120 gallon reef setup?

[SAChichlidLover]

Hey everyone,
I was just brainstorming Ideas and thought of setting up a fairly large reef tank including coral beauty angel, Bangaii Cardinals, emerald crabs and any other species that could go with this setup... If I did this, I would be diving into a completely new world of fishkeeping as I have zero experience with saltwater and have done moderate research into it. Could I possibly have species, setup, equipment and scaping advice? My family are all persuading me to do this so I'm strongly considering!

 

[SAChichlidLover]

Right I have a full stocklist of what I want to add in this tank..

1 x Coral beauty
4 x Sunburst anthias
1 x Royal Gramma
5 x clownfish
1 x yellow tang
1 x silver belly wrasse
4 x bangaii cardinal
2 x emerald crab
4 x clean up crew shrimp

Depending on prices I might swap a few fish as if I go for this project I will be skint!
Gonna try keep PH at 8.2
Are protein skimmers a must? Same for UV?
Best corals for this stocklist?

 

[eatyourpeas]

@Colin_T may be able to give you advice. I am setting up a salt water temperate tank so have very different stock and equipment requirements.

 

[eatyourpeas]

Also, it occurs to me @Chad and @Donya are reef experts

 

[Chad]

Sadly, due to the recent restrictions in Hawaii the price of tangs has skyrocketed. You may have to swap that one out.

If you plan on corals the coral beauty will nibble on polyps. If you don't plan on corals, or if you just want soft corals, it will be a beautiful fish. I have one right now and it's lovely.

The anthias are wonderful fish but due to their eating habits I recommend them be put in the tank very last and wait about a year. They are planktivores which just means they are more expensive to keep and do best in a mature tank with plenty of live rock and little critters to nibble.

 

[Colin_T]

What are the tank dimensions (length x width x height)?

Don't waste your time with a UV steriliser.

Protein skimmers help remove protein from the water and keep it cleaner for longer. Protein creates ammonia, so the less protein, the cleaner the water. Protein skimmers are good to have but not essential. If you plan on having filter feeders and live corals with only a few small fish, then you don't need one.

Marine tanks have a pH of 8.4-8.5.

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Don't keep crabs in tanks unless it is specifically for crabs and nothing else. Crabs cause problems in marine tanks. Small hermit crabs are the only exception to this. They are ok but don't have normal crabs in tanks.

Only keep 1pr (1 male & 1 female) anemone fish/ clown fish in each tank. They are territorial and fight.

No wrasses in coral tanks unless they are fairy wrasse or small species of wrasse.

Keep Bangaii cardinals in groups of at least 6 (preferably 10 or more). In the wild they occur in family groups that live among the spines of black sea urchins. You don't need a sea urchin for them though. They are easy to breed and you can sell any you produce.

All Anthias can be a pain in the butt to get feeding. Most species fail in aquariums unless you get juvenile fish and feed them lots of different live foods. They also need to be in groups of 10 or more. However, if you get them feeding and they do well, they are stunning looking fish.

Start culturing rotifers and other small things to feed them.

Bicolor dottybacks are similar to Royal grammas but usually cheaper. Most dottybacks are quite happy to breed in aquariums and they usually do well in pairs. Some species can change sex so if you get 2 small fish, they normally become a pr.

Most pygmy angelfish pr up too, or a male might have a harem of 3 or 4 females.

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Corals need lots of bright light. What sort of light unit do you have on the tank?

Soft corals like leather corals are usually better for the beginner compared to hard corals like Acroporas.

Coral morphs (Corallimorpharia sp) are pretty easy to keep and there are some quite colourful varieties now.

 

[SAChichlidLover]

Sadly, due to the recent restrictions in Hawaii the price of tangs has skyrocketed. You may have to swap that one out.

If you plan on corals the coral beauty will nibble on polyps. If you don't plan on corals, or if you just want soft corals, it will be a beautiful fish. I have one right now and it's lovely.

The anthias are wonderful fish but due to their eating habits I recommend them be put in the tank very last and wait about a year. They are planktivores which just means they are more expensive to keep and do best in a mature tank with plenty of live rock and little critters to nibble.

Hi thanks so much for you're reply! What would you reccomend to replace the tang?

To be honest I only really want to keep easy corals as I know they can be quite expensive and devastating to lose them.. Is there any good beginner soft corals? Please could you send me a pic of the coral beauty I absolutely love them!

I will do that with the anthias, do you know any foods that might get them to at least eat a little bit?

 

[SAChichlidLover]

What are the tank dimensions (length x width x height)?

Don't waste your time with a UV steriliser.

Protein skimmers help remove protein from the water and keep it cleaner for longer. Protein creates ammonia, so the less protein, the cleaner the water. Protein skimmers are good to have but not essential. If you plan on having filter feeders and live corals with only a few small fish, then you don't need one.

Marine tanks have a pH of 8.4-8.5.

--------------------
Don't keep crabs in tanks unless it is specifically for crabs and nothing else. Crabs cause problems in marine tanks. Small hermit crabs are the only exception to this. They are ok but don't have normal crabs in tanks.

Only keep 1pr (1 male & 1 female) anemone fish/ clown fish in each tank. They are territorial and fight.

