Begginer New setup help

[TaIk2Kevin]

I am new to setting up saltwater Aquariums I have done freshwater Aquariums for sometime. I have just bought an 80g aquarium and have been planning on what i want to put into it for a while now. I would eventually like to have a lot of reef and sea anemones in the tank. I was wondering if anybody could help me out. the following is a list of what i plan to put into my tank, if anybody can look it over and tell me any problems i might have with this setup in advance(overstockg, aggressive fish, etc..) So i can avoid problems later down the line. any advice would help

Setupfor 80g tank:
>304 fluval canister filter 260gph
>Plan to add about 90 ponds of live rock
>Plan to add many powerheads
>Sump
>In sump protien skimmer

FISH
>2-4 Orcellaris clownfish
>1 Bi color Pseuduchromis
>3 spotted cardinal
>2-3 Azure Damselfish
>1 Red-head Goby
>2 Neon Blue goby
To be added 1-3 after tank setup
>1 yellow tang
>1 orange shoulder tang


Corals
1 Button Polyp - Med or
Colony Polyp - Med
1 Yellow Colony Polyp - Med
1 Hairy Mushroom Coral - Med
1 Bullseye Mushroom Coral - Med or
Green Fluorescent Mushroom Coral - Med

Will also add some sea anemones but not sure wich ones

Other
I would also like to add many shrimp, slugs, urchins, a lobster, a starfish, and some other little critters for cleanning.


As I think this is what I would like to do with my aquarium. any comments sugestions would be appreciated, cause im just starting out.
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[wally311]

IMO, I like the direction you're taking, but I would ax the canister filter. No need for one on a reef tank. My other concern would be lighting, which you didn't mention. While none of the inverts you mentioned need really high light, you should consider a good lighting system (PC's, or better yet MH) for three reasons; 1. a larger tank needs brighter lights to penetrate deeper 2. brighter lights will allow you to keep a wider variety of corals, which you will inevitably want to do (it's part of having a reef :wink: ) 3. most host anemones require very good lighting. One more word of advice, take it SLOOOOW! With that type of bioload you will want to be very gradual in adding things to your tank, give the bacteria a chance to keep up! I hope this helps you out, and HAVE FUN!

 

[Anonymous]

I'd suggest adding a deep, sand bed. And I second the idea of axing the canister filter.

 

[mountainbiker619]

I concur about the canister filter. What type of skimmer do you have in mind, since the skimmer is about the biggest factor for a reef tank. My 60gal reef is using a Euro Reef CS6-2. It may be a over kill, but I like buying a skimmer that is rated for twice the size of the aquarium to be used on.

 

[TaIk2Kevin]

Thanks alot for all the suggestions!!
Im not sure on the protien skimmer yet ill probally look at some online reviews. The canister filter and the tank was actually given to me as a present so I already have it. I guess it cant hurt. But the Lighting im totally lost, I dont want to come up short on the lighting cause id love to have a bid assortment of anemones sometime and would hate to have to redo all the lights. what are some suggestions on lights?

 

[AllenF]

Take the money you saved on not getting the fluval and get the best skimmer you can afford. Cannisters are good for circulation and for moving water past other types of media such as carbon or phosphate removers, but its really more optional than required with todays techniques.

Deep live sand bed and lots of live rock.

Id axe the two tangs also, not good for your size tank and the savings in bioload will provide a more healthy tank.

You are going to need to carefully examine each fish for compatibility with the others and also carefully match corals to your lighting arrangment.

Becareful with the bi-color pseudochromis, if you end up with dottybacks you may have problems.

I first started with a long list of nice fish, had problems with dz outbreak and territory problems....all after reading much about the individual fish needs and neglected to investigate the interactions. Several trips back to the fish store, a quarintine tank later, and loss of 2 fish later, my lists of desired livestock is down to very little compared to my overzealous approach at first.

Not to discouage you but its not good for the hobby when tanks end up in garage sales due to early catastrophies that could have been avoided.

 

[Anonymous]

I think that most everything that's needed to be said has been said here, but I'm going to toss in my .02, not with a word of 'don't do that,' but just a word of caution. It sounds like you have a good head on your shoulders and are doing the research first, which is pivotal and a key to success.

If you are planing on keeping anemones, just make sure you wait awhile. This has been done to death on other threads, so I'll just recap a bit. Anemones (generally speaking) are some of the more difficult marine organisms to keep. They require excellent water conditions, intense lighting, and for some reason usually do better in a tank that has been established for at least a few months. There are some species that are more forgiving than others (bubble tips, long tentatcles, etc.), and there are some species that are nearly impossible (ritteri). So just take your time and learn as much as you can before you make the investment. (Which to me at least, it sounds like you're doing anyway, so kudos.)

 

[danmhippo]

Unlike freshwater tanks, you can't put so many fish into the tank without breaking the balance of water quality vs. bioload. So far, you are planning 15 fish including 2 tangs into your tank. I think that's really bit much, I would suggest you trim it down to 8 fish include 1 tang, the yellow tang. The naso tang would grow fast and soon out grow your tank.

Like previously mentioned, most of the corals you mentioned, button polyps, mushrooms are generally considered hardy. But the anemone are not. It's best to wait 6-8 months out before you keep them. 6-8 months are generally how long typical tanks takes to get stablized after the algae bloom, cyno bloom, flat worm out breaks.....etc.

 

[TaIk2Kevin]

How deep is a deep sand bed? All of the corals i mentioned are in a beginner pack at my LFS so I ws going to try and start off with those and then move to Anemones after a couple months,

 

[danmhippo]

Great decision on the anemone timing.

DSB are sugar fine sand bed of 3" or more. Aragonite sand are preferred as the deeper layers are exposed to lower pH and has added benefit of buffering alkalinity.

 

[TaIk2Kevin]

I think I have had all my questions answered for now thanks alot!