Suggestions on new tank :[)

[lepecube00]

Hello I have decided to get another slatwater fish tank after giving my old 65 gallon hexagonal tank to a friend several years back. I simply love the nature and beauty of the salt water fish as well as the colors and personalities they bring to my home. Now I need to decide what size take to get obviously smaller the tank the more money i can put in it. I was thinking somewhere in between 55-90 gallons. I have thoughts on stocking and would like to know what kind of tank i should do based on the fish i like. ex. reef tank, fish only etc.
so these are the ones i have been looking into, i know the list is long so i would like help in shortening it.
Blue hippo tang
White cheek tang
True percula clownfish(pair)
Golden Semilarvatus butterflyfish
copperband butterflyfish
Heniochus Black & white butterflyfish
Blue Mandarin
Purple Firefish Goby
Tribal Blenny
Longnose Hawkfish
Bicolor basslet
Fairy Wrasse
Bangaii Cardinals
maybe some anthias or other small group fish.

Tell me what you think :[) i know i would need some cuc fish/inverts as well as live rock. debating on coral or not.

 

[Northstar24]

If 90 gallons is the largest your able to go, you're going to need to take those tangs off your list, which is fine because that list is far too long for a 90 gallon tank

 

[fastrd400]

Yup, with that list you should more into something like a 180 or 210, sorry.

 

[lepecube00]

As I said in the original post this was just a list of fish I liked I was asking of more of suggestions on what you thought of my ideas as well as which fish in the list could go together and/or which fish would be better or get along with the previously mentioned fish. I'm just looking for ideas based on your thoughts. I did see a site which said tangs would work as a late addition to a 75+ gallon tank.

 

[Smitty]

Hello and welcome to the site...glad to have you aboard. If you can di a 90 gal, then I would suggest that. It'll be easy to find lights and other equipment for it. It doesn't take up a whole lot of room, and big enough for you to stock it with fish you like. You can have a tang in a 90. Also, the bigger the tank, the more stable your water will be.

 

[lepecube00]

Ok thank you. Are there any other relatively easy fish that may switch out. Also I do not want to overload a tank do you know how many fish would be good for that size tank. Would coral be a good option based on the fish? I would like an anenome to go with the clown fish. Are there any widely trusted sites that sell quality fish. What about the lights and filters are there any better than others?

 

[marcah]

rule of thumb is 1 small fish per 10 gallon..
reef octopus makes a nice skimmer and depending what you might want for corals on a 90 I would go with a 4 or 6 lamp fixture..Aquarium Lighting for Reef Systems: Current Nova Extreme Pro Saltwater T-5 Fixtures
Aquarium Lighting T5 Fluorescent Light Fixture: AquaticLife Six Lamp T5 HO Light Fixture
again thats depending on what you are going to do for corals..I also have had great luck with these lights..
Solar T5 - Catalina Aquarium just make sure what you get for lighting has individual reflectors on it..

 

[lepecube00]

I honestly have not had a great deal of experience with corals as my past tanks we just live rock and fish. I'm thinking that I will not want any corals to advance or hard to take care of as well as coral that would not suite my fish. I guess I will have to do a little more research. I'm planning in beginning the set-up steps around December so i have a good amount of time to make decisions and do more research

 

[x19]

I honestly have not had a great deal of experience with corals as my past tanks we just live rock and fish. I'm thinking that I will not want any corals to advance or hard to take care of as well as coral that would not suite my fish. I guess I will have to do a little more research. I'm planning in beginning the set-up steps around December so i have a good amount of time to make decisions and do more research

I'm doing a 90 gallon setup in December as well :-) Skimmer wise I think I've decided on the Super Reef Octopus XP-2000. I would recommend going for a skimmer a bit bigger than your tank which will allow you to grow into it. Unless you are going with fish that will eat corals or other fish (Angels, Lionfish, Puffers, etc.) I would prepare for the possibility you might want to grow into more advanced corals. Personally, in the past 15 or so months that I've been in the hobby I've bought 3 skimmers (one was returned right away), a whole lot of power heads, and upgraded my lights. I would have saved a LOT of money if I had just bought slightly more powerful stuff from the get go and anticipated that my interest in the hobby would grow. This hobby doesn't have to break the bank if you're smart about it.

 

[lepecube00]

I would like to avoid the re-buying thing as much as possible for the tanks, fish, filter, etc are very expensive and pretty much the more i can save on the tank and such the better fish. I want the best for the tank and would rather not have things breaking or simply not doing what it should. And maybe im wrong but i thought lionfish could go in reef tanks as long as they are smaller than the other fish. Maybe im wrong. I do love triggers but they are just to aggresive and i dont think its worth the risk. I have heard of toby puffers being reef safe but i do not know of anyone with success with them. By far my favorite fish is the golden semilavartis butterflyfish eventhough they are very expensive. Therefore whichever corals(if i i do a reef tank) or fish i would want them to be fine with eachother. What exactly does a skimmer do? I am aware i need one but was not sure the purpose of having one. And i joined this sire to get as much information as i could before making purchases.