No wrasses in coral tanks unless they are fairy wrasse or small species of wrasse.

Keep Bangaii cardinals in groups of at least 6 (preferably 10 or more). In the wild they occur in family groups that live among the spines of black sea urchins. You don't need a sea urchin for them though. They are easy to breed and you can sell any you produce.

All Anthias can be a pain in the butt to get feeding. Most species fail in aquariums unless you get juvenile fish and feed them lots of different live foods. They also need to be in groups of 10 or more. However, if you get them feeding and they do well, they are stunning looking fish.

Start culturing rotifers and other small things to feed them.

Bicolor dottybacks are similar to Royal grammas but usually cheaper. Most dottybacks are quite happy to breed in aquariums and they usually do well in pairs. Some species can change sex so if you get 2 small fish, they normally become a pr.

Most pygmy angelfish pr up too, or a male might have a harem of 3 or 4 females.

--------------------
Corals need lots of bright light. What sort of light unit do you have on the tank?

Soft corals like leather corals are usually better for the beginner compared to hard corals like Acroporas.

Coral morphs (Corallimorpharia sp) are pretty easy to keep and there are some quite colourful varieties now.

I'm really sorry but all I know is the tank will be 130US gallons, 120cm long and for some reason it doesn't show any other dimentions and thanks so much for the pH advice!

How many hermits would you reccomend keeping instead of the emeralds? And I will do thank you I almost fell into a trap there haha!
Are fairy wrasses common?
I'll have to try and find a cheaper sale on cardinals as currently the price was bumped to £30 for one so I was only going to go for four
For the anthias I'm thinking of getting juvies.. Is there any specific food that will get them to at least start eating the same food as the others?
I've heard the dottybacks can be really aggressive in alot of reef setups is this true? If so I should probably stick to a royal gramma but thank you for the reccommendation!
For lighting I don't have a clue which one to go for to be honest haha any good ones?
I'm so sorry for all the questions this is all very new to me lol thanks so much for you're advice so far!

 

[SAChichlidLover]

Also, it occurs to me @Chad and @Donya are reef experts

Thanks so much!

@Colin_T may be able to give you advice. I am setting up a salt water temperate tank so have very different stock and equipment requirements.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Sounds like a cool project! Definitely keep us updated once you start the build.

 

[SAChichlidLover]

Sounds like a cool project! Definitely keep us updated once you start the build.

Thanks so much! I will do, currently in the research/saving up process at the moment haha.

 

[Chad]

There are two tangs, still affordable, and easier to care for, also, much more community minded. The Tomini and the Kole. I love them both. They are bristlemouth tangs and work all day grazing algae off the glass. The Tomini has lovely bright fins and the Kole takes on a blue hue as it ages.

I think you are just fine with the emerald crabs. They are mithrax crabs and tend to do well with corals. One way you can tell about crabs is to look at their claws. If they are scissors, it's a no, if they are spoons it's a cautious okay. This video is one of my older ones so the quality isn't great.

I avoid Mexican red legged hermits. I focus on scarlet reef hermits.

Lighting really depends on what you want to keep in terms of corals. If no corals then it doesn't really matter. I use LED lights from Aqua Illuminations. They make good stuff and I can grow anything under them.

The yellow coris wrasse is a great choice. for a wrasse.

Honestly, I would skip the anthias for now. You are going to end up really pumping food into the tank for them which will cause some issues with a new tank. I know they are beautiful but they come with challenges.

There is a ton more that can be said. There are so many combinations etc.

 

[SAChichlidLover]

Thanks so much! I'll look into the other tangs!
Also I think I will definetely go for the emerald crabs as I've just looked at lots of reef tanks that incorperate them and they seem to be fine also so I am really happy about that!
I'll research yellow coris wrasses aswell thanks so much for all you're advice! Do you think a yellow blenny could work?

 

[Colin_T]

Do you have a link for the tank or a name of the tank?

If you have shrimp in the tank then only get a couple of small hermit crabs. If you don't have shrimp, then 4-6 small hermit crabs.

Fairy wrasses can be common but it depends on the shop.

You can buy 4 Bangaii cardinals, but you might not get males and females. If you do get males and females you can build up the colony with the babies they produce. Or get 4 now and 4 later when you have a bit more money available.

Anthias are fussy eaters and most people try live brineshrimp. That can help but is not a suitable food on its own, they need more variety and rotifers are a good start. Copepods and mysis shrimp are also good foods. You won't get Anthias to take dry or floating foods.

Some species of dottyback (usually the bigger types) can be aggressive but bicolor dottybacks are peaceful and small.
The orchid dottyback (Pseudochromis fridmani) is a nice little fish and has a stunning colour. They are regularly bred in captivity.

 

[Chad]

If you want a splash of yellow I recommend yellow watchman goby and yellow clown goby.

Not all blenny are created equal. I've kept several and had very nice fish and had monsters. The bicolor blenny, for example, was a wonderful fish, but the lawnmower and starry blenny I had were mean and ate my corals.

I say that because I've not kept a yellow blenny so given my mixed experience with blenny I can't recommend it or advise against it. You will need to find someone that kept that species.