Stocking a 75g

[jsbradbury]

I came up with a list of fish I would like to put in my 75g tank. I'm worried about overcrowding, but I think this should work. Any suggestions are most welcome.

Currently I have:
Lawnmower Blenny (Salarias fasciatus)
Royal Dottyback (Psuedochromis paccagnellae)
Firefish Goby (Nemateleotris magnifica)

I would like to add:
Chalk Bass (Serranus tortugarum)
Cobberband Butterfly (Chelmon rostratus)
Banggai Cardinal (Pterapogan kauderni) x3
Maroon Clown, Gold Stripe (Premnas biaculeatus) x2 mated pair
Firefish Goby (Nemateleotris magnifica) - to have two total
Two-spot Goby (Signigobius biocellatus) x2

I know they say most Gobies don't get along, but I think the Firefish and Two-spots should be ok. Also, does anybody know if the Chalk Bass will get along with the Pseudo? Thanks.

 

[jsbradbury]

I can't believe nobody has any input, good or bad, about this. I'm surprised.

 

[Jeff CC]

That is a high fish total for a 75 gal., but since most of them are fairly small you may be o.k. The Maroon Clowns also could cause you some grief, so you would want to add them last.

 

[jandree22]

good luck with the Cobberband.... I have no experience with them myself, but I understand they're quite picky eaters.

 

[Anonymous]

For a reef I'd say keep it down to 5 fish or so. For a FOWLR you're on the crowded side, but OK still.
Ditto on the maroon clown comment, they get big too.


Jim

 

[jsbradbury]

What sort of grief would the maroon clowns cause me? Is size the concern the biggest problem? I thought they only got to about 4-5". Would two smaller clowns such as a Percula or Ocellaris be better? I'll probably not get the Chalk Bass cause I don't think he'll get along with the Pseudo.

 

[rabagley]

What sort of grief would the maroon clowns cause me? Is size the concern the biggest problem? I thought they only got to about 4-5".

Two 4" fish fully stocks 40 gallons of your tank (with the old rule of thumb of 1" of fish per 5 gallons). Also Maroon Clowns are fairly aggressive fish. They'll upset just about everyone else in the tank.

Would two smaller clowns such as a Percula or Ocellaris be better?

Yes, if you are really sure you want the clowns at all. Consider also having a single smaller clown.

As other's suggested, that bioload is high for a fish-only tank and way overloaded for a reef tank. You've already decided against the bass, which is a good start on a less aggressive stocking plan.

Regards,
Ross

 

[Juck]

Premnas can be pretty grumpy and territorial,,especially if the female has an anemone or there is spawning afoot. Having said that,, I had a little royal pseudo that terrorized a pair of full-grown premnas constantly.

Your firefish and two-spots will probably be ok,, I don't think firefish are technically gobies,, or did I dream that?,,, I hope you tank is covered,, firefish are good jumpers by all accounts.

I've no experience with copperbands but they get to 7 or 8 inches and at that size it would probably be pretty miserable in a 75.

3 Bangaii cardinals can be a bad idea in such a small tank,,,once a pair has formed the other is often harrassed/chomped to death. I'd advise trying a m/f pair or single fish only.


That's a heavy load for a 75g but I have 11 fish in my 75 (2 oscellaris, 2 pink skunks, 2 firefish, 4 PJ cardinals & 1 scooter dragonet) and they all get along just famously. Took a while to get the balance right though.

I have to be careful not to overfeed my 75 and skim it aggressively to keep up with this kind of bioload.

 

[jsbradbury]

How about this:

Lawnmower Blenny (Salarias fasciatus)
Firefish Goby (Nemateleotris magnifica) x2
Banggai Cardinal (Pterapogan kauderni) x2 pair
Two-spot Goby (Signigobius biocellatus) x2
Ocellaris Clown (Amphiprion ocellaris) x2 pair

Should be a more peacefull fish load, and their all kinda small. As for skimming, I was going to post another thread (still might) to ask if I would be overskimming. I currently have just a HOB CPR BakPak 2, but have sitting underneath a CPR SR2 that has as of yet not been hooked up. Would running both of these be too much? Would it take care of a heavier bioload? Any additional info would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Modo]

There are several opinions about skimming, not skimming, over skimming, etc...

