Newbie with an awesome tank being built.

Hi all. My first post on this site.

I have had a freshwater tank years ago and now fortunately have the means to put in a saltwater tank that I want to do right the first time. That's where you experts com in so I can hopefully get some feedback. Being realistic I will do the basic maintenance and have someone come in once a month to do the rest. I am going with a community saltwater fish aquarium as opposed to a reef tank. I have a large open floor plan and this is going to be the centerpiece.

I did some searching and settled on using All Fish Emporium in Fort Lauderdale area (dealing with Keith David who seems great).

Here are the specs for the set up - please comment:
310 Gallon Starphire Tank 80 x 30 x 30
LC 400 Gallon Wet Dry Filter
SE Reeflo Snapper 2500 GPH Pump
13 bags of Bimini Pink Sand
CL 36W Turbo Twist UV Sterilizer
Sup Mag 3 Drive Water Pump
AI Sol White Lighting (4 of them for this tank) - do you recommend the white or the blue???
AI Sol/Nano Base Controller
Living Color from Fort Lauderdale (who is on the other TV show - not Tanked) - is constructing artificial reef structures which will also hide the pipes in the tank

Please also let me know your fish ideas. I am looking at adding a combination of some of these (of course not all) fish:
Blue spotted ray (my kids really want this)
white spotted or brown banded bamboo shark
Panther grouper - too big?
Comet
Hawkfish- flame, long nose
Spinecheeks - blue whip tail
*Angels - likely a couple smaller and larger ones added as juveniles together; small - bi-color, flame, coral beauty, bellus, blue spotted; larger- scribbled, blue, queen, emperor, tellow bar, blue faced
Clownfish (of course have to have Nemo for the kids)
Wrasse- ie: scott's fairy, exquisite fairy, solar fairy, ornate, 6-lined, moon, rainbow
Spotted mandarin, green mandarin fish
Surgeonfish-Achilles Tang and Powder Blue Tang (my 2 favorites), sailfin tang, purple tang, unicorn tang
Maybe a less aggressive trigger such as a blue chin or cross hatch? Love these but concerned they are too aggressive.
Pufferfish - love the personality from what I have heard

Any thoughts from you experts out there as far as suggestions with the equipment and also with suggestions for the fish to add (would love a couple of ideas for something REALLY cool looking and unique).

Thanks so much from this newbie, 1st posting member!

Hello and Welcome!

We are more than happy to help you out here! Lots of knowledgeable folks around here! I pop back when I have a bit more time and help you out with the equipment and fish

Welcome aboard!

Something to consider is the adult size of your fish. The space goes away much more quickly then you realize. Good luck!

Hello and welcome to the site...glad to have you aboard.

Welcome to the site. Sounds like a massive undertaking.

Thanks - looking forward to your input

I have seen some comments that the lighting planned is not necessary in a non-reef tank, but are there advantages to this lighting in a fish-only nonetheless?

Thanks.

In a fish only tank, it's purely for aesthetics. The lighting is overkill for fish only, but it will allow you to convert the tank to a reef down the road if you want to.

I would consider a protein skimmer and sump instead of the wet/dry filter. It will do a better job of keeping the water clean and a protein skimmer is much lower maintenance for you to take care of. Wet/dry filters can be a pain in the butt and can actually lead to poorer water quality by increasing the nitrates if they are not maintained and kept clean enough. You can avoid that problem by just going with a protein skimmer. Much more simple and easy!

If you keep the ray or the shark, you will need a lot of open space (just sand, no rocks) in the tank. Are you planning on keeping the rock work to one side to leave that space open? Your other fish will require a lot of rocks to feel comfortable, so if you want to keep sand-dwellers and rock-dwellers, you will have to ensure that you have the correct habitat for both types of fish.

The tank size should be fine for a panther grouper. They grow fast, but I think what you are planning is sufficient to keep one long term.

I think the mandarin is going to be a challenge in a tank with so many aggressive fish. They are timid and shy, and with pushy tank mates like the ones you've listed, I'd be afraid the mandarin would be too scared to come out and eat and would starve to death. Plus, they are small, you may never see it. I had a pair of mandarins in my 240 gallon tank, and I saw them a few times a year. They just disappeared in a tank that size. With the wrasse, you will have to pick the species carefully for this reason as well -- I think many are just too peaceful for your setup. Maybe consider one of the non-reef safe wrasses instead, as they are typically more outgoing and aggressive than the flashers or fairies.

The trigger would be a great idea, though. You are right that triggers can be very aggressive, but the four that typically are very passive are crosshatch, blue chin, niger and pink tail. If you go with one of those, I bet you'd be fine.

You may have issues trying to keep an Achilles and a powder blue in the same tank, as they come from the same family of tangs (both are also fairly difficult to keep healthy)

The same goes for the purple tang and the sailfin, they are also from the same family

Hi all! My tank i built and finally cycled so I am ready to add fish. (Photo of tank built into our wall is below).
My plan of fish to add includes the following (not all of course but just a general plan):
-Blue reef chromis
- oscelleras (2 percula/ 2 black & white)
- goby (gold head sleeper - suggestions?)
- Harlequin Tusk (one of my favorites)
- Puffer (maybe a saddle Valentini as they only get about 4-5 inches)
- Goatfish
- dwarf angel (maybe add 2 at the same time - flame, bi-color, bellus (i know not really dwarf), multi-color)
- wrasse - (maybe add a couple) melanaris, solarensus, red headed fairy
- Magnificant fox face
- Butterfy (facula or kleini since they ar ehardier of the butterflies)
- Tang - goldfin, naso, sailfin (add up to 2)
- Trigger - niger, blue jaw or may try a huma huma to add when small
- angel - emperor, majestic, asphur, goldflake (may try to add 2 when smaller and at same time)

What are your thoughts AND for nowthough what do you thnk I should start with in this 270 gallon tank? Thinking of the clowns (cant find the blue reef chromis currently).

Thanks!

beautiful tank!

I think you are going to need more rock in there to allow for enough space for all of your planned addition to establish a bit of territory and to have proper filtering capabilities. You want 1-2 lbs of porous rock per gallon.

I would start with one pair of clowns. They are very hardy fish, but they are also very territorial. You might not be able to keep more than a pair.

Dont add any fish you dont want in there forever, because it is EXTREMELY!!!!! hard to remove a fish from a tank, especially a big tank.

With a tank like that, I personally would skip on the Chromis. Save the space for something a little more flashy. Its a beautiful tank you have there BTW. Got anymore pictures?