Please give advice on my 75gal reef stocking plans!!

[runningrandy04]

Hey everyone,

Really looking for some good input on my stocking plans. Any advice or suggestions will be greatly appreciated!

Current system:
- 75 gal barebottom with 80 lbs of dry rock
- ReefKeeper2 controller
- 2x Tunze 6015(550gph), 1x Tunze 6065(1700gph)
- 30 gal sump
- Octopus Extreme 200 with OTP-2000 NW pump
- Phosban 150 reactor
- Magdrive 12 return with Magdrive 9.5 backup
- 5 stage RO/DI for water supply using Seachem Reefsalt

System upgrades:
- Aquatrance 3000 for skimmer (purchase same time as clowns)
- Photon V2 48 led light (purchase same time as cuc)
- ReefBreeders Par38 Refugium bulb for cheato (purchase same time as cuc)
- Dosing Kalkwasser in the ATO (purchase ATO ASAP, daily top offs are a PITA)

Potential stocking in order: (weeks after 3 month cycle)
-20-30 snails(Margarita, Nerite, Trochus, Turbo), pod supply, 2x Emerald crab (week 0)
-4x Pepermint shrimp, 2x Cleaner shrimp (week 2)
-2x Ocellaris clownfish (week 4)
-3x Chromis, 1x Brittlestar, Cheato in sump (week 8)
-Foxface (One Spot) (week12)
-Six Line Wrasse (week 16)
-Kole tang (week 20)
-Anthias ? (if not too many fish already) (week 24)
-BTA for the clowns (week 30)
-add numerous LPS after BTA settles
-fill in cuc as needed

Concerns:
1. Too many fish?
2. Good order to introduce? (Anthias will go in before Six line if I do get some)
3. Suggestions for cuc diversity. (No hermits please, love them, not a fan of reef hunger games though)

 

[MondoBongo]

i would skip the sixline. they generally turn in to complete and utter knobs. i had one and he harassed my clown fish mercilessly.

i would probably go with one cleaner shrimp in the 75. not that you couldn't have two, but they tend to get a bit "handsy" with fish at times, so being able to give them some room can be helpful.

i don't keep chromis or foxface, so not sure there.

for the clean up crew, you might not have enough algae in there to sustain that many snails and crabs that early on, but keep an eye on your algae growth and size your CUC appropriately.

BTA. well, if it's just for the clowns i wouldn't bother. they can be hit or miss with choosing things as a host, and a BTA isn't even a species that ocellaris would naturally use as a host in the wild. my clowns (percula) happily pick a spot in the tank, usually by a powerhead, overflow, or mag float, to make their home. plus, week 30 is a bit soon for a nem in my opinion.

i didn't see anything in your list about a quarantine tank, or an auto top off. i would strongly suggest using both of those.

 

[runningrandy04]

Thanks for the reply Mondo,

I've been on the fence about the six line for that reason. Was your six line introduced towards the beginning or end of your additions? I ask because I've read success stories with the six line being the last to go in.

Easy fix, start off with 1 cleaner shrimp and less cuc at the start. Much easier to add more later.

Yea....clowns aren't the only reason I want a BTA but I was hoping to hear more success stories about the BTA becoming host. Thought about going with True Percs but they may not even go for the BTA. How do you like your Percs? I heard they are more likely to take over half of a 75gal when they get older.

Oh... I will have an ATO coming asap. As soon as I decide between the Tunze Osmolator and the Osmolator nano. Any thoughts?

I also have 2x 20gal Long QT tanks for TTM and 2 week observation/prazipro treatment afterwards.

 

[raybyrne67]

I'm running a 75RR mixed reef and agree with MondoBongo for not choosing the 6-line . I've have nothing but praise for the Osmolator it's a great and safe ATO.

 

[juniorrocketdad]

Sixline is fine especially if added last, they won't bother things hat were added before them but are mean to new additions, mine is mean to new additions but after about a week he chills out and hasn't actually killed a fish yet so that is my experience but I would definantly add last its not worth the stress of having him pick on other fish although the mirror technique I found works quite well to help him chill out, too many snails start with like 5-10 and add more as needed, bta should be added at six months but don't be surprised if your clowns never host it, they are still awesome to have though. Lastly I wouldn't get the peppermint shrimp, there is really no reason they aren't all that nice and only come out at night only reason people et them is to deal with aiptasia. I would not get anthias because you have a lot of semi aggressive fish(tang fox face sixline) that will pick on them and steal their food. Remember hey need to be fed like 5 times a day too so if you use an auto feeder it often oversees so water changes need to happen more frequently as well

 

[runningrandy04]

@ Raybyrne
Thanks for the repy, I will count your vote against the six line (2 against/1 for). Still really curious about how order affects six line behavior. I'm definitely going with Tunze, not sure if the second sensor is worth the extra $100 though.

