chex Posted April 16, 2003 Share Posted April 16, 2003 So whats the best algea cleaner, for nanos. Because i started to grow algea on my sand in my nano. so who likes what? Thanx Eric Link to comment
Xavier Posted April 17, 2003 Share Posted April 17, 2003 Snails... honestly.. I prefer snails to keep the algae under control on the glass... occationally I take a plastic scraper to whatever they've missed...but all in all, I think it's probably the best, most natural, solution... There is a poll on this topic as well: http://www.nano-reef.com/polls/index.php?poll_id=11 Link to comment
Pink_Mist Posted April 17, 2003 Share Posted April 17, 2003 And if you go with snails, I'd recommend nassarius and cerith snails. Cerith snails eat algae. Nassarius snails eat detritus, which if left unchecked leads to algae. The bonus is they are sand sifters. They'll stir up your sandbed which should help with the algae in your sandbed. I've had great luck with both types of snails. Link to comment
chex Posted April 17, 2003 Author Share Posted April 17, 2003 thank you both, good insite. I was also wondering if it was ok to mix live rock. I wanted to get mostly fiji and so a couple pieces on tonga branch. is that cool? Link to comment
Pink_Mist Posted April 17, 2003 Share Posted April 17, 2003 I have no personal experience with it, but I've heard mention that mixing live rock from different places can give a greater diversity of life in your tank due to different hitchhikers. If nothing else, I can't see how it could be detrimental. Live rock is live rock. If you want to do it, and you like how it looks, knock yourself out. It's your tank. Link to comment
harbingerofthefish Posted April 17, 2003 Share Posted April 17, 2003 ditto on Pink_Mist...add what looks good to you. We have samll tanks and every little addition can add or subtract to the overall apperance. Besides, when you start buting frags, most will come on some type of LR. If you want the attached coral you can't be to picky as to what it's attached to, so your going to end up with a mix anyway. Link to comment
coralreefengr Posted April 17, 2003 Share Posted April 17, 2003 I actually have more than 2 species of snail in my nano. Different ones have different benefits. Ceriths go in the sand and eat cyano. I don't have any nassarius. I do have some strombus grazers. Neither of these 2 do a very good job on the glass. For that job, I have Hawaiian Turbos, Margarita, and Astrea. I actually have 2 different varieties of cerith, as well. The Hawaiians are great. I got them from IPSF and they breed like CRAZY in my tank. The strombus (same source) also breed, but I've seen 1/2 dozen or less babies whereas I have more than 3 dozen baby hawaiians. The ceriths lay eggs, but no babies have been produced. At least it's food for my filter feeders. I'm hoping my smaller ceriths will breed. One of our LFS have these and they seem to breed like crazy in their tanks. Link to comment
Xavier Posted April 17, 2003 Share Posted April 17, 2003 I have Trochus, Strombus, and Margarita.. the Trochus and Margarita do a fairly good job with the glass (the Margarita's tend to do better), the Strombus I've seen eating hair algae, but coral is right, they aren't great glass polishers (they just leave a long windy trail they've eaten through), but they do produce like crazy in my tanks.. the Hawaiian I got from IPSF died before I had a chance to evaluate it... IPSF's Nerite grazers I dunno about.. I have the most of them in my small 10.. never see them move, and some hang out at the water's surface (sometimes out of the water), BUT the glass in that tank is always perfectly clear.. they must be very active at night... I also have a queen conch in the tank, but he really doesn't impact algae.. he is more of a detrius eater that I occationally see nibbling the algae ont he glass... I agree with the comment that it's best to have several different kinds of snails in your tanks, they all have roles to play Link to comment
coralreefengr Posted April 18, 2003 Share Posted April 18, 2003 Oh yeah, I have the nerites from IPSF as well. They do spend a lot of time on the glass and do an OK job. I think they're intertidal creatures and that's why they hang out above the water line. They do a pretty good job on the rocks as well. Link to comment
onthefly Posted April 18, 2003 Share Posted April 18, 2003 Lettuce Nudi's are lawn mowers!! Link to comment
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