But since you asked, :wink:
I don't believe in over skimming. The more crap you pull out of the water the better in my opinion. I believe hooking up your second skimmer would be a good idea.

One way to tell for sure is when you hook that second one up and it starts pulling out alot of gunk. If it isn't pulling much of anything out then you should be comfortable knowing that your original skimmer set up was fine. But, let it run for a while to break it in and after you drop in all your inhabitants before making any assumptions.

 

[Juck]

I have a Prizm and a Bakpak in the sump before the fuge,,, I have a very low stand and can't jam a big skimmer in there.
Both are working pretty hard but having the fuge has definitely cut down on the amount of gunk they pull out. I run a lot of carbon as well,, a 2lb bag, changed every month or so.

 

[Anonymous]

I'm surprised your dottyback hasn't killed your firefish. Most dotties will relentlessly harass a firefish until it jumps or never comes out of its hole and starves to death. I would be very cautious about adding another firefish as well. They typically do not pair up well when added separately.

 

[Anonymous]

There are several opinions about skimming, not skimming, over skimming, etc...

The more crap you pull out of the water the better in my opinion. I believe hooking up your second skimmer would be a good idea.

What knowledge or principles do you base this opinion on? Do you still hold to this even when speaking of corals that live in a lagunal biotype?
For a FOWLR tank I agree, for a tank containing certain corals, you definitely CAN overskim. The fact that corals are predatory is overlooked by many people.

Jim

 

[jsbradbury]

So Jim, would both skimmers mean I would be overskimming- as I definatly plan to put corals in in the future. And Matt- the Psuedo harassed him for the first few days, now it doesnt seem to be too bad. I will however be putting him into another tank here in the near future.

 

[Anonymous]

So Jim, would both skimmers mean I would be overskimming- as I definatly plan to put corals in in the future. And Matt- the Psuedo harassed him for the first few days, now it doesnt seem to be too bad. I will however be putting him into another tank here in the near future.

A single properly sized, and properly functioning skimmer is enough. If you have x amount of "extra" nutrients and suspended particulate matter in you water column, and your first skimmer is up to snuff, then the second one is superfluous to say the least. Your skimmer will not always be pulling stuff out anyway, as the amount of organics and suspened matter in your system is not constant. Why have two skimmers running, and doing very little half the time?
On the other hand, if they are both undersized, you may benefit from running both of them in a FO tank. They may both be working very hard at that point. I'm not familiar with the specs on those models, so I can't comment there.
Skimming is a two edged sword, and much depends on what corals you are thinking of keeping. What you strive for in a system with corals and clams is a nutrient rich, but not necessarily nitrate high balance, if that makes sense to you. SPS corals grow in realatively nutrient free zones, however suspended food items are still plentiful. Skimmers pull many of these suspended items out. Very small food particles, plankton, etc.
Clams are BTW capable of processing nitrate as a food source, and "clam filters" are utilized by some.
It comes down to this, you are speaking of organisms that feed from the water column. A skimmer pulls stuff out of the water column. So, a happy balance should be struck IMO. What this is varies from system to system.
The more fish that reside in a system, the more a skimmer helps keep the nutrient balance from tipping toward the side of enableing nuisance algae such as bryopsis and cyano.
Experiment and find your own balance. :wink:





Cheers
Jim

 

[jsbradbury]

Both of the skimmers I have are rated for 60 gallons. I found them used fairly cheap, so I went ahead and got them both. I just figured with a 75 gallon tank and a sump, refugium and surge tank I was planning to build I would have somewhere between 120-140 gallons. I have since decided on another method of water motion instead of the surge tank would should bring my total gallonage down to about 100-110 gallons. Hence the concern for using both skimmers together, or if it would be overskimming.

