My Plan ... help wanted!

[Frag Freak]

So I've been reading and learning as much as I have time for so that I can start a reef tank. I've also been lurking here a while and decided to come out of my shell. So here's the tentative plan ...

I'm looking at the Red Sea Max 250. Is this a good idea? I figure a plug and play would be a good start for a newb. Any other similar size/price range tank ideas are welcome.

I want to run soft, LPS, and SPS, corals, so I figure the specs in the Max 250 are appropriate. Plus I can use the tank as my future ich tank, or frag tank later if/when I decide to upgrade.

What I really need help with is my fish selection. I have several favorites and I don't know if they will do well together AND I want as little feeding hassle as possible. Fish wish list:

1. Copperbanded Butterflyfish
2. Longnose Hawkfish
3. Pink & Yellow Anthias (really and medium sized pink/yellow fish)
4. Banggai Cardinal
5. Blue-green puller (Chromis)
6. Clown(s) - typical orange, or black

Those are my top picks prob, so any suggestions as to their compatibility, or other species recommendations, would be great. Also, will this mix do well with invertebrates and the 'other' small inhabitants you can throw in a reef tank?

As you can see I am REALLY open to suggestions at this point. I don't want my first tank to fail because I'm going overboard or making common newb mistakes. Thanx in advance for all suggestions!

PS: Order to introduce corals and fish would also be helpful

[lngrhaul]

Congratulations on starting your first reef tank! This is absolutley the best part - the planning and scheming.

Make sure you start very slow. I mean really, really slow. I don't know what the light set up in the RSM is but you'll want to make sure you have T5 or MH lighting to include sps in your tank.

You'll need to cycle the tank for a while after you put the rock and sand in, so don't plan on putting any fish in for a few weeks - the is the most critical item in the success of your tank so do rush it.

I have found that CBB are very tough to feed so if you don't want a feeding issue, you might want to wait until you are a bit more experienced. Once they eat, they are good but tough to get going sometimes.

I've also been told that the anthias are not a beginner fish. I've had a couple and they were pretty good but again, might be better for a little farther down the road.

Chromis and clowns are quite hardy in my opinion so they are good beginner choices. The clowns can be a bit teritorial - especially if there is an anemone. I've never had Banggai Cardinals so no feedback there. The hawkfish I have is very fun to watch and he is a good community fish - not sure about the longnose.

Hope this is helpful. The folks on here are great so make sure to ask as many questions as you need and go back over some of the older posts to get more info.

[Zoaelite]

First of all, Welcome to Canreef . let the addiction begin!

Personally (and this is just me) I would stay away from the cube and go with a custom build set up or something used. This way not only do you get more bang for your buck but you also get the experience that goes along with doing a tank build (which is priceless in my experience). Go to http://reefkeeping.com/issues/past.php for lots of great reading!

Good luck, stick with Canreef and you will be pleasantly surprised with what you will learn. That and find a good LFS that cares more about building you a healthy system then making a profit.
Levi

[Snaz]

The RSM 250 while only released to the public this year has been very successfull with good reviews. Certainly for the same money you can probably piece together a bigger/brighter system but there are advantages to the AIO(all in one) tanks and the RSM 250 is a great AIO.

If you haven't already read the RSM 250 threads over on nano-reef.com or other sites.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&c...&aq=f&oq=&aqi=

[ponokareefer]

I just got the red sea max 130, and love it. I would recommend the red sea max 250 for a begginner. Having everything already included is a really nice way to start out as you learn more about the hobby, rather than trying to figure everything else at once.
I wouldn't recommend a group of anthias for a beginner, as they are a finicky fish, and love to eat multiple times per day. Also, they usually like a larger system for a schoool.
A school of chromis is a nice idea to start with, but eventually, you will only be left with one or two after they kill each other off. This may take quite some time, so if you are fine with only having a few of them in the end, then go for it. This could be one of your first fish, as they are quite hardy.
I would steer clear of tomato, cinnamon and maroon clownfish, as they get larger and quite mean usually. The other clownfish are usually pretty good. This could be your one of your first fish as well, as clownfish are known to be quite hardy as well.
As lngrhaul pointed out, the copperband butterfly fish is known as a finicky eater, so might not be your best choice either. If you do, I would recommend adding it last.
The hawkfish should work out well, if you don't plan on getting any shrimp. The bangaii cardinals are a good choice for a reef set up.
As for corals, after a few months you could look to add a few softies, and then some easier to keep LPS. I would wait for quite some time prior to adding SPS though. I'll let more of an SPS expert chime in on their recommendations on them.

[365seasons]

[quote=zoaElite;436044]First of all, Welcome to Canreef . let the addiction begin!

+1 ^

[Frag Freak]

Thanx for the quick replies. Keep em coming - especially the fish introduction stuff. I'm reading the Reefkeeping site non stop since I heard about it - great site - thanx for the link!!!

[Zoaelite]

No problem at all , it keeps me occupied for hours at work . Take a look at the tank of the months threads (1 a month for about 3 years now) for some fantastic ideas. Coming strait from the experts!
Levi

[Doug]

Welcome
to
Canreef

[Navarchus]

RSM250 is a very good and balanced choice imo.
I do not have personal experience with it, but I have few good friends who use it and are very satisfied.
You have there 6 *39w t5 set up, a skimmer running on hydor pump and hydor water movement pump.
I believe you will have to add some extra flow pump for sps (Tunze 6055 + single will be ideal, if not Koralia are good as well).
You don’t have tap-off system there so you will have to add one (I believe it is one of the most important part for a stable reef)

1. Copperbanded Butterflyfish-not for a newbie
2. Longnose Hawkfish-Will eat small invertebrates (such as shrimps)
3. Pink & Yellow Anthias (really and medium sized pink/yellow fish)-not for a newbie+ too small tank
4. Banggai Cardinal- ok
5. Blue-green puller (Chromis)-ok
6. Clown(s) - typical orange, or black-ok,On pair or small group –s size