Would I be overstocked?

nobleprole · 05/06/2018, 04:08 PM

Hi! 1st marine tank.
Background:
90 gallon reef been up for 5 months (zoas, devil leather, xenia,gsp). I currently have a maroon clown, valentini puffer and dwarf golden eel. Skimmer, 20 gallon sump and 10 gallon fuge (fuge contains lots of denitrate, marinpure and some rock-focus was anaerobic bacteria to help with nitrates).
ammonia-0, sal 1.024, phos -.01, nitrates-2. I have alittle hair algae off 2 LFS rocks and some alagae on glass after several days. 10% wc weekly.

Question: Looking to add perhaps 1 or more of the following: ;longnose hawk,hoevens wrasse, coral beauty angel (not all of them just 1 or 2). HOWEVER - twin 9yr old sons want dwarf lion.So, thoughts on adding 1 or 2 of above AND a dwarf zebra lion? Too much? other suggestions? BTW DGM has been excellent in the tank and puffer/clown hang out together).Thanks!!

Anemone · 05/06/2018, 05:52 PM

Your puffer and eel add A LOT of bioload to the tank. Keep in mind a dwarf lion will be able to eat other fish up to its own body size, so not sure how big your Maroon is, or how big of a Coral Beauty you were thinking of getting. And, keep in mind, especially with inquisitive 9 year old boys, lions are venomous.

So, yes, you can get the dwarf lion - make sure you actually get a dwarf! It will add even more to your bioload, so make sure you have a good skimmer. Every fish you add is going to increase YOUR workload with maintenance, so keep that in mind, and chose any further tankmates with both the lion and the eel's dietary preferences/abilities taken into consideration.

Kevin

monkeysee1 · 05/07/2018, 06:54 PM

You can get ONE Coral Beauty. If you get two dwarfs in a 90 they will fight.
You can get ONE wrasse as well ( make sure it is reef safe of course).
A Kole Tang would be nice for your tank too!
Skip the Lionfish. ANYTHING it can fit in its mouth WILL get eaten!!
DON'T let the term "dwarf" fool you. Lionfish get huge!!

m14socom · 05/07/2018, 07:37 PM

I've heard that 1" of fish per gallon is a decent maximum limit. Obviously this would change with heavier fish. It has a lot to do with the amount of waste they produce. When I was a kid I had a 55 gallon with a 1lb catfish and in one day you couldn't hardly see through the water.

Frogmanx82 · 05/07/2018, 09:23 PM

The 1" of fish applies to freshwater and doesn't even really apply that well. It really comes down to how much food you put in the tank to sustain the fish and how well your filter and maintenance schedule perform.

I'd be curious if there was a rule of thumb for that. X grams per day per gallon.

I think you easily have room for the hawk, wrasse and dwarf angel. The dwarf lionfish on the other hand pretty much moves you to a speciman tank as you won't be able to house much else. So many decisions.

Sstanley223 · 05/07/2018, 09:31 PM

1" per 10 gallons for marine... and that is vague

Anemone · 05/07/2018, 09:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sstanley223

1" per 10 gallons for marine... and that is vague

Yeah, somehow I have difficulty believing 1" of firefish equals 1" of tang.

Kevin

lapin · 05/08/2018, 06:21 PM

Its like chickens. They say 10 Sq feet per chicken. If you do that you will have issues. Fights, disease and way too much poo. Better to go 10x that 100 sq feet. So 1" per 10 gallons should be 1" per hundred gallons. Captive fish can only dream of that.

Ab129 · 05/09/2018, 01:16 PM

Just curious,
Love the valentin puffer but my lfs told me it was definitely not reef safe but you’ve been doing well it it not nipping?

nobleprole · 05/10/2018, 11:33 AM

Hey all! No I haven't had any problems with the Valentini nipping any corals - I have almost all softies. He's been a pretty good resident so far - hasn't messed with snails or the 2 emerald crabs or the very large pincushion urchin. I probably just jinxed myself! BTW - my wife wanted the puffer and it is a real cool guy. I was concerned that my very territorial maroon was going to have issues but the two of them just hang out together. The GDM was suggested as an alternative (an expensive one!) to a snowflake - my boys wanted an eel and it too has been great so far. WRT the lion, again, boys will be boys and they want predator like fish so I'm trying to thread the needle a bit.Tank is too high for them to get into and they are pretty good with not messing around with it. Still not sure what we'll add, but the dwarf lion would be last and only after I get it eating in a QT first. Next thing in is 20lbs of Tampa Bay LR (been in QT for 3 weeks). I think the puffer will have fun picking at all the stuff on those rocks. We'll see what 'slitherin' the GDM thinks about things! Thanks again for all insights!

05/06/2018, 04:08 PM	#1
nobleprole Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2018 Location: no va Posts: 14	Would I be overstocked? Hi! 1st marine tank. Background: 90 gallon reef been up for 5 months (zoas, devil leather, xenia,gsp). I currently have a maroon clown, valentini puffer and dwarf golden eel. Skimmer, 20 gallon sump and 10 gallon fuge (fuge contains lots of denitrate, marinpure and some rock-focus was anaerobic bacteria to help with nitrates). ammonia-0, sal 1.024, phos -.01, nitrates-2. I have alittle hair algae off 2 LFS rocks and some alagae on glass after several days. 10% wc weekly. Question: Looking to add perhaps 1 or more of the following: ;longnose hawk,hoevens wrasse, coral beauty angel (not all of them just 1 or 2). HOWEVER - twin 9yr old sons want dwarf lion.So, thoughts on adding 1 or 2 of above AND a dwarf zebra lion? Too much? other suggestions? BTW DGM has been excellent in the tank and puffer/clown hang out together).Thanks!!

