Hello from San Antonio, Tx

Hello All,

I am in the process of setting my first salt water tank in 25 years. I had a fresh water tank for the past 12 years. When my Cichlids died from old age I decided to make the switch. A LOT has changed hardware wise and I will be utilizing this site frequently for ideas and insight.

This is what I have so far...

Tank - 65 gallon Reef Ready from Deep Blue Professionals
Sump - Trigger Systems Ruby Sump (30x14x15)
Pump - RIO 1700
Protein Skimmer - eShopps PSK-75
Light - Fluval Sea Marine & Reef Full Spectrum LED strip light.
Heater - A Titanium heater (at work can't remember the name)
on order -Hydor Koralia Evolution Circulation pump (850 gpm)

Whew that is a mouthful. Comments & suggestions greatly appreciated.

Mad Max

 

Hello and welcome to 3reef Mad Max.

 

Welcome to 3reef!

 

Welcome to 3reef! Sounds like a nice setup you are putting together. What are your plans for the tank as far as stocking?

 

Thanks Everyone!
Marshall I plan on populating my tank with more live rock and a few invertebrates (not sure yet). These are fish;

[FONT=&quot]Debelius Reef Lobster
[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Chain link Moray Eel[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Melanurus Wrasse [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Mystery Wrasse [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Ruby Head Fairy Wrasse [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Red Volitan Lionfish[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Gold Band Maroon Clownfish[/FONT]

It was recommended that I shouldn't have more that 10-14 fish in my tank.

 

Well, in a 65, I am thinking 10 or under honestly; and 10 may be pushing it :-/

Are these your existing fish now, or planned stock list?

 

Hello Marshall...These are planned! I will keep it under 10...You just saved me a coupla hundred dollars, Thanks! LOL

 

Ok good! In that case, I will go through your list individually:

[FONT=&quot]Debelius Reef Lobster - No first hand experience with them, but I know they are nocturnal, and could possibly harm smaller fish or inverts.
[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Chain link Moray Eel[/FONT] - Again, nocturnal and also get pretty big. Likely need a much larger tank (like 125 gallon!)
[FONT=&quot]Melanurus Wrasse [/FONT] - Ok, make sure you have at least a 2" sandbed.
[FONT=&quot]Mystery Wrasse [/FONT] - I wouldn't. These guys can be quite aggressive with other wrasses, possibly preventing you from adding more once it is established.
[FONT=&quot]Ruby Head Fairy Wrasse [/FONT] - Ok, as long as it is the only Fairy Wrasse. They can be aggressive with others I believe.
[FONT=&quot]Red Volitan Lionfish[/FONT] - These guys get quite large, and will eat basically everything on your list. They need a much larger tank as well. You could possibly look into a Dwarf instead.
[FONT=&quot]Gold Band Maroon Clownfish[/FONT] - Ok, except I know these guys get quite large. It would need to be added last.

Hope this helps!

 

It does help a lot! The 2 I really wanted were the Moray and Lion Fish. Wouldn't they only grow to the size of there surroundings?
Question, Who Do I trust when inquiring about certain species living together and sizes?

 

Although some fish will not grow quite as large in the home aquarium as they would in nature, it seems tank size itself is not a factor. They will continue to grow until eventually stress from lack of room will cause their demise

LiveAquaria.com is a good resource in general. While not 100% of their info is correct, it is better than most other retailers who say all of their fish are great for a 30 gallon tank...