BRAND new tank- where to start (livestock wise)???

[lynxie]

after years of covetting other people's marine set-ups, my husband and i finally moved to a house with room for a decent size tank, and have bit the bullet and set up a tank for a reef-style marine aquarium. we've got a 90 gal, with a custom 30-something gal sump w/ fuge, skimmer/heater/lighting etc. we let it run a few days, then put in liverock about 3 weeks ago, and my amonia/nitrate levels have finally peaked then dropped back to nil, so they say i'm now ready for livestock... my question is, where do i start? i eventually want a tank that's mostly coral/anemone/inverts with just a few fish... but where do i start? do i start with a cleaning crew (even tho there's nothing much producing waste, and not much algae)? with some hardy spp of coral? with a few small/hardy/cheap fish (chromis? blue or yellowtail damsel?) ?

[SoK]

start verrrrrry slowly, doing too much too quickly will just stress everything in the tank out and lead to problems. start with a clean up crew. i don't like certain crabs in my CUC but some do. Snails an dwarf hermits are all i really use.

give that a week or 2 then add your first fish or coral. give that a week or 2 so you know how its going and keep adding from there. but again, take it very slowly. you're tank is a new born and it will be a good year before things are really stable.

[lynxie]

thanks - i know ALLLL about slooooow (i've built and run and helped others with many fresh over the years), but this is my first salt-from-scratch so i wasn't sure. are shrimp good to add towards the beginning, or are they better later on?

[fihsboy]

Well saying your cycle has started, do you have your rock? I would get your rock in the formation your going to want to keep it in first. After that add your least aggresive fish. Doing that will make it where he establishes his territory and that its HIS tank when you add another fish that may be a little more on the aggresive side. I added my six line wrasse last.....just for this reason. After you get one fish in there and hes looking good. add you a few corals, and so on. Looks like your on your way to success. What skimmer are you running? And whats your lighting?

[quader94]

welcome to TRT !

fihsboy pretty much said it

[lynxie]

i'm actually not sure what kind of skimmer it is - i'm newer than a newB, but i've worked with and hobbied fresh before, and know the guys well where i got my equipment, and trust them to set me up well.
lighting-wise i have a 48"/6 bulb fluorescent fixture (suspended over the tank from the ceiling, about 8" above the tank - can adjust the height if i need to), with 2 'white' bulbs (i think one is "life-glo", and the other is "power-glo") and 4 actinic blue (whites in the 2 outer slots, blue for the 4 inner), and i've got them on a timer for 10h of light... sound ok? (my 'fuge just has a little incandescent bulb, on the same light cycle as the fluorescents.)

the store didn't have much of a livestock selection when i went (they're getting in a big shipment next week), so i just picked up 2 sand-sifting snails and a small cluster of striped mushrooms, and they gave me 2 small frags of zoas, just so that there's some life in there (other than the l-r that's been in for several weeks). they suggested that in another week or so i pick up a few more snails (any spp that will clean glass) and a clown (since they're pretty hardy and non-aggressive fish) assuming my water chem stays balanced..... sound about right?