75gal FOWLR

[IraqVeteran]

In due time overall, how many of each of these could be kept without causing issues in a 75gal?

Orangstriped Cardinalfish X ???
Hawaiian Squirrelfish X ???
Blue Chromis X ???

I want to start out with the chromis first then the cardinals finishing up with the squirrelfish. They are all fairly peaceful fish and should be fine tank mates. I just want advice on how many from each category I can keep.

Thanks

[hibye]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBKWvAeomFw
ask this guy if you have a you tube account and if not u can sorta figure out what you could put in the tank like(this is just a example u may do different combinations)
him/you
3 yellow tangs/3 squirel fish
3 clowns+2 carnals=/5 cardnils
1blue tang=1 convict tang=/6-7 cromis
this is maxiummum too

[fatman]

Depends on what you use for a biological filter system. With a FOWLR system the highest number of fish will be with a trickle filter with bio balls. Fish and live rocks bacteria both have high tolerances for nitrates. Therefore you will need no live sand or live rock except for appearance. You will need to do water changes to replace trace elements, keep nutrients low enough to keep algae under control and to maintain water clarity. Using carbon occasionally to maintain clarity will prevent a need for any more water changes then the average. The average for fish only tanks is about 25 percent once a month, or 5 to 10 percent weekly. Another major controlling factor is the availability of dissolved oxygen. Higher circulation, and especially skimming increase dissolved oxygen levels. And skimming removes a lot of organics before they are converted to nitrates. The higher the dissolved oxygen levels maintained the higher number of fish you can have. Macro algae grown in a sump or in the tank increases dissolved oxygen levels as well allowing for more fish. Not having a glass lid on your tank also allows for higher levels of dissolved oxygen. So how many fish you can have depends on a lot of things. OK?

[IraqVeteran]

I will have about a 2 inch sand bed, 75lbs live rock and a protein skimmer. I will have 2 larger maxi-jet powerheads and a 48" 260watt Coralife PC light. The tank will be open top and about 5 feet from an A/C unit. Since I live in the Houston area that A/C unit will help with keeping the water from rising too high in temp.

[fatman]

A twoinch sand bed is not good idea. The general rule for a reef tank with a sand substrate is less than one inch or more than three inches. Two inches is great for nitrification but is a lot like a bio ball or bio whhel filter in that it will do a too good job at converting wastes to nitrate giving you higher nitrate levels than with a shallower sand bed. You will be able to have more fish but your nitrateds will climb quicker. You would be batter off putting in a one inch sand bed abd spending the moneyyou saved on more live rock as it can at least slow down the level rises of nitrates. Oter wise add a another inch or better two inches to your sand bed depth and cut the amount of live rock.

[IraqVeteran]

Fatman the only thing is that I am using the 75gal as a FOWL. I will have no coral or inverts (other than snails). I put in 90 lbs of sand in the tank last night and 75 lbs of tonga rock as well. The goal is to have it for squirrel fish and some others compatible to them. This will be the third tank in the house and I wanted to each one different. The 30 gal is a clownfish only tank with some coral such as mushrooms and star polyps. The 12 gal nano is a little reef tank with a firefish and small goby.

www.liveaquaria.com sent me some great tonga pieces. I had some very large pieces and some smaller ones that set up in the tank beautifully. The color on the tonga was awesome. It didnt have too much die off on it but I still cleaned the small debris off of the rocks in saltwater buckets before I put them in the new 75 gal.

I should be able to post some pics of how I set it up by monday. Maybe then you could give me some pointers of how to rearrange the tank to make it better. I really appreciate the advice and expertise; it definetely helps. I've been doing saltwater for over 8 yrs, but I still learn so much everyday from this forum site from all of you folks.....thanks again.

[IraqVeteran]

Originally Posted by hibye

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBKWvAeomFw
ask this guy if you have a you tube account and if not u can sorta figure out what you could put in the tank like(this is just a example u may do different combinations)
him/you
3 yellow tangs/3 squirel fish
3 clowns+2 carnals=/5 cardnils
1blue tang=1 convict tang=/6-7 cromis
this is maxiummum too

That was a really nice tank. It does seem to be a lot of tangs for a 75 gal, especially the yellow tang. Dont they usually require like 100+ gal tanks? I know you can get them small. The yellow tang is actually my favorite fish. They have great personality and years ago I saw one at a store and the yellow tang is what really got me started in the hobby because I wanted to keep one. I guess I can try the yellow tang in the 75 gal with the striped squirrelfish. They are both peaceful fish.

[Bifferwine]

A yellow tang will be fine in a 75 gallon tank for quite a while. They don't grow too fast. It will grow out of it eventually, though.

[IraqVeteran]

so I guess a couple of small ones should be fine together? I really do like those striped squirrels you pointed out to me before biff.

[Bifferwine]

A couple of small tangs together? I wouldn't add more than one yellow tang. Tangs are very aggressive towards each other.