@ Juniorrocketdad
Thanks for the input about six line order. I'm already cutting down on cuc at the start. As for the peppermint shrimp, they are my carnivore cuc as all my snail choices are full herbivore. I have 45x flow in the DT so detrivores are out until I see my surges not stirring it up.
My stocking schedule is after a 3 month cycle so BTA will go in at 10.5 month.
I will cut the anthia, as food competition is tough and they will be the only peaceful species over time. As far as the semi-aggressive nature at maturity of this stocking goes, do you think the Ocellaris will hold their own? Also hoping that the slight aggression encourages the Chromis to rally and not battle it out.

 

[runningrandy04]

UPDATED ORIGINAL POST​

Hey everyone,

Really looking for some good input on my stocking plans. Any advice or suggestions will be greatly appreciated!

Current system:
- 75 gal barebottom with 80 lbs of dry rock
- ReefKeeper2 controller
- 2x Tunze 6015(550gph), 1x Tunze 6065(1700gph)
- 30 gal sump
- Octopus Extreme 200 with OTP-2000 NW pump
- Phosban 150 reactor
- Magdrive 12 return with Magdrive 9.5 backup
- 5 stage RO/DI for water supply using Seachem Reefsalt

System upgrades:
- Aquatrance 3000 for skimmer (purchase same time as clowns)
- Photon V2 48 led light (purchase same time as cuc)
- ReefBreeders Par38 Refugium bulb for cheato (purchase same time as cuc)
- Dosing Kalkwasser in the ATO (purchase ATO ASAP, daily top offs are a PITA)

Potential stocking in order: (weeks after 3 month cycle)
-20-30 snails(Margarita, Nerite, Trochus, Turbo), pod supply, 2x Emerald crab (week 0)

Adjust to 2 snails of each type and move Emeralds to a later date​

​

-4x Pepermint shrimp, 2x Cleaner shrimp (week 2)

Cut down to 1 Cleaner shrimp​

​

-2x Ocellaris clownfish (week 4)
-3x Chromis, 1x Brittlestar, Cheato in sump (week 8)
-Foxface (One Spot) (week12)
-Six Line Wrasse (week 16)

Still under debate (2 against/ 1 for)​

​

-Kole tang (week 20)
-Anthias ? (if not too many fish already) (week 24)

Removed from list due to bullying and feeding requirements​

​

-BTA for the clowns (week 30)

Scheduled for 10.5 month mark.​

​

-add numerous LPS after BTA settles
-fill in cuc as needed

Concerns:
1. Too many fish?
2. Good order to introduce? (Anthias will go in before Six line if I do get some)
3. Suggestions for cuc diversity. (No hermits please, love them, not a fan of reef hunger games though)

Hey everyone, here are the updates so far. Still wondering about how close I am to the suspected carrying capacity of this system?

 

[MondoBongo]

Thanks for the reply Mondo,

I've been on the fence about the six line for that reason. Was your six line introduced towards the beginning or end of your additions? I ask because I've read success stories with the six line being the last to go in.

Easy fix, start off with 1 cleaner shrimp and less cuc at the start. Much easier to add more later.

Yea....clowns aren't the only reason I want a BTA but I was hoping to hear more success stories about the BTA becoming host. Thought about going with True Percs but they may not even go for the BTA. How do you like your Percs? I heard they are more likely to take over half of a 75gal when they get older.

Oh... I will have an ATO coming asap. As soon as I decide between the Tunze Osmolator and the Osmolator nano. Any thoughts?

I also have 2x 20gal Long QT tanks for TTM and 2 week observation/prazipro treatment afterwards.

my sixline was added last, and harassed the living daylights out of my clowns, eventually causing one to jump. terrible fish in my experience. the tales of them being good citizens are far outweighed by the horror stories.

i love my percs. i think they look nicer than the ocellaris, but that's just personal preference. i can't speak to how they compare to other species of clowns in regards to territory, but they are generally very peaceful with the other fish.

i like my tunze osmolator quite a bit, in fact i have two of them currently. one on my main tank, the other on my grow out system. the only issue i've ever had with them is when i dropped one in sump, but that wasn't the tunze's fault.

also, i don't see any issues with the anthias if there is no six line. i would probably hold off on them for a while though. get your legs under you for a year or so before you start getting more difficult fish. depending on which type, they're usually able to be brought over to pellet type foods, so you can get an auto feeder to help supplement them during the day, then give them one or two small feedings of frozen to augment that.

