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[chuckd92]

I have a 120gallon 6foot x 18w x 22d tank i got from my brother he had fresh water fish and i am going to salt water, I want to put in a Red Miniatus grouper, Clown Trigger, Dogface puffer, and a Purple tang or powder blue tang along with a Angel fish, Is this too many fish for this tank because of the type, they should be fine together but just worried they will grow out of this tank? I want the first 3 that i mentioned but the last 2 were to help with the alge plus they are nice looking fish. Any suggestions>

 

[simonas]

hi and welcome to the forums

Ive moved your thread from freshwater to marine should ensure a better response there

I cant advise you on this but am curious to know the answer as that set up sounds fab

 

[TheHolding]

Dog face puffer needs at least 90 gallon so it would be ok in that size tank. If you have a puffer you can't have any CUC like shrimps as they will be an expensive dinner.

You will need to invest in a good skimmer as puffers are messy and produce a lot of waste.

Can't comment on the other fish but I am very jealous I love the dog faced puffer but unfortunately my tank is way to small.

 

[SaltNoob]

I would check on some of the compatibilities. Triggerfish are not compatible with most of these or are at least cautioned. Read up a bit more about each individual fish, see their needs and if you are capable of meeting them. Also look for water conditions. They may not all fit in the "perfect range", but I also might be wrong.

Will it be a FOWLR tank? What other equipment do you have?

 

[chuckd92]

I have researched all of those fish and they are compatible together, my question is will they outgrow the tank when they became adults, I have been up for weeks searching sites and info on all of the things i need. I understand that 1 inch of fish per gallon is the norm, and all of the fish here wont get more then 15inchs so 5x15 is 75 inches for a 120gallon tank with about 150lbs of liverock, no corals, or any other fish, i have heard i can put in some snails but have to be a certain kind that burrow in the sand and seem to be ok from attacks for cleaning purpose. Feeder fish or shrimp, crabs for feeding the trigger and puffer to help keep there teeth in check, I will have 2 feeder tanks for holding the fish and feeding them the right minerals needed for my fish to be healthy. I will post picks once everything is setup but i am finishing my basement and made a spot in my wall for this tank. Should be up and running in a few months, but any insite in what i am looking to accomplish would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[chuckd92]

I should say that these fish can coexist, not fully compatible, but i had a panther grouper, clown trigger and snowflake eel in a 40 gallon tank at my old work. and they were fine together, with this tank being 6foot long they should be fine together but none are not compatilbe. I have a wet/dry sump filter, getting a protien skimmer, just dont want to run into them out growing the tank and have to get a bigger one or worse and have to get rid of one or more fish. Or having to change the water more then a few times a month because of the filth. I have maintained a 40 gallon before and had no clue to what i was doing because my boss traded a new computer for a fish tank setup and i had to set it up. Worked fine for the 4 months till i left for a new job. Wanted one ever since and thats been 13years. So i have read up alot just putting the final touches to make it right.

 

[chuckd92]

I have done more research and I cant go with the clown trigger it will outgrow my tank,,, so i am going with these fish that will only get to about a 9-13inches max each
DogFace Puffer
Vtail Grouper
Humma Picasso Trigger
Vampire Tang, (Tenniel Tang)

I am going to build a 40gallon sump that will fit in my cabinet, my question is what filtration should i use, Protein skimmer rated at 250g, whats a good one? what other filter should i get for the sump? I want to put sand and LR in the main chamber, with a sock filter coming from the top tank, where would i put the a sponge filter, after the skimmer or before exit? and do i need a carbon filter?

 

[lljdma06]

Yeah, just looking at the list this is messy, messy tank, but potentially very cool. Yeah, get the best skimmer you can find. Puffers, from what I've read, can be uber messy. I don't use skimmers, so I can't really help you. Go to an online vendor site, and read product review, paying close attention to what fish the hobbyist kept with their skimmer.

Yes, your gut instinct to go with a higher rated skimmer is the correct one. For as few fish as you have, they are messy.

But wait for others to comment, because my area is the exact opposite of yours, teeny, tiny little tanks with teeny, tiny little fish.

L

 

[MBOU]

Dogface puffers arent messy!













































Baaahaa! Uber messy doesnt even come close!! plain filthy is closer!

We have one on the system at work (named Wilfred as she is like a human in a dog/fish costume) and she takes great pleasure in moving every grain of coral sand in her tank and shoving it in the weir plate (blocking up her tank and making it over flow), if she isnt doing that... she is carrying and pushing and dragging the bit of liverock around (now replaced with plastic replica rock after she scratched the glass a bit) and if she isnt doing that... she is eating! Or gurning at people outside the tank.

She has a huge personality, she smiles at me! Or to be honest, anyone that looks like me with a blue t shirt on. She draws her lips right back over her teeth to 'smile' and gets all frantic when she knows i have food for her.

Though she does have a delicate stomach... and is prone to getting diarrhoea... didnt even know fish could get it until we discovered brown streaks across the sand and everywhere! Gross was an understatement... it stank when i netted out all the sand!

That aside, what brands of skimmer will depend on where you are located, are you in th UK or US?

Hydor are a good brand, personally i have only used nano skimmers or TMC Vskimmers and now AquaOne have their own range of skimmers that i might well be setting up soon.

