Stocking 125 gallon tank

[Gilla]

Hi Reef Central! My name is Andy and I have been keeping fish for about 3 years. I have only done freshwater so far but for a project at school I have been cleaning out a neglected 125 gallon FOWLR tank. It was badly covered in algae but I have cleared most of that off. I have also been doing heavy water changes with sandbed vacuuming. The tank has significantly improved since I began. It isn't quite there yet but once clean I would like to stock the tank with new fish. The tank is currently running at 79 degrees and 1.022 salinity. It currently has a sump which is about 30 gallons and I will be installing a protein skimmer shortly.

The tank currently houses...
Foxface Lo (Siganus vulpinus)
Sergeant Major Damselfish (Abudefduf saxatilis)
Pink Spotted Watchman Goby (Cryptocentrus leptocephalus)
and two unidentified "tangs" (my teacher tells me)

I plan to get rid of the Sergeant Major Damselfish and the two identified "tangs" as they are not very compatible with other fish. The Sergeant Major Damselfish constantly attacks the Foxface and the tangs. The tangs bicker between themselves and I am sure wouldn't hesitate to harass any new tankmates.

Anyways after getting rid of those fish my goals for the tank would be to have a sustainable/balanced, low maintenance (in terms of feeding so can primarily live off of pellets), hardy, and low bioload community of fish and several snails, crabs, shrimps, and whatnot. I won't be able to care for the tank beyond this July so as little maintenance on my teacher's shoulders the better.

Some things I was thinking of were...
a few Blue/Green Reef Chromis (Chromis viridis)
a Six Line Wrasse (Pseudocheilinus hexataenia)
and maybe a Kole Yellow Eye Tang (Ctenochaetus strigosus) thoughts?

As a saltwater noob, I don't really know what I'm doing in terms of stocking so please help me figure it out. I don't want anything that gets too big for the 125 as there will be no upgrading but anyways I hope some of you will have fun coming up with some possible stocking lists. The fish I am thinking aren't set at all so let me know if any of them are just terrible or something. Also some clean-up crew suggestions would be nice too.

Thanks!
Andy

 

[Bpb]

Kole tangs are great
Stay away from damsels in general
sixline wrasses are like the damsels of the wrasses, once they're comfortable they usually get ultra territorial and aggressive and near impossible to remove from a tank once theyre in
The chromis will likely reduce their own numbers down to 1-2 in time. They just typically don't sustain school sized numbers in captivity for very long.
For wrasses, the sixlines are inexpensive and attractive, but kind of a pain
Consider some of the more peaceful fairy wrasses, flasher wrasses, or coris wrasses

 

[Joke]

Pics of the two unidentified "tangs"?

 

[leviburns89]

Clown harem... introduce a school of 20 clowns, this will diffuse aggression, and they are mostly fed pellet food at wholesale locations.

Just an idea, could add a ton of activity. Plus people will be like Whoa! Look at all the Nemos.

I spend a lot of time at various LFS, and people always gaggle around the clownfish.

As for adding that many fish at once, just do a daily or tri-weekly water change for the first two weeks, and you should be able to avoid an ammonia spike.

Again, just an idea

Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk

 

[Gilla]

Thanks for the responses! Very interesting idea with the 20 clowns could they work with the kole tang? I would like a little more diversity among the fish community.

I have attached four photos of the tangs sorry for the bad quality but the pics were taken when the tank was still really dirty.

Also any ideas for a CUC?

Thanks!

 

[Gilla]

BUMP please

 

[leviburns89]

CUC should only be for what job you want done.

If you have bubble algae, emerald crabs with caution.

Hair algae, Scarlett hermits, lawnmower blenny

Film algae or glass algae, turbo and asterea snails, trochus snails are great too.

Detritus, nessarius snails.

Reefcleaners website has an extremely helpful guide on what eats what.

If you are having big algae problems, a CUC isn't where you should start, you should be testing phosphates and nitrates. and use a phosphate reduction method via GFO or LC. I prefer GFO. Saw huge results after just a week.

