Deinonych

Been a while since I posted. I purchased my tank from Aquatek in early December, and spent most of December ordering equipment, rock and substrate. I plumbed the overflow using the BeanAnimal method, and it's super-quiet. Filled the tank a few weeks ago, and it's nearly fully cycled - probably a few more days until I have enough bacterial colonization to drop 2ppm NH4 to zero in 24 hours.

Also got my quarantine up and running and cycled over the past few weeks. Added my first fish yesterday - a N. magnifica (red firefish). Will post pictures soon.

My only suggestion would be to have an exit strategy. You need an option for if you get one of the bullies of the species. What are you going to do with him if he is too much to handle?

There are a bunch of things you can do to curb aggression, but if they don't work you need to know where he is going. I saw a poor guy at a lfs that bought a clown trigger. He figured he could introduce it to his tank and things would work out. After all just because the species has a rough reputation doesn't mean they are all that way. I saw him on the day he was bringing it back to the LFS. He got half back.

Good advice. Sounds like a great excuse for a second nano tank if the Sixline doesn't work out in the 105.

I have come to love ornamental crustaceans more than fish, especially ones that associate with anemones and other coral/corallimorphs, but that means no wrasse, puffers, triggers, etc. for me. If you want ornamental crustaceans, then you probably don't want the wrasse.

I highly recommend following this link and posting your tank specs and proposed livestock list. Steve (snorvich) does an outstanding job of pointing out problems. He will especially like you listing the scientific names.

PLEASE check out your intended fish purchases here first!

Thanks! I have posted there and have used Steve's advice to build my stock list. He advised against getting a Sixline, but I wanted a second opinion.

Thanks everyone for your opinions! I think I will get one and add him last (or at least well after the more docile species have had a chance to establish territory).

Also, I'm going to have a refugium, so having a fish dine on pods is perfectly fine with me.

My biggest concern is that he will pick on the Firefish. The rest I feel could fend for themselves.

Years ago I had a 6 line, and he was great, never aggressive to any of my other fish or inverts (cept pods, read on). Keeping Wrasse together is not recommenced and I don't have much to add there as my only wrasse was the 6-line. The only down side I can say about this fish is he was very good at hunting and eating the small pods in the tank. But he also took to other food I feed the tank very well.

He was always swimming in and out of the rock etc. I DO plan on having another one in my current tank.

Oh, my original tank was a 135g.

Thanks...what are the other inhabitants of your current tank?

tank size ?

Oops -- this will be a 105G (48x24x21).

Hi all,

Looking for opinions on the Sixline Wrasse (P. hexataenia). Consensus over at Reef Central is that they are pretty aggressive, but I really like them and they seem to have a lot of personality. Below is my proposed stock list (currently building a new tank setup), in order of introduction. If I opted not to get the Flasher Wrasse and added the Sixline last, do you think he would get along with the others?

Diamond Watchman Goby (V. puellaris)

Red Firefish (N. decora)

Pair of Percula Clownfish (A. percula)

Blue Chromis (C. cyaneus)

Orchid Dottyback (P. fridmani)

Filamented Flasher Wrasse (P. filamentosus)

Kole's Tang (C. strigosus)

Yellow Longnose Butterflyfish (F. flavissimus)

You don't need to buy both right away since you are starting FOWLR but you should look into a 6055 so when you do get 2 you can control them.

I looked at the 6055s initially, but Roger @ Tunze recommended I step up to the 6095 so I have enough headroom for SPS down the road. The 6095s are controllable as well. My only concern about getting one powerhead to start is that it might create dead spots for detritus to build up.

Ah, understand. Roger echoed that...said the 6045s would be maxed out in a 3ft 60G. Probably will bite the bullet and get two 6095s.

I'll check out the LR post. I've already ordered the dry rock, so will likely just pick up a few LR pieces to seed it.

Thanks! I'll look into seeding the tank with some live rock. How is the LR at Austin Aqua Dome? I noticed they had some Fiji LR in the holding tank on the ground floor.

Also, why do you not suggest the Tunze powerheads? Roger over at Tunze recommended the 6095s (or one 6045 + one 6095) for my tank size. The 6095 provides enough adjustable flow to take me from FOWLR to SPS once I'm ready.

Hi all,

I recently joined this forum and look forward to learning from everyone here. After researching for the past 6-7 months, I've now begun to piece together my first saltwater tank. Below is my equipment list and eventual stocking plan. Am I missing anything? Will start posting pics once things start getting put together.

Equipment:

Aquarium: DSA 105G (48x24x21)

Stand: DSA stand for 105G tank

Lighting (FOWLR): Marineland Doublebright 48" LED (will eventually replace with reef-capable LEDs down the road)

Powerheads: (2) Tunze 6045 or 6095 (depending on initial budget, may go with one of each for starters)

Skimmer: Reef Octopus NWB150

Sump/refugium: Trigger Systems CRYS36

Sump return pump: Eheim 1262

Heater: Finnex Titanium w/Finnex controller

Test kits: pH, NH3, NO2, NO3, PO4

Refractometer: Marine Depot Refractometer

RO/DI: BRS 5-Stage Chloramine 75GPD

Dry Rock: 100lbs BRS Reef Saver (will use Dr. Tim's One and Only to seed)

Substrate: 75lbs CaribSea Dry Aragonite Special Grade

Salt Mix: Instant Ocean Sea Salt Mix

QT Setup - 20G aquarium w/HOB filter

Stock Plan (in order of introduction)

Diamond Watchman Goby (V. puellaris)

Red Firefish (N. decora)

Pair of Percula Clownfish (A. percula)

Blue Chromis (C. cyaneus)

Orchid Dottyback (P. fridmani)

Filamented Flasher Wrasse (P. filamentosus)

Kole's Tang (C. strigosus)

Yellow Longnose Butterflyfish (F. flavissimus)

Appreciate any comments or insight. Thanks!

Welcome.

Also the anthias may need feeding more that you are wanting to do. Not a major issue but keep in mind they need like 3 or more feedings per day due to their high metabolism.

Great, thanks for the advice. You might be right on that one; will give it some more thought before making a final decision.

Beautiful list of fish, the only two on there to be careful with are the Pinktail Trigger and Butterflyfish. There are numerous stories of them working out fine but they are both in the "iffy" category. The temptation is definitely there though, I'm looking at a pair of blue-throat triggers for my new tank because I love the fish so much.

We've seen pinktails while snorkeling in Hawai'i, and I'm absolutely in love with them. I plan to add it last. Same goes with the butterflyfish, but I'm not 100% set on adding it. I really wanted a Raccoon Butterflyfish (again, from Hawai'i experience), but there's no way I'd be able to keep it with corals, sadly.

Howdy and welcome! 105g is a nice size tank, just keep in mind that your fish choices will limit some of what you can do with corals later. There are many online fish-compatibility guides. Watch for the term "reef-safe" when considering what fish you get.

Thanks! Great advice about stock considerations. I'm considering only reef-safe fish for my stocking list:

Kole's Tang

Pinktail Triggerfish

Percula Clownfish (pair)

Bartlett's Anthias

Royal Gramma

Firefish (pair)

Yellow Longnose Butterflyfish

Filamented Flasher Wrasse

I know the trigger is borderline reef-safe, but I just have to have one.

Hello all,

I've been gathering information for the past 6 months on starting a reef tank and am about to start my journey soon. Thought I could use some local advice to supplement my knowledge, and stumbled across this site. My plan is to start a 105G FOWLR tank (with sump/refugium) in the next month or so and eventually move to coral. Look forward to learning from everyone here!

Chris