 

[Modo]

There are several opinions about skimming, not skimming, over skimming, etc...

The more crap you pull out of the water the better in my opinion. I believe hooking up your second skimmer would be a good idea.

What knowledge or principles do you base this opinion on? Do you still hold to this even when speaking of corals that live in a lagunal biotype?
For a FOWLR tank I agree, for a tank containing certain corals, you definitely CAN overskim. The fact that corals are predatory is overlooked by many people.

Jim

As I mentioned in the line that you quoted me "there are several opinions about skimming" and you have brought up one based on a very specific biotope. It was never mentioned, unless I missed something, that this was going to be a lagunal biotope tank.

The original poster stated a 75g tank with what most would consider being a heavy bioload in the future. I myself having used a Bakpak 2 in the past on a 29g tank and feeling it was underrated gave an educated opinion on what I believe would benefit this situation on hooking up the second skimmer.

I also agree with you that corals need dissolved and particulate organic matter (some of course need large prey, but these aren't skimmed). But at what level? Do you have any evidence that we are overskimming or not? From my experience the more I skim the better my animals have reacted, but would this be the case if I connected a 5ft highly efficient skimmer to my 90g that scrubbed the water pristine? I would have to say probably not. But, for the majority of us out there we purchase skimmers rated for our systems and from the mouth of a manufacturer of skimmers I know that this data isn't even quantifiable. It is more or less a "guesstimation".

So yes, I'll agree with you that you can overskim, especially in a lagunal biotope and I made a generalized statement. But, I wasn't assuming that anyone would take my statement to mean to hook an obnoxiously huge skimmer and scrub your water clean of anything but salt! I'll also state that we do not know at what level that DOM and POM are effected in our tanks by skimming.

So for the benefit of the argument I'll rephrase my original comment to the following, "The more crap you pull out of the water, to an extent, the better in my opinion. I believe hooking up your second skimmer would be a good idea."

 

[Anonymous]

There are several opinions about skimming, not skimming, over skimming, etc...

The more crap you pull out of the water the better in my opinion. I believe hooking up your second skimmer would be a good idea.

What knowledge or principles do you base this opinion on? Do you still hold to this even when speaking of corals that live in a lagunal biotype?
For a FOWLR tank I agree, for a tank containing certain corals, you definitely CAN overskim. The fact that corals are predatory is overlooked by many people.

Jim

As I mentioned in the line that you quoted me "there are several opinions about skimming" and you have brought up one based on a very specific biotope. It was never mentioned, unless I missed something, that this was going to be a lagunal biotope tank.

The original poster stated a 75g tank with what most would consider being a heavy bioload in the future. I myself having used a Bakpak 2 in the past on a 29g tank and feeling it was underrated gave an educated opinion on what I believe would benefit this situation on hooking up the second skimmer.

I also agree with you that corals need dissolved and particulate organic matter (some of course need large prey, but these aren't skimmed). But at what level? Do you have any evidence that we are overskimming or not? From my experience the more I skim the better my animals have reacted, but would this be the case if I connected a 5ft highly efficient skimmer to my 90g that scrubbed the water pristine? I would have to say probably not. But, for the majority of us out there we purchase skimmers rated for our systems and from the mouth of a manufacturer of skimmers I know that this data isn't even quantifiable. It is more or less a "guesstimation".

So yes, I'll agree with you that you can overskim, especially in a lagunal biotope and I made a generalized statement. But, I wasn't assuming that anyone would take my statement to mean to hook an obnoxiously huge skimmer and scrub your water clean of anything but salt! I'll also state that we do not know at what level that DOM and POM are effected in our tanks by skimming.

So for the benefit of the argument I'll rephrase my original comment to the following, "The more crap you pull out of the water, to an extent, the better in my opinion. I believe hooking up your second skimmer would be a good idea."

I don't think you said anything I would disagree with, good post.

Cheers
Jim