't need any upgrades or re buying.

Id be curious if you think the MP40 is underrated? Why you did external pumps. A DC pump for the same flow (controllable too & battery backup-able) does about 3X less energy and ZERO noise.

 

[Dmorty217]

Skip the chromis, they slowly pick each other off if they don’t die from urenoma. You won’t be happy with the MP40 in the 210g. In my old 220g I had to upgrade to a MP60 due to lack of flow across the tank

 

[clevername]

Skip the chromis, they slowly pick each other off if they don't die from urenoma. You won't be happy with the MP40 in the 210g. In my old 220g I had to upgrade to a MP60 due to lack of flow across the tank

Thanks, all what i thought. Making sure i got the perfect setup
Sparing no cost this time.

 

[HarlequinTusk]

Any updates, funny cause im starting the exact tank and VERY close to the same equipment.

One thing i personally upgraded was the MP60's. However note, my tank its 1 foot longer and 6 inches shorter (same water volume). Your build is spot on (all your "will buy later" was what i ended up saving for initially). I really think this will be a solid build and shouldn't need any upgrades or re buying.

Id be curious if you think the MP40 is underrated? Why you did external pumps. A DC pump for the same flow (controllable too & battery backup-able) does about 3X less energy and ZERO noise.

I think you made the right decision by going MP60's. I chose MP40's because the web app on ecotechmarine showed that 2 MP40's would be plenty enough. I was very worried that those POWERFUL MP40's would blow my sand all over the place. I even got a slightly more coarse sand so it wouldn't be a snow globe. Those MP40's do circulate decently, but my sand barely moves.

 

[ThRoewer]

...A case of ick took out all my fish very quickly...

Sounds more like it was velvet.

To your fish list:

If you want SPS I would be careful with the dwarf angels - they are likely to pick on corals, even if they don't eat them. There are several large angels who are far less likely to harass SPS, especially if you raise them from tiny juveniles.
If you want LPS the situation is reversed - dwarf angels may be better suited in this case.
With dwarf angels, I would strongly advise to keep them either in pairs or harem groups. Single dwarfs tend to get neurotic and are more likely to do damage out of boredom.
Also, dwarf angels only get 8 (smaller species like flames) to 18 (larger species like bicolor) years old, so I would suggest getting juveniles to get the most for your money. BTW, some large angels can get up to 70 years old, so with good care they may outlive you.

I would keep Damsels only in pairs or harem groups to minimize aggression against other fish.

Gobies and hawkfish are among the easiest fish to pair as they change sex both ways.
For the hawks, I would suggest a pair of longnose hawks.
With the gobies, I would go with one of the larger species, but get them as smaller juveniles to maximize the time you have them. Many gobies live in symbiosis with pistol shrimp. If you pick one of those species I would suggest also get the matching shrimp (at least matching in size.)

Banggais form pairs and kill off all the extras. So I would just get a pair and not a group. Most other cardinals are more social and can be kept in larger groups.

 

[HarlequinTusk]

Any updates, funny cause im starting the exact tank and VERY close to the same equipment.

Just noticed this old thread that I started a few years ago. Between COVID and starting a new hobby (drumming) that's caused me to lose focus on my aquarium, the tank hasn't had any changes lately. But I am going to use my vacation time to give it some more effort again. My "complete" list of fish is a Desjardini Sailfin, and a mated pair of Snowflake Clownfish. I did have a Flame Angelfish that died, I believe because of harassment of the Sailfin. It was showing no signs of bad health when it died. I EXTREMELY regret buying a sump without automatic filtration. My three socks need to be changed far more often than I remember to do so. My two attempts to grow chaeto were a failure. I purchased more expensive "clean chaeto" from AlgaeBard, bought the proper LED from Kessil, and used Refugium fertilizer. Both batches of chaeto died off without ever growing at all. I think I'm going to attempt to add another tang and a Puffer over the next few months.