stocking a 60x30x24 tank: advice and suggestions appreciated

[tetraTim]

I've got a tank size in the title, it's freshwater tropical, 18 years of fish-keeping experience under my belt. Never done marine before, but I've dabbled in brackish.

I'm pretty set on giving marine a go, and it'll definitely be fish only. Always been drawn to Volitans lionfish, morays, puffers, and panther groupers. Yellow tangs and triggers are also catching my eye.

Choices are endless, but if I had to pick a favourite, it's the Volitans. Would appreciate some feedback on my ideas, plus some tips on stocking levels and combinations. Cheers.

[tetraTim]

Anyone got any thoughts on this? Also, I was thinking about live rock - how much would be recommended for a tank this size? I popped into my LFS today and they've got some Indonesian live rock for £11 a kilo, seems like a decent deal to me.

[sweetie_22]

According to the calculator, you'd need 78kg of live rock for that tank size.

One thing to consider, if you're set on the Volitan lionfish, you might want to scratch triggers off your list - they're one of the few fish that'll actually take down a lionfish.

[tetraTim]

According to the calculator, you'd need 78kg of live rock for that tank size.

One thing to consider, if you're set on the Volitan lionfish, you might want to scratch triggers off your list - they're one of the few fish that'll actually take down a lionfish.

Blimey, £800 for the live rock is a bit steep innit. Cheers for the heads up on the trigger, I had no idea they'd take on a lionfish like that. Guess I'll have to cross them off the list, Volitans have always been my first choice anyway. Just joined a marine forum, waiting for confirmation so I can get stuck in and learn more.

[sweetie_22]

LR is indeed insane, if I'm being honest. If you're going FOWLR, I'd probably use a canister filter with some LR rubble in it - that'd significantly reduce the amount you need.

You can get some real bargains on LR on eBay for like £5 per kilo, so it'd end up being around £390 instead. Building it up slowly is key, have maybe 20kg to start, just a couple of smaller fish, that kinda thing.

Marine is said to be harder, but if it wasn't for the cost, I'd say it's exactly the same. I think this would work:

1 x Volitan - just keep in mind other fish need to be pretty big before you put one of these in
1 x Moray eel - snowflakes are awesome
1 x Dof face puffer
1 x Yellow tang - just be careful, too many can cause real aggression

Not too sure about panther groups, but here are some fish to think about:

Scats, Mono fish - they're brackish but can be converted to full marine
Foxface rabbitfish - worth looking into

[tetraTim]

According to the calculator, you'd need 78kg of live rock for that tank size.

One thing to consider, if you're set on the Volitan lionfish, you might want to scratch triggers off your list - they're one of the few fish that'll actually take down a lionfish.

Thanks for the advice, really helpful. I've got to do some proper research on the fish I'm interested in, see what's what. Snowflake morays are lovely, always liked those. Planning on taking my time, getting a good idea of what I want and what'll work in my tank.

[felinxo]

You're going to end up with a serious case of the vapors if you keep stressing about the live rock prices, mate.

Ditch the LFS and look for a reefer breaking down their tank, you can snag the live rock for a fraction of the cost, around £5 a kilo.