The Ultimate Cool 90 G Stocking List

[LJA]

About to pick up a 90 gallon all glass reef ready tank this weekend (the tank I've always wanted ). And even though it will probably be a few months before I can set it all up I'm already planning on what I will be stocking in my tank.

Will be a very mixed reef with diversity in the CUC as well as the tank inhabitants in mind.


What I would be moving from my 29G:

1 Black O Clown
1 Orange O Clown
1 Coral Beauty Angel
1 Purple Psudochromis


What I would be thinking about getting in addition:

1 Purple Tang, Powder Blue, Scopas, or Kole (Which one?!)

1, 2 or 3 Fathead Sunburst Anthias (Opinions on groups of these?)

2 or 3 Engineer Gobys


Lots of MISC inverts. Some transfer some added:

1 Peppermint Shrimp
1 Coral Banded Shrimp
2 Cleaner Shrimp
1 Emerald Crab
1 Purple/pink/red Sea Urchin

And a good mix of turbo, large cerith, small cerith, nassarius, nerite, astrea and a few fighting conchs.

And probably about 20 blue leg hermits


Corals:

A good mix of LPS and Softies. Not really interested in SPS at this time, might be added in extream moderation down the road.

Mainly LPS with ricordea and other softies. Some transfer a lot will be new.



I have about a year of hands on experience but have a fairly sound background in biology. What are some of the expert's opinions on the order of adding these fish? Should fish like the Sunburst Anthias be added first or not kept in small groups?


This thread will be converted to a build thread when I get everything!


Thanks for all the help so far!

 

[LJA]

Some other questions:

Some other questions:

1.) What would a good skimmer be for this much bioload? Could I get away with an Octopus NW-200?

2.) What about the listed bioload; Small, medium, or large for this size tank?

3.) Would 4 x 48" T5 HO Bulbs be enough light over a 90G for most LPS?

4.) Should I add any of these fish mainly last or keep in mind any other ideas about the order of stocking this tank?


Other info I forgot to list:

29G Sump/Fuge with macros
Lots of flow, will probably shoot for 40-50x turnover
DSB of about 4-6 inches
Skimmer (dunno which one)
Carbon Reactor
PO4 Reactor

Thanks!

 

[Wetline]

For question #3 about the T5's. The answer is yes with the right bulbs you will have no problem.

 

[lilalove]

Sunburst anthias will not tolerate conspecifics. Probably you will have WW3 on your hands until there is just 1 left. I'd stick to adding just the 1. These, unlike the other anthias, are solitary.

 

[Amoore311]

1.) What would a good skimmer be for this much bioload? Could I get away with an Octopus NW-200?

2.) What about the listed bioload; Small, medium, or large for this size tank?

3.) Would 4 x 48" T5 HO Bulbs be enough light over a 90G for most LPS?

4.) Should I add any of these fish mainly last or keep in mind any other ideas about the order of stocking this tank.

1. Octopus NW 200 would work fine. I prefer the MXC160 though. The Octo is "ok" right out of the box,and can be modded to perform quite well. The MXC 160 is a beast right out of the box.

2. I would say you have a medium-high bioload. Only b/c the Anthias have to be fed so damn much lol.

3. I'd go with 6 Bulbs personally. W/ 4x48" T5's you're only going to have 2 bulbs that give off "useable light", since you will have 2 Actinics. You could very well do with 4 Bulbs np, but it's borderline IMO.

4. Purple Tang definitely goes in last if you decide to get him. I passed on a Purple Tang simply because they were so incredibly mean. I got a Hawaii Yellow Tang instead.

What I would be thinking about getting in addition:

1 Purple Tang, Powder Blue, Scopas, or Kole (Which one?!)

1, 2 or 3 Fathead Sunburst Anthias (Opinions on groups of these?)

2 or 3 Engineer Gobys

Kole Tangs are neat, but really bland IMO.

Purple Tangs are pretty mean, your Psudochromis would do fine, but the Clowns might get picked on.

Powder Blue......honestly how patient are you with the QT process? These are probably the most sensative and easily the most likely to come down w/ a variety of diseases. If you are willing to work though the Ich, Black Ich, etc than go for it.

Scopas I have no experience with.

Anthias I would honestly skip, they need to be fed quite a bit to keep them happy.

Engineer Goby are cool. I don't have them myself but I have seen them in other people's tanks and they are pretty neat.



My Stock list will look like this for my 90 Gallon when I'm all done:

2 x ORA Picasso Clowns

1 Hawaii Yellow Tang (have)

1 Sixline Wrasse (have)

1 Yellow Watchman Goby + Tiger Pistol Shrimp (have the Goby)

1 Yashia Hase Goby w/ Candycane Pistol Shrimp

1 Midas Blenny

1 Mandarin

 

[LJA]

Thanks everyone for the great information. I will look into that MXC 160 skimmer.

As for the Anthias I guess I can live with just 1 lol.

I'll post a more detailed response when I'm not at work later!

 

[Linkblaze]

Bartletts anthias stay pretty small. 3 of those would work out nicely.

The Powder Blue and Scopas get rather large. If you're thinking of a Kole, look at a Tomni. Personally I think they look better, stay small, and are less aggressive.

 

[LJA]

Thanks for a very detailed reply Amoore311. I would really like to add one or two larger fish to accompany the smaller ones. I've thought about trying another dwarf Angel but don't want to really deal with the possability of it nipping at corals. My CB Angel I have now hasn't touched a thing though.

Revised List:

Definatly:

1 x Orange O clown
1 x Black O clown
1 x Purple Psudochromis > All of these are transfer from my 29G
1 x Coral Beauty Angel

Maybe:

1 x Sunburst Anthias

or

3 x Bartletts Anthias - Question: If I go with Barletts, should I purchase 3 juvaniles to ensure they develope a working heiarchy or does it not matter if they are all added at the same time?

3 x Engineer gobys

1 x Blue Tang or Atlantic Tang - Personally I would rather not to "ordonary tangs" like the Blue and I like the Atlantic tang a lot.


Also probably some other small misc. fish after the tank is well established. Anyone see any complications with this proposed stocking list?


5 Days until I get my tank!