Newbie question about fish load

[Stickgal]

75g reef tank. Approx 50 lbs live rock. I bought an oversized sump, skimmer and pump because I knew I wanted an interesting fish community as well as corals. I currently have the following:

A small school (5 members) of green chromis
1 snow onyx clown (already hosting in a small green bta)
1 diamond goby
2cardinals
1cleaner shrimp
1 coral banded shrimp
1 emerald crab
1 frogspawn frag
The aforementioned anemone. Pics attached.

Question: going to fish store today. I want to get a mate for my clown and one other fish to complete the fish load. I wanted a yellow tang, but had one die previously. (Not her fault, got sick fish from lfs and wiped out my fish population...yes, yes Qt tank...check) Alternative would be one or two royal gramma. Input please!!

[Stickgal]

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[Stickgal]

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[Stickgal]

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[scott3569]

it kinda look to me like you need more rock, the more the rock the more filtration you have

[Stickgal]

Yeah, I wondered about that. Was worried about swim room for a yellow tang

[scott3569]

well look I am a newbie too, I don't really agree with you about the yellow tang..But, I don't think in a 75gal tank you need at the very least 75 pounds of rock for you filtration alot of people will tell you more..

[crock921]

The pound per gallon needs to be thought through because wet rock (live) weighs a lot more than dry rock, which becomes live. Also, the type of rock varies in weight.

Im not saying don't add more rock, Im just saying that you should take all of this into consideration when deciding if you want more rock or not.

[scott3569]

The pound per gallon needs to be thought through because wet rock (live) weighs a lot more than dry rock, which becomes live. Also, the type of rock varies in weight.

Im not saying don't add more rock, Im just saying that you should take all of this into consideration when deciding if you want more rock or not.

Well yes thats true, I was just trying to make the point that more is needed

[crock921]

I was just pointing it out because I went through the same thing, and the LFS that sold me my rock pointed it out. I wasn't even thinking about the fact that wet weighs more, and that there is a weight difference due to density. I was just locked in on the lb per gallon requirement.

More rock is usually a good thing!

[dropin]

nice tank, I personally think you're ok with the amount of rock you have, if you would be planning for down the road when you want lots of coral, then you do not have enough rock. as far as fish you want to add, more than one royal gamma is asking for trouble. two would fight to the death.

[Stickgal]

Ouch do t want fighting! I have a peaceful tank. Thanks all. All my way to get more babies and maybe rock...

[darbo1212]

fish I think might go well in there a wrasse, royal gramma, cardinal or a golby.

[Portsie]

Having your rock leaning up against the glass is going to make keeping it clean a nightmare. Might want to change that around now before everything gets too settled.

[scott3569]

this is the rock scape i have done

[Stickgal]

Got a yellow tang and an onyx snow to hopefully form a mated pair although not sure they will

[fishroomlady]

blennies are really cool little fish. Wrasses are also very colorful and active. I love my flamehawk. Just a couple more ideas for you :)

[Stickgal]

Going to have to wait now for them to grow a bit and for me to add some corals, then will judge whether I can add any more babies!! Thanks all for the great advice!

[Stickgal]

Got a yellow tang and an onyx snow to hopefully form a mated pair although not sure they will

Just realized it sounded like I want to pair the tang and clown...lol. Got the clown to pair with another clown!

[Cloudburst2000]

If you want a tang, I would look at a smaller tang then a yellow tang. I would personally look into one of the bristletooth tangs.

You might also look at something like a peppermint hogfish. Very pretty fish. The only real problem with them is shrimp. A peppermint hogfish would be okay with shrimp already established in the tank but might eat shrimp added after they are put into the tank.

[Stickgal]

I have 11, but almost all will be no more than a couple inches grown. I talked with my lfs guy today and will be adding more rock and sand. Realized too late I went a little crazy but wanted a "school" of fish, so 5 of those are a chromosome school

[oh207]

From the pictures I would agree on more live rock and perhaps more sand. How much of each do you have in there? Also, the fish bio load that your tank can handle will depend on the overall filtration of the system as well as your maintenance schedule. That is, it won't depend only on the life rock/sand. Most importantly, what you feed and how often you feed is a major factor.
For instance, what is your total water volume and how much gallon is your skimmer rated for? What type of additional filtration, any filter socks (frequency of change), refugium, running carbon/gfo? Should also factor in water change frequency.
Keep in mind that corals also contribute to the bioload.
Lastly, a good clean-up-crew is very important. You can get snails to handle algae, detritus, and those that borrow into your sand bed.