starting a FOWLR

00humu · #1 12/20/2007, 08:57 PM

Hi everybody!!
I am new to the boards. I have read over the site so much I figured it was high time I joined.
So, here goes....
I have a 90 gallon tank. 48Lx18Wx24H. I will be using a Tunze 9010 protein skimmer. I also have a 29 gallon sump/refugium. The refugium consists of a deep sand bed, live rock and some chaetomorpha algae. I also have drilled a closed loop that runs off a Sequence Dart pump (3600 g/h) attached to a Wavy Sea wave maker. I have roughly a hundred lbs of live rock distributed between the refugium and the display tank.
My question is, Can I house a Humu humu triggerfish, Purple tang and a striped burrfish in a 90 gallon for the duration of their lives? Will I need to upgrade? I am concerned about the inhabitants mental well being and do not want to confine them to small quarters.
If this trio does not work, would a humu humu and a purple tang do well in the 90?
I really find the humu humu interesting and would like to purchase this fish for sure.
Any thoughts of input would be greatly appreciated.
I do not have any of the fish yet but the tank is all cycled. I have had the system cycled for a month and a half already. Just tying to be patient.
Now comes the fun part!!!

JVITAL55 · #2 12/20/2007, 10:36 PM

I don't see any problems with that.

Jerry W · #3 12/20/2007, 11:53 PM

IME, both the tang and trigger could co-exist, but I think the tank size will be an issue. Full grown, these fish need large amounts of lateral swimming space. I think a 4 foot tank is going to be restrictive. I've kept both and they are very active fish that will use every bit of available space. I think you'd have better success long term with different fish. If you choose to buy juvenile specimens and later upgrade or "trade" the fish in, it might be a plan. Neither are really fast growing fish.

WuHT · #4 12/21/2007, 06:32 PM

Luckily Purple Tangs are "relatively" mid-sized for tangs, and i think it wont' "suffer" inside a 90gallon tank.

00humu · #5 12/21/2007, 08:16 PM

Thanks for all your input!
I will be upgrading in the future but I do not know when. Just in case something happens that I am not able to upgrade I wanted to make sure my livestock would not suffer for my selfishness.
I will be buying the fish relatively small (3-5") for all three to start.
I heard that humu's have a slow growth rate. About how fast do they grow? How about a Purple Tang and Striped Burrfish growth rates?
Once again thanks for all your help!

r.d.m · #6 12/21/2007, 11:33 PM

i agree that the tank would be a bit small for a fully grown picasso but ive only seen 1or2 in over 30 years of fishkeeping,they are very slow growing,so id say go for it,if it gets too big you would have had it for so long that it's become a pet and deserves its own tank!

00humu · #7 12/22/2007, 12:01 AM

Well put. Thank you for your insight!