Brand New

[CrashKY]

Hi all. I’m about as new as can be, both to the forum and the hobby. I had a freshwater aquarium years ago and my wife and I completely enjoyed it, however it just wasn’t the same as a reef tank which is what I’ve always wanted. I’m finally getting around to planning my first reef tank (going with the coralife 32g AIO cube) to make sure I enjoy it as much as I think I will, before moving to a larger tank.

I’m planning on putting the following fish in the tank:
2 : OC clowns

1 : green mandarin dragonet

1-2 : firefish (purple or helfrichi)

1 : yellowfin flasher wrasse
I’d love to have a couple BTA’s and several Favia (4 different Favia have caught my eye) but I’m sure I can’t do everything I want in my first tank.
I’d love to hear any advice you all might have on stocking, compatibility, inverts, or lessons learned. How many BTA’s and/or Favia can fit in a 32G?

 

[Peace River]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!!!

 

[Just John]

 

[NTar11]

Hi and welcome! Sounds like a great plan. Plenty of information here to help get you started.

 

[bnord]

Thanks for joining and best of luck to you. Those should do well in your tank, but make sure you have a lid for the fire fish and in my experience anemones are added after your tank has some maturity. Say 6 to 9 months.

 

[JZ199]

Welcome!! Looking forward to seeing your tank up and running!

 

[SPR1968]

Hi and welcome to Reef2Reef!

 

[jsker]

Congratulation on your move to saltwater!!

 

[Waters]

Welcome !!

 

[dlsorensen]

 

[RichReef]

Welcome!

 

[vetteguy53081]

 

[Fish Think Pink]

Hi all. I’m about as new as can be, both to the forum and the hobby. I had a freshwater aquarium years ago and my wife and I completely enjoyed it, however it just wasn’t the same as a reef tank which is what I’ve always wanted. I’m finally getting around to planning my first reef tank (going with the coralife 32g AIO cube) to make sure I enjoy it as much as I think I will, before moving to a larger tank.

I’m planning on putting the following fish in the tank:
2 : OC clowns

1 : green mandarin dragonet

1-2 : firefish (purple or helfrichi)

1 : yellowfin flasher wrasse
I’d love to have a couple BTA’s and several Favia (4 different Favia have caught my eye) but I’m sure I can’t do everything I want in my first tank.
I’d love to hear any advice you all might have on stocking, compatibility, inverts, or lessons learned. How many BTA’s and/or Favia can fit in a 32G?

Welcome! Glad you joined.

Have you considered starting your build thread? I found its a great place to document my tank's evolution for myself. I started tank first then joined, so I'm still finding myself going back collecting pictures & updating historically as well as current state. Once you create your first post in your thread under Forum > Member Aquariums and link it to your account, they will give you build badge (look left, under my ID). It is never too early to start!

This might help you find people local to you in Louisville:

Local Reef Club Discussion

Looking for some locals to share frags and info with? This is the place! Find a local club that meets in your area! If you want to add your club just contact us.

www.reef2reef.com

With your mandarin dreams and everything eating same food mandarins like, this easy lazy banana peel and spirulina method works well to culture pods to suppliment my main tank:

raising tig pods - tiny 2.5g tank experimental culture #2

2nd attempt at raising tig pods is officially underway. Original attempt was outdoor lazy banana leaf method I found online - that is still underway but seems to be failing. Suspect Texas temperature and full day direct sunshine is too much, but that pod culture experiment still underway. 2nd...

forum.dfwmas.org

This is a good reference book type online article I still review:

The Supreme Guide To Setting Up A Saltwater Reef Aquarium

This article was sponsored by @MarineDepot at www.marinedepot.com. Introduction The marine environment is one of the most complex systems on the planet. The aquarium you are about to set up is only a tiny sliver of the vast ocean, but it is no...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[G Santana]

Welcome to the Reef

 

[John Bolden]

Welcome! I would research the mandarin fish as they need a very established cope pod population and may not have enough cope pods and starve.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!!

 

[CoralB]

Welcome !!!

 

[Reefer Matt]

 

[Steph72]

 

[Steph72]

Hi all. I’m about as new as can be, both to the forum and the hobby. I had a freshwater aquarium years ago and my wife and I completely enjoyed it, however it just wasn’t the same as a reef tank which is what I’ve always wanted. I’m finally getting around to planning my first reef tank (going with the coralife 32g AIO cube) to make sure I enjoy it as much as I think I will, before moving to a larger tank.

I’m planning on putting the following fish in the tank:
2 : OC clowns

1 : green mandarin dragonet

1-2 : firefish (purple or helfrichi)

1 : yellowfin flasher wrasse
I’d love to have a couple BTA’s and several Favia (4 different Favia have caught my eye) but I’m sure I can’t do everything I want in my first tank.
I’d love to hear any advice you all might have on stocking, compatibility, inverts, or lessons learned. How many BTA’s and/or Favia can fit in a 32G?

I think that tank has a lid (if I’m remembering right)….definitely a must for wrasses.
Before you get a mandarin just be sure your system is stable and you have a large pod population…I’d recommend captive bred for these guys even if it costs more because the wild ones are picky about accepting pellets or frozen food. They are wonderful little fish though!