70g stocking suggestions

Kelbrick · 10/20/2018, 02:22 PM

I'm currently building a 70g mixed reef but leaning more towards lps and softies. I will be running a 30g sump with a 10g fuge and about 60lbs of live rock depending on the scape. I want a open scape so I will be adding other biological media such as 6kg of biohome. I plan on upgrading to a 120 or 150 in a year or two so I'll be using a magus curve 7.

The fish I really want to keep are as follows:
Percula pair
Flame angel
Kole tang
Mandarin
Pair fire fish

I would really like to hear your thoughts on a bottom dweller or 2 and some mid water swimmers that will be compatible and not over crowd the tank. Any recommendations/criticism regarding my want list will also be appreciated. I believe I can stock the tank slightly higher than the average 70g because of the sump and large skimmer. I will also be adding a auto water chanher to change out 10% weekly.

Tastee · 10/21/2018, 12:10 AM

I stocked my 65g with two Fire Gobys and initially they seemed very happy with each other, even sharing a burrow initially. Some months later however one disappeared, and it seems most likely the other one was the culprit. If you want to keep two I believe you need to ensure they are indeed a pair. How you determine this I don’t know I’m afraid.

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Kelbrick · 10/21/2018, 01:26 PM

Ok thank you for your input. Will then consider only one or some other fish.

Silly clownfish · 10/21/2018, 07:26 PM

Flame hawk should fit in nicely. Beautiful fish and great personality. My top must-have fish.

Kelbrick · 10/22/2018, 02:42 AM

Ok so I was thinking that the final list look something like this.
Flame angel
Kole tang
Mandarin
2x percula clowns
Flame hawk
2x Yellow watchman
2-3 dispar anthias.

Will my system be able this many fish or should I remove something?

Tastee · 10/23/2018, 01:09 AM

Whether your system can handle it depends on a couple of things - amount of live rock and other media and your nutrient export strategy. You will need to add them gradually in order not to suddenly overload the biological filtration in your tank and cause problems, e.g. max of 1-2 new fish every 2-4 weeks.

As an example my 65g has 2x Occ Clowns, Yellow Tang, Lawnmower Blenny, Sixline Wrasse, Orchid Dottyback and a Fire Goby. I am about to add a Bluestreak Cleaner Wrasse when he clears QT. Plus a small CUC, two BTAs and ~8 corals. I have about 22 Kg/50 Lb of live rock and run a small chamber full of Marine Pure balls. I use NoPoX at small levels to control nutrients. Red Sea Reefer 250. This runs very well and I could probably increase fish load a little if I wanted.

The other issue is whether your (and my) tank is large enough to provide a suitable territory for all fish. This is much more dependent on the species, so I will let others with much more experience than me comment on your mix.

Good luck!

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Uncle99 · 10/23/2018, 11:41 AM

Mandarin only if the the tank has year old LR and enough to support this creature.
And then no wrasses as they will eat all its Copepods.
Anthais, yes, but just one, unless you have a huge tank, otherwise pecking squabbles will persist.

10/20/2018, 02:22 PM	#1
Kelbrick Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2018 Posts: 6	70g stocking suggestions I'm currently building a 70g mixed reef but leaning more towards lps and softies. I will be running a 30g sump with a 10g fuge and about 60lbs of live rock depending on the scape. I want a open scape so I will be adding other biological media such as 6kg of biohome. I plan on upgrading to a 120 or 150 in a year or two so I'll be using a magus curve 7. The fish I really want to keep are as follows: Percula pair Flame angel Kole tang Mandarin Pair fire fish I would really like to hear your thoughts on a bottom dweller or 2 and some mid water swimmers that will be compatible and not over crowd the tank. Any recommendations/criticism regarding my want list will also be appreciated. I believe I can stock the tank slightly higher than the average 70g because of the sump and large skimmer. I will also be adding a auto water chanher to change out 10% weekly.

10/21/2018, 07:26 PM	#4
Silly clownfish Registered Member Join Date: May 2013 Location: Southeast Pennsylvania Posts: 488	Flame hawk should fit in nicely. Beautiful fish and great personality. My top must-have fish. __________________ 75g mixed reef, 20g sump, ocelaris clownfish (20+yrs old), flame hawk, one spot foxface rabbitfish, green mandarin, Bicolor Blenny, Coral Beauty;30g sumpless with Spotcinctus pair with RBTA Current Tank Info: 75g mixed reef, 20g sump, ocelaris clownfish (20+yrs old), flame hawk, one spot foxface rabbitfish, green mandarin, Bicolor Blenny, Coral Beauty;30g sumpless with Spotcinctus pair

10/21/2018, 12:10 AM	#2
Tastee Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2017 Location: Sydney Australia Posts: 277	I stocked my 65g with two Fire Gobys and initially they seemed very happy with each other, even sharing a burrow initially. Some months later however one disappeared, and it seems most likely the other one was the culprit. If you want to keep two I believe you need to ensure they are indeed a pair. How you determine this I don’t know I’m afraid. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

10/21/2018, 01:26 PM	#3
Kelbrick Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2018 Posts: 6	Ok thank you for your input. Will then consider only one or some other fish.

10/22/2018, 02:42 AM	#5
Kelbrick Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2018 Posts: 6	Ok so I was thinking that the final list look something like this. Flame angel Kole tang Mandarin 2x percula clowns Flame hawk 2x Yellow watchman 2-3 dispar anthias. Will my system be able this many fish or should I remove something?

10/23/2018, 01:09 AM	#6
Tastee Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2017 Location: Sydney Australia Posts: 277	Whether your system can handle it depends on a couple of things - amount of live rock and other media and your nutrient export strategy. You will need to add them gradually in order not to suddenly overload the biological filtration in your tank and cause problems, e.g. max of 1-2 new fish every 2-4 weeks. As an example my 65g has 2x Occ Clowns, Yellow Tang, Lawnmower Blenny, Sixline Wrasse, Orchid Dottyback and a Fire Goby. I am about to add a Bluestreak Cleaner Wrasse when he clears QT. Plus a small CUC, two BTAs and ~8 corals. I have about 22 Kg/50 Lb of live rock and run a small chamber full of Marine Pure balls. I use NoPoX at small levels to control nutrients. Red Sea Reefer 250. This runs very well and I could probably increase fish load a little if I wanted. The other issue is whether your (and my) tank is large enough to provide a suitable territory for all fish. This is much more dependent on the species, so I will let others with much more experience than me comment on your mix. Good luck! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

10/23/2018, 11:41 AM	#7
Uncle99 Crab Free Zone Join Date: Sep 2017 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 2,906	Mandarin only if the the tank has year old LR and enough to support this creature. And then no wrasses as they will eat all its Copepods. Anthais, yes, but just one, unless you have a huge tank, otherwise pecking squabbles will persist.