Only thing i can say is from personal experience is avoid Aqua Medic products, their pumps are awfully noisy and the impellers shatter on a yearly basis with their impecable customer service the impellers generally take a good 3 months to turn up.

And for the sump, are you making it or designing the glass plates yourself? I dont know about the liverock in the sump, but i would definately be growing some algaes like chaeto in there! it wont grow in the main tank with a tang in there but you can always chuck some in as a treat.

I would have the liverock in one chamber and flowing into a second chamber withh a couple of T5s over it and algae growing. It will feed on all the nitrates and phosphates in the tank and starve out other algaes to an extent and help keep the waterchanges down a little.

Going to be expensive fish to feed! Lol

 

[lljdma06]

Awww, it looks like a little doggy... Like a funky chihuahua or something.

diarrhea in a fish sounds like super gross. I'm very happy I don't see my fish poop. I know they do, but I don't need to see it.

Good luck on the tank, really it looks like it could be a real stunning once it's setup

L

 

[ALW]

Ok,

Cephalopholis miniata (Miniata Grouper). Only needs to be fed 2/3 times per week. Grows to about 16inch. Keep only one per tank as they are prone to attacking each other. Will eat and crustaceans and fish that will fit inside its mouth (this includes cleaner wrasse). Needs a minimum 100g tank.

Balistoides conspicillum (Clown Triggerfish). Needs feeding 3 times a day. Grow to about 20inch. Can become very aggressive and kill tank mates so only keep with large fish or fish which are equally aggressive. Needs a minimum of 120g tank.

Arothron nigropunctatus (Dogface Pufferfish). Feed 3 times a day. Grows to about 13inch. Not really an aggressive fish. Needs 75g tank. Like all Pufferfish in general, they are prone to ich, and may need deworming.

Acanthurus leucosternon (Powder Blue Tang) & Zebrasoma xanthurum (Purple Tang) both need feeding a varied diet which includes vegetable matter, feed 3 times a day. Both grow to about 9inch. Both can become aggressive once settled. Require 100g tanks.

Angelfish, this would depend of which you wanted. A few ideas could be Pomacanthus annularis, Pomcanthus imperator, Pomacanthus navarchus or Pomacanthus xanthometopon. Another fish you could choose would be Choerodon fasciatus (harlequin Tuskfish).

The Tank is large enough to house all the fish you want, you would require a large amount of Live Rock and a sump or refugium filled with Macro Algae which will aid with the control of your water. You would still need to provide about 20% water change every 2 weeks.

 

[chuckd92]

Thanks everyone,, I have been doing alot more research and came to this...
Clown Trigger
Dog Faced Puffer
Purple Tang or Tennenti Tang?

Narrowed down choices to not over crowd tank, also going with 150lbs of live rock, 1 inch sand bed, 40gallon sump, 4 chambers,
1st for inlet sock, protein skimmer
2nd for 6inches sand and 1 large LR, w powerhead
3rd for cheato growth, w powerhead
4th for return pump and heaters

2x 700gph powerheads in tank

Does this sound like a good setup?

Thanks for all your input

 

[chuckd92]

Well almost done with my basement project, and instead of going with my brothers free 125gallon tank i have decided to buy a 240gallon 72x24x31 glass tank that comes with a custom sump 65gallon, 48x18x17 that i can have setup anyway i want, question would be how should i chamber it, would i benifit from running multiple defferent alge's? Like Cheato, Sea Lettuce, fern plants (says works like a protein skimmer), and if so i was thinking on the main chamber to run horizontal dividers for each alge with a small powerhead, plus copods and a few snails in it, I get conflicting reports of spinning the alge or just let the natural flow go over it?

I am going with the 240 gallon because i want a few more fish and dont want to spend the time upgrading in the future, seems like a real pain in the butt to do that

 

[lljdma06]

Well almost done with my basement project, and instead of going with my brothers free 125gallon tank i have decided to buy a 240gallon 72x24x31 glass tank that comes with a custom sump 65gallon, 48x18x17 that i can have setup anyway i want, question would be how should i chamber it, would i benifit from running multiple defferent alge's? Like Cheato, Sea Lettuce, fern plants (says works like a protein skimmer), and if so i was thinking on the main chamber to run horizontal dividers for each alge with a small powerhead, plus copods and a few snails in it, I get conflicting reports of spinning the alge or just let the natural flow go over it?

I am going with the 240 gallon because i want a few more fish and dont want to spend the time upgrading in the future, seems like a real pain in the butt to do that

Yeah, when the salty bug bites ya, it bites ya good! Oh, that sounds like a wonderful new setup. Congratulations on the find.

What other fish do you plan on adding?

L

 

[kj23502]

ok. Idk if this has been posted or not, but if you research Clown Triggers in tanks for a period of time you will see that many people end up with only 1 fish. An unruly Clown Trigger! Plus, the tank isn't quite large enough in the long run. Forgot to put that Clown's are also known for biting power cords, so cover the ones you have in the tank.

The miniatus needs a larger tank in the long run.

tangs would be fine.

Be careful with that amount of LR. If it's porous and light weight that will be too much in your DT. You could put some in your sump to allow for more swimming room. These fish will get large!