 

[raybyrne67]

I added a pair of Green Anthias about 10 months ago and have them eating mini pellets. They are fat and healthy and are not bullied. I feed the tank once per day.

 

[runningrandy04]

Thanks guys, it seems its an either/or situation between anthias and six line. I'll just wait and see when the time comes. Doing a lot of research in farming pods, rotifers, and phyto for tank dosing. Both choices would be would be at six months after cycle, just before the tang. I have time. Tang is a big fish that could be semi-aggressive towards new fish so he will go in last.

 

[juniorrocketdad]

Please give advice on my 75gal reef stocking plans!!

The clowns will be fine if they can establish territory first. With out the sixline there is a decent chance the anthias will be fine but realize for long term health they need to be fed several times a day.

 

[A.Astore]

Thanks for the reply Mondo,

I've been on the fence about the six line for that reason. Was your six line introduced towards the beginning or end of your additions? I ask because I've read success stories with the six line being the last to go in.

Easy fix, start off with 1 cleaner shrimp and less cuc at the start. Much easier to add more later.

Yea....clowns aren't the only reason I want a BTA but I was hoping to hear more success stories about the BTA becoming host. Thought about going with True Percs but they may not even go for the BTA. How do you like your Percs? I heard they are more likely to take over half of a 75gal when they get older.

Oh... I will have an ATO coming asap. As soon as I decide between the Tunze Osmolator and the Osmolator nano. Any thoughts?

I also have 2x 20gal Long QT tanks for TTM and 2 week observation/prazipro treatment afterwards.

We bought the Tunze Osmolator for while we were on vacation and fully anticipated to take it back offline once home because of the reservoir need. Needless to say, it has been amazing and is still set up a month later. It is a great buy and one you can use the coupon codes on if buying through LA (unlike a few other brands). It was easy to set up and seems pretty foolproof in terms of keeping water from overflowing. I was not really happy about spending the money initially but it has proven its worth.

As far as the sixline wrasse- we had one in a 55 gallon a few years ago that was a model citizen with absolutely no issues even though there were fish added after it was. We decided against it in our 150 gallon because of all the stories we have read on the forums. It is like any other fish, you just don't know what you are going to get. I currently have a perfect example in my sunrise dottyback that is being a complete jerk even though he was the last added atm and has no major horror stories found in terms of them acting a fool.

I would also be careful with the number of snails you put in initially. I started with only 15 and have not added any since. I do have about 10 small hermits, an urchin, and a goby but had I added many more snails there would have been a massive die off; thus, doing the exact opposite of what I was attempting to achieve with the addition. I would maybe break your snail order a bit and add a few with each new fish so you can see where they find a happy place of food availability to sustain them and in turn don't have the major die off.

 

[runningrandy04]

@ juniorrocketdad
Clowns have 3 months to establish so I am sure they will be fine. From what I've read, anthias should be treated similar to a mandrin. That being said, if i find success in breeding phyto, rotifers, and pods, I am confident they will be some fat anthias.

@ A.Astore
Thanks for the reply. Oh, the money we spend for piece of mind! I'm sure I'll spend the $200 on the Osmolator, but I wont like it.
It really is true, any fish can turn into an jerk. My chromis in my previous setup was the offender in that group. Looks like you tied it up to (2 against/2 for) on the sixline choice.
I've decided on a minimal clean up crew, especially since my ttm using 20gal long is gonna be using old water off the DT. 20% WC every 3 days. Zero nitrates for me!!

 

[Frostyfishman]

Isn't it a little much to have foxface fish and kole tang in a 75? They are both large compared to tank environment.

 

[runningrandy04]

Thanks for the reply frosty,
I'm sure my filtration can handle it, but I haven't heard anything about it being too crowded. I've chosen the smallest of both species, and I'm only running about 80 lbs of rock so there should be decent amount of room in the display.

 

[MMacro]

IMO
The tang, foxface, and anthias all require a larger tank.

 

[runningrandy04]

Thanks for the reply reeferplax,
Are you saying that combined my tank is too small or individually my tank is too small?

 

[Frostyfishman]

I have a kole tang in a 75. I feel the fish would be crowded if you added both. My opinion is kole tang or foxface not both. They are both great fish!

 

[Sk8r]

Foxface is armed with poison spine and once he heads past 6" may take out tankmates.

 

[killagoby]

The Kole Tang would do well in a 75. The Foxface needs a bigger tank IMO

If you're going to do the BTA I'd add that 1st, wait a month, then add a Tomato or Clarkii Clown. They are more apt to host in it