Hi guys :)

New here, and new to this whole marine malarkey, so be gentle!

I'm planning on buying an Orca 450 to set up my first reef.

I've done a fair bit of research and now pretty much know what equipment I'll need and how to cycle etc... but I am wondering about stocking in terms of clean up crew and then fish.

I'm planning on putting a Hydor Koralia nano into the tank for better flow, so this should cover some of the pesky algae issues that might arise!

As a guide, what sort of clean up crew would be about right in terms of both numbers AND covering the different "problems" that might occur? e.g. want to blitz the different algaes as much as possible, would like something to clear the sand and obviously take care of general detritus. How many and what crew do I need? Do I need to feed them? O.o

Secondly, I know that I am allowed 2-3 fish in this tank max. I was planning on getting a clownfish plus two others - not really sure what! Ideally something that eats the same sort of food so I don't have to stock (and pay for) lots of different foods every time I go to the LFS :) I was thinking either a three stripe or domino damsel, and perhaps some sort of goby but I'm really not sure what would work best!

Any tips would be great, thank you! :)

hi moke, welcome to fk!

after the initial cycling, i would suggest adding a few snails preferably nassarius or bumblebee snails, these have a slightly better chance of avoiding hermit crabs as they spend much or their time in the sand bed turnign it over while searching for tasty morsels. and a couple of hermit crabs. you dont want to have too many critters so that they strip the tank of algae, its a good habitat for tiny critters to live which are beneficial as both a food source and extra waste management!

re the fish, would advise against mixing damsels and clowns, as are closeley related so behaviour is likely to clash in smaller tanks. for a more harmonious combo, would suggest picking fish with opposite needs, a bottom dewlling goby and maybe a pair of clowns to occupy the upper levels. there are a number of gobies that will share a burrow with some of the pistol shrimp species, this can be an interesting addition to the tank.