125g stocking question

[sm1983]

I am putting a fish stocking list together for a 125g. The tank will not be running a sump or skimmer right away (its not my tank, setting it up for family). We plan on having at least 125lbs of live rock and a 3-4" sand bed. We will be running 2 Koralia 4 pumps. We plan on having corals (zoa's, shrooms, rics, frogspawn, birdsnest) and plenty of CUC. Here are the fish we are interested in; what can we put in without the sump and skimmer? Weekly if not bi-weekly water changes are planned.

Sailfin Tang
Yellow Tang
Foxface Lo
Coral Beauty
Flame Angel
Maybe a pair of Tomato Clowns
6 line wrassel

I really wanted some butterfly fish (raccoon and longnose) but have read they were not really a reef safe fish.

What do you all think? All information, suggestions are welcomed!

[FossilReef]

From my experience, mixing those two tangs with a foxface is a bad idea unless the tank is 300 gallons or more. Sailfins are a lot more aggressive than people give them credit for, and yellow tangs have a tendency to be aggressive also. With a fish that's the same basic coloration this can be worse. Mixing the two dwarf angels is risky in a tnak that size, also. You can try it, but I would recommend adding them at the same time. This was neither has established territory to defend.
As to what you can add without the skimmer, so long as you're keeping up with water changes like you plan on, it shouldn't be an issue at all.

[sm1983]

FossilReef thank you so much for the input. I saw a sailfin and a yellow tank in the same tank (given it was prob at least a 250g) and they seemed fine so I thought it might have been possible. I will cut the yellow tang from the list. I will def put the Coral Beauty and Flame Angel in at the same time, hopefully they will work out!

Anyone have problems with butterfly fish and corals together? Could a puffer be added to this list?

[bimmerzs]

I have kept copperband's without a problem, they can be difficult to get eating tho.

Cheers,

[d3rryc]

I've had a coral beauty and flame angel in a 30g before without any trouble, but yes, they were added at the same time. I think that's going to be your key on that one.

[sm1983]

Thanks for the replies. I will keep the Coral Beauty and Flame Angel on my list and make sure to put them in at the same time.

[ErikH]

I have two extremely dominant yellow tangs. They gang up on everything. I added a purple tang, which is small, at night and they are all buddy buddy. I recommend staying away from angels or any fish that may be a PITA later. If you have ever had to break a tank down over a four dollar fish, you know what I'm talking about! The trick with relying on natural filtration is to add fish singly, testing water quality over many months to achieve equilibrium. Always undershoot your bioload also because fish do grow. Try not to add any fish that will eat pods, bristleworms, or spaghetti worms as they can be very beneficial in the breakdown of excess foods and detritus which will be crucial in a sumpless, skimmerless, setup. If possible try to incorporate the use of asthetically pleasing macro algaes into your display which will thrive on the excess nutirents and allow for means of export out of your tank.

Edit: time is your best friend here. Try and keep the tank fishless for as long as possible and try to build up the tanks biodiversity before adding ANY fish. Also mind your fish list as adding them all at the same time will add incredible stress to your system unless they are all very small at time of introduction.

[sm1983]

Thank you ScorpiNO for the input. I really want to go real slow with this tank but it is not mine :( My brother in law is the owner and he has me in charge of putting things together. He is in a rush, but I am working on slowing him down!! I am pushing him to get a sump and skimmer so we can add more fish. Only time will tell!

I do plan on putting in some micro algae, I really like the stuff that looks like little shaving brushes, I believe they are called Penicillus?

All this being said IF this tank was to go only biofiltration what fish would you put in it?