Angel heavy softies tank

[AdamK1]

A couple of months now since installing my upgrade. About 200g. It's 6ft x 2.5ft x 2ft. Original plan was an lps/sps tank, but honestly I'm already looking at changing the plan!

I'm really loving the space I have and the chance to add more fish, and more fish that I've always wanted, but never did due to tank size. Already have my dream fish, a pbt, which I've never kept before as my last tank and those before it were up to 4ft.

I'm thinking now that I'll go for a tank which is mainly about keeping a few show piece angels, with a lot of smaller fish for movement and appeal. That said though I can't bring myself to go full Fowlr. Doing research, I came across a YouTube vid. A guy had a softies dominant tank, the odd bta, but mainly leathers, colt corals, etc, and a stunning stock of fish, including a queen and emporor Angel.

This idea really appeals to me. With softies growing like they do and not mad cost I could fill the tank in in no time. With an array of fish like that, it would also look stunning imo, and be less care and maintenance than I'm used to.

Any thoughts? Anyone doing this? Any dos and donts? I know I'm likely to get through a few corals in the process of finding pieces that they'll leave alone, but I really fancy giving it a go.

Pics below of the tank when it first went in, and then after the new rock matured a bit. I can see it packed with long polyped toadstools and some amazing fish!

 

[Ironwill723]

Should be fine with most softies (other than zoas) and the angels. Many examples online of both larger and smaller angels in softy tanks with leathers and toadstools.

 

[littlefoxx]

I have a tiny little emperor angel in my biocube (as a grow out to not be eel food!) and he picks at ever dang coral in there. Dudes the size of a dime but eats my zoas, leathers, destroyed my hammer and mushroom!!! Lol little terror!

 

[Muppy]

I have a softie tank with angels. It's a 150 gallon tank, I call it UV reef because it has 3 over sized UV sterilisers trying to manage ich.

Current angels are:
Regal
Majestic
Multicolour
Coral Beauty
Hybrid Lemonpeel
Venustus

They smash zoas and clove polyps, but all other softies have been untouched.

 

[Ironwill723]

I have a softie tank with angels. It's a 150 gallon tank, I call it UV reef because it has 3 over sized UV sterilisers trying to manage ich.

Current angels are:
Regal
Majestic
Multicolour
Coral Beauty
Hybrid Lemonpeel
Venustus

They smash zoas and clove polyps, but all other softies have been untouched.

Awesome tank! Love the softies.

 

[AdamK1]

I have a tiny little emperor angel in my biocube (as a grow out to not be eel food!) and he picks at ever dang coral in there. Dudes the size of a dime but eats my zoas, leathers, destroyed my hammer and mushroom!!! Lol little terror!

Yeah lps, zoas and mushrooms are likely targets. I'm suprised he goes at the leathers so much.

 

[AdamK1]

I have a softie tank with angels. It's a 150 gallon tank, I call it UV reef because it has 3 over sized UV sterilisers trying to manage ich.

Current angels are:
Regal
Majestic
Multicolour
Coral Beauty
Hybrid Lemonpeel
Venustus

They smash zoas and clove polyps, but all other softies have been untouched.

That's lovely. A little like what I'm aiming for. Yeah a healthy amount of UV is on my tank too.
How do you find maintainence? Are you dosing? I'm hoping to establish a trace elements dose from ICP tests, run carbon for toxins, and control nutrients with roller mat, fuge, skimmer, phos media and minimal nopox dosing. I'm basically running it with all the tech and automation of an sps tank, just gearning the parameters to softies.

 

[Muppy]

I dose alk, cal, mag. I have a roller, skimmer and a big fuge. I don't use any other nutrient control.

 

[AdamK1]

I dose alk, cal, mag. I have a roller, skimmer and a big fuge. I don't use any other nutrient control.

Do you dose much alk? Do the softies use much? I'm also thinking of a 2 part, along with a moonshiners type monthly trace dose. In my mind a softies tank will be low on alk/ca usage but heavy on others. I may well be wrong on this.

 

[Muppy]

No it doesn't consume much alk. I also do 10% weekly water changes with natural sea water.

 

[AdamK1]

Most likely good enough with softies.

It's getting a bit chemistry like, but this has always been my thing with running 2 part or 4 part. We know it's proportionally dosing everything in line with alk consumption, but this assumes that all tanks are proportional in their consumption. Most of these dosing systems are geared towards lps sps systems so my concern with a softies tank is that this could be all together wrong. I know I'm probably over thinking, as a lot of softies would grow in a salty puddle, but I want to get this right.

Think I'll go balling method, and replenish trace from ICPs. Also a small ish weekly water change, but this would have to be very consistent to not throw the icp results.

This is gone be the most high tech over complicated softies tank there is!