# Minimum Tank Size?



## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

What would be the minimum tank size that would *comfortably* house the following:

- 2 adult ocellaris clownfish
- 1 azuretail damsel
- 1 yellow tang (optional)
- 2 or more cleaner shrimps
- 1 soft coral that can host clownfishes
- lots of colorful branchy corals


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## 50seven (Feb 14, 2010)

90 gallon. A small yellow tang will be okay in a 35-50 gallon only for a few months, until he outgrows it. And they grow fast when they are healthy. 

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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

I didn't realize yellow tangs required that much room. So what if the yellow tang was optional?


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## Chromey (Sep 25, 2010)

No Tang, Id say a 30.


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

Would a 75 gallon be okay for a yellow tang? The only difference between a standard 75 and a standard 90 is about 3 inches of height.


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## sig (Dec 13, 2010)

I know guys keeping them in 30G. there is no question about surviving (they will for sure).
they just will be stressed and do not grow

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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

Greg and I were talking about this last time we met and we both agreed that with tangs length and height are more important to a tang so they can swim freely. A tang would be happier in a 8 foot long 150 gallon tank rather than a 150 gallon cube.


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## J_T (Mar 25, 2011)

solarz said:


> Would a 75 gallon be okay for a yellow tang? The only difference between a standard 75 and a standard 90 is about 3 inches of height.


I have had a yellow in a 75 gallon. He was happy and healthy. I still moved him to a new tank (someone elses) because I knew he was too big for my rock work, and filtration (which was nothing but water changes when I remembered)

That was many years ago now;

Now, I would say with an open rock work (room in the front and back) and good water flow, regular maintance, and a killer skimmer, you could keep one in there for a while.


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

Thanks guys.

Yellow Tang aside, what I would really like is to have a forest-like mass of branchy corals. Something like this:










Those are acroporas, right?

What size of tank should I aim for to get a decent amount of stability?


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## J_T (Mar 25, 2011)

For that, you will want a wide tank! It will give you the best area to grow out corals. More than 18". I will never have a tank less than 24" wide now. The room is so worth having! 

I would go look at SUM's show tank. Would have been better if you saw it a few months back before the redo. The 36" cube is close to the tank I have now (and I wouldn't put a tang in this size tank) and there is a ton of space for grow out.


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## J_T (Mar 25, 2011)

Oh, I am no expert on ID'ing sticks, but I think those are Birds nest, or similar.


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

Somewhat on topic but my dream tank is a 60wx30dx20h. I'm not really into tall tanks for some odd reason.


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

J_T said:


> For that, you will want a wide tank! It will give you the best area to grow out corals. More than 18". I will never have a tank less than 24" wide now. The room is so worth having!
> 
> I would go look at SUM's show tank. Would have been better if you saw it a few months back before the redo. The 36" cube is close to the tank I have now (and I wouldn't put a tang in this size tank) and there is a ton of space for grow out.


I've seen SUM's show tank. I've considered square tanks, but it doesn't look like the fish have much space to swim.

Can I keep an anemone together with acroporas?


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## Chromey (Sep 25, 2010)

yes, But not too close.

Dont forget Alot of nems like to travel to find that perfect spot.


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

One of the problems with doing research when you have very little knowledge about a subject is that you have no idea where to start.

Thanks to you guys, I was able to get a good sense of what I wanted. With some additional research, I've decided on the following:

- 2 ocellaris clowns + 1 azuretail damsel (current inhabitants of my fowlr)
- Bird's Nest corals of various colors
- cleaner shrimps and some nano fish

I haven't kept any corals before. Should I start with something easy, like GSP, or go directly to Bird's Nests? Would it be possible to have GSP co-exist with Bird's Nest, assuming I keep them far apart? I've read that GSP releases chemicals that may be harmful to corals.

What would be the minimum tank size for this kind of set up?


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## Chromey (Sep 25, 2010)

I didnt start putting any SPS in my tank Untill Everything was stable for a few months.

GSP... Where do i start, I have it, LOTS of it, Love it and Hate it.

It grows like crab grass for me, It Can Over take a tank if your not careful.
It will grow on Other corals and kill them.

If you keep it trimmed, Its a great Softy, And is easy to keep.

I know i few people that started putting SPS in after thier cycle, And did well.
Me, I lost Ever SPS i put in for the first 6-8 months.
I now have no issues, But too time and Lots of reading.

SPS need Alot better lighting then Most LPS As well as Near perfect water.
Keep that inmind.


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## 50seven (Feb 14, 2010)

Chromey said:


> I didnt start putting any SPS in my tank Untill Everything was stable for a few months.
> 
> GSP... Where do i start, I have it, LOTS of it, Love it and Hate it.
> 
> ...


+1

Also bear in mind that birdsnest are one of the easiest SPS to keep and they grow fast. Good starter SPS. I just broke a frag off of mine- waiting to see how the frag grows out before I sell it though.

But start with some softies, if they grow like weeds then you know your water is probably going to be fine.

BTW that is an acro in the photo. A monster sized mother of a colony though.


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

Someone told me once "there are two mistakes you can make with a reef tank. One is putting GSP in and the other is putting Xenia in. 

I love my GSP and Xenia but I've had my tank for about 7 months now and I can totally understand what people say about GSP. Xenia is fairly easy to trim since all you need is a pair of scissors gut GSP you need to scrape the rock to make sure it doesn't spread to places you don't want it. It looks beautiful but can be a pain in the ass if it gets near other corals.

My suggestion is get a piece of GSP and put it on a 2-3lb rock. That way if it gets out of hand you can always sell the rock off or cut it in pieces and replace the rock.

Also....Kev....I call dibs on the birdsnest!! =P


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## 50seven (Feb 14, 2010)

altcharacter said:


> Also....Kev....I call dibs on the birdsnest!! =P


It's the teal birdsnest, quite nice actually. I'll hold it for you and let you know when it's ready for a new home.


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