05/06/2018, 05:52 PM	#2
Anemone Cloning Around Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Valencia, California Posts: 25,267	Your puffer and eel add A LOT of bioload to the tank. Keep in mind a dwarf lion will be able to eat other fish up to its own body size, so not sure how big your Maroon is, or how big of a Coral Beauty you were thinking of getting. And, keep in mind, especially with inquisitive 9 year old boys, lions are venomous. So, yes, you can get the dwarf lion - make sure you actually get a dwarf! It will add even more to your bioload, so make sure you have a good skimmer. Every fish you add is going to increase YOUR workload with maintenance, so keep that in mind, and chose any further tankmates with both the lion and the eel's dietary preferences/abilities taken into consideration. Kevin __________________ Back in the pool, swimming with the sharks... Current Tank Info: Red Sea 425XL w/Kessil AP700, Vertex 180i Skimmer, 2 x Vortech MP40s

05/07/2018, 06:54 PM	#3
monkeysee1 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: MERRIMACK NH Posts: 423	You can get ONE Coral Beauty. If you get two dwarfs in a 90 they will fight. You can get ONE wrasse as well ( make sure it is reef safe of course). A Kole Tang would be nice for your tank too! Skip the Lionfish. ANYTHING it can fit in its mouth WILL get eaten!! DON'T let the term "dwarf" fool you. Lionfish get huge!! __________________ Your "fair share" is not in my wallet; it's in my fish tank!! Current tank info: 90 Gallon saltwater 10 fish with a few inverts; NO CORALS! Tried to go reef; didn't work out so hot; FOWLR's for me!

05/07/2018, 09:23 PM	#5
Frogmanx82 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Charlotte, NC Posts: 1,515	The 1" of fish applies to freshwater and doesn't even really apply that well. It really comes down to how much food you put in the tank to sustain the fish and how well your filter and maintenance schedule perform. I'd be curious if there was a rule of thumb for that. X grams per day per gallon. I think you easily have room for the hawk, wrasse and dwarf angel. The dwarf lionfish on the other hand pretty much moves you to a speciman tank as you won't be able to house much else. So many decisions. __________________ Exodus 8:2 Check my homepage for tank pics and details. Current Tank Info: 90 gallon, 2x maxspect R420R LED, 4 Ocellaris Clowns, Yellow Eye Kole Tang, Flame Angel, Foxface Rabbitfish, Banggai Cardinals, Azure Damsel, rock flower anemone, cleaner shrimp, serpent star

05/08/2018, 06:21 PM	#8
lapin Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2017 Location: Austin Posts: 801	Its like chickens. They say 10 Sq feet per chicken. If you do that you will have issues. Fights, disease and way too much poo. Better to go 10x that 100 sq feet. So 1" per 10 gallons should be 1" per hundred gallons. Captive fish can only dream of that. __________________ Tank sizes, 2-10's a 55 and one that's about 500gal Current Tank Info: Interior decorating happening

05/07/2018, 07:37 PM	#4
m14socom Registered Member Join Date: May 2018 Posts: 17	I've heard that 1" of fish per gallon is a decent maximum limit. Obviously this would change with heavier fish. It has a lot to do with the amount of waste they produce. When I was a kid I had a 55 gallon with a 1lb catfish and in one day you couldn't hardly see through the water.

05/07/2018, 09:31 PM	#6
Sstanley223 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2017 Location: North Aurora Illinois Posts: 24	1" per 10 gallons for marine... and that is vague

05/09/2018, 01:16 PM	#9
Ab129 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: Long Island, NY Posts: 367	Just curious, Love the valentin puffer but my lfs told me it was definitely not reef safe but you’ve been doing well it it not nipping? __________________ 75 gal, TriggerRuby30 sump, Reef Octo 150 sss skimmer and Varios 6 return pump, Icecap gyre 3k, (2) Radion xr15 4 gen, Icecap ATO, Spectrapure RO/DI NO3-0, Mag-1385, Ca-430, Alk-9.1, pH-8.1 Current Tank Info: nitrates 0 SG 1.026, pH 8.1

05/10/2018, 11:33 AM	#10
nobleprole Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2018 Location: no va Posts: 14	Hey all! No I haven't had any problems with the Valentini nipping any corals - I have almost all softies. He's been a pretty good resident so far - hasn't messed with snails or the 2 emerald crabs or the very large pincushion urchin. I probably just jinxed myself! BTW - my wife wanted the puffer and it is a real cool guy. I was concerned that my very territorial maroon was going to have issues but the two of them just hang out together. The GDM was suggested as an alternative (an expensive one!) to a snowflake - my boys wanted an eel and it too has been great so far. WRT the lion, again, boys will be boys and they want predator like fish so I'm trying to thread the needle a bit.Tank is too high for them to get into and they are pretty good with not messing around with it. Still not sure what we'll add, but the dwarf lion would be last and only after I get it eating in a QT first. Next thing in is 20lbs of Tampa Bay LR (been in QT for 3 weeks). I think the puffer will have fun picking at all the stuff on those rocks. We'll see what 'slitherin' the GDM thinks about things! Thanks again for all insights!