# My 120 gallon stocklist - thoughts?



## VisualPoetry (May 16, 2006)

Hey folks,

Here's my planned stock list in my 120 gallon reef tank with 35 gallon sump. Would love your thoughts:

Ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 5, ph 8.2, alk 1.02, 80 degrees

120 gallon display tank
35 gallon sump (skimmer, fuge with sand, algae, light for pods)
150 lbs live rock 
3" sand bed

Current livestock:
1x Yellow tail damsel
2x Bangai Cardinal
4x firefish goby
1x Blue tang
1x Foxface Lo
1x Blue Throat Trigger
1x Mandarinfish (and a fuge full of macro + pods 

40 blue hermits
10 red hermits
25 turbo snails
20 assorted snails
5x peppermint shrimp
4x cleaner shrimp
2x feather duster

Planned:
1 other tang (yellow, purple, or other)
1 marine betta
Possible pair of clowns


Corals:
2x colonies of Zoas
3x frags of Zoas
1x colony of Xenia
1x frag of pulsing Xenia
2x frag of GSP
1x colony of frogspawn
1x colony of frogspawn
1x frag of hammerhead


I'm just wondering if this is ok in terms of bio load.

I just don't want to have a bio load that's too heavy for the tank and thus want to plan accordingly.

Thanks for your thoughts!


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## thmh (Mar 17, 2011)

triggers are mean! so i wouldnt get them.
mandarin are awesome , i would get a pair only after your system is 6+ month old or have lots of pods for them to eat.
yellow tang is a bright swimmer and a awesome algae picker !
definitely get a pair of clowns.
also you should get a wrasse from the Halichoeres family, theyre peaceful and they hunt for pest all day long!


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## Announce (Aug 27, 2008)

The blue throat trigger should be fine as long as its small, but I have yet to see a large one that will not chase small fish or attack shrimp. However 120 is likely the bare minimum for an adult blue throat anyway. Other than that the tank looks like it has tons of room for more livestock (assuming you have good equipment and perform regular maintenance. 

As for the mandarin make sure the system is at least a year old, because it needs to feed off the natural inverts in the tank (copepods) even if you do manage to get one that eats prepared food, getting the food to it in a stocked tank proves difficult. Since I get the feeling you like small unique creatures, check out Jawfish, awesome fish with lots of personality.


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## Taipan (Feb 12, 2012)

*Triggerfish in your 120G.....*

I had....and now currently have two triggerfish in my 120G Display. They are roughly the same size at about 4 1/2 inches in length. 1 was a Hawaiian Bluethroat (until it became a snack for my carpet anemone) and the other is a Sargassum Trigger. Both are from the Genus Xanthichthys (planktivorous). In general; triggers from this genus are 'reef safe' and more docile than most. The Sargassum does have a tendency to pick at the odd snail but that's about it. Never problems with my pistol, peppermint, cleaner, or blood shrimp.

I missed my Hawaiian Bluethroat and replaced him with another from Indonesia.

I'm not a contrarian; but keeping one in your 120G should not be an issue in terms of real estate. The 2 triggers I have share the space with a Purple Tang as well. None of the fish are darting or seemingly confined or unhappy. Enclosed are some pictures of the Sargassum and Hawaiian Bluethroat together - "back in the day".

As for the Mandarin - make sure the system is established with lots of pods for increased success. Mine never stops during the day searching and exploring for food. Very fat.


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## Shoryureppa (Jul 1, 2011)

I think that tank is a bit small for a blue tang. Should be at least a 180 or a 125 long. I'm not sure how aggressive damsels are but I have been told by many that they tend to be aggressive. How about some fairy wrasses? They do a nice light show if you keep a pair. Good luck!


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## VisualPoetry (May 16, 2006)

Tankmates updated in the original post. Please let me know your thoughts re: bioload. My tank currently has 3 fish that will get bigger: the trigger, blue tang, and foxface - and a bunch of small fish.

Is getting another sizable fish or two an issue for this tank? (Marine betta and say, purple tang).

I'm planning to teardown my tank in a couple of weeks to drill and reaquascape, which is the best time to remove any tankmates.

I think I will remove the damsel when I do my tank teardown - simply because he's a damsel. He's been very nice so far though.

So far, everyone is getting along awesomely.

No major issues except for snails getting eaten all the time.

Thanks for all feedback.

If the tank gets too small for these guys when they grow up, I will remove some at that point, and/or may get a bigger tank then.


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