Also manual removal via your hands, or vacuum is your best friend. A pain sometimes, but it's the only way to physically remove those nutrients from the system.

Always always be diligent about weekly water changes

Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk

 

[Gilla]

There tends to be a lot of Detritus and hair+film algae so I think astrea snails, scarlett hermits, and nessarius snails are what I'll try to get

Also are there any other tangs that could live comfortably in a 125 gallon with the kole and foxface? Or would it be better to just avoid another tang?

Thanks!

 

[Maritimer]

You've probably already figured this out, but the "unidentified tangs" ... are damsels. No wonder they're anti-social!

You might look into nerite snails or Trochus as well, for the algae - and possibly even a tuxedo or other urchin. (Nothing scrubs rock like an urchin!) Trochus snails can right themselves if they fall upside-down, Astraea often have trouble doing so - which doesn't stop me from keeping a few "ninja-stars" around! There are several varieties of Cerith snails which are generalists - they feed on both algae and detritus, and will often burrow as the Nassarius do, helping stir the sandbed.

For tangs ... maybe something like a yellow, or other Zebrasoma? - but my tang experience is limited, so take that with a grain of RSCP . . .

~Bruce

 

[leviburns89]

Again - if you don't already have a gfo system in place, that will be your biggest ally alongside water changes.

A CUC will help remove algae, but it all just gets turned into poo, with raises nitrates and ammonia, which completes the algae circle

GFO and manual removal actually remove the nutrients from the water, thus making your system that much closer to low nutrient. Which is what you are aiming for.

Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk

 

[Gilla]

Thanks for the info guys! I'll definitely use it

What's a GFO? I'm a Saltwater Noob so I don't know all the acronyms please explain.

Also the tank already has a few sea urchins will sea urchins mix ok? They don't seem aggressive at all but just making sure.

Do you know what kind of damsels to the best of your ability the "tangs" are?

Thanks Again!

 

[leviburns89]

GFO is granular ferric oxide.

It is used to remove phosphates. It binds them to the gfo itself, thus removing it from the water column.

It should be used with a GFO reactor, twolittlefishies makes a very nice and inexpensive option, when used in conjunction with PhosBan (gfo) it will successfully remove large amounts of phosphates, and the gfo only needs to be replaced as needed. Some reefers keep gfo running for months before having to replace it. The only way to know for sure is to measure phosphates, and once it begins to rise, change it out.

A simple gfo system can be installed in less than 30 minutes, and cost about $120 give or take.

This will help immensely reduce algae issues, especially long term.

I should add, GFO is like carbon, a filter media. So you will need a reactor, a pump, and the gfo itself. Be sure to only use the recommended amount, as too much can make the water "too clean" and restrict coral growth and life.
Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk

 

[OrQidz]

I think a Kole tang would be fine in there. The urchins should be fine, they eat algae and such as well. If they are the really spiky black ones, be aware they can nail you with their spines causing pain and possibly infection. (it sounds like this might be a classroom tank so just pointing that out). The smaller, rounder ones like velvet urchins should be fine.

 

[Gilla]

I see not sure if my school would want to purchase a GFO reactor... It seems useful and if I were to do my own saltwater tank, I definitely would purchase one but spending $120 for the removal of phosphates will be hard to justify to my teacher.

Yeh, this is a classroom tank (sorry if that wasn't clear from my intro). Good to know that they won't be a problem!

Any Other Fish Suggestions?

 

[Maritimer]

Unfortunately, there are a _lot_ of damsels which kind of turn dark gray as they get older. Beau Gregory (I think it's a Pomacentrus? maybe?) is one - beautiful yellow fish with a purple back as a juvenile, but as an adult . . .

~Bruce

 

[Gilla]

Yes, it looks very similar to the Beau Gregory with the yellow eyes!

Any suggestions for tankmates for the Kole Tang and Foxface?

Thank You!