clean up crew and clowns

[ravernat]

10 gllon tank:

96w 50/50 coralife

550 powerhead

10lbs LR

10lbs LS

50w ebo-jager

 

My tank has been running for 2 1/2 weeks now and has built up a good amount of algae. I was wondering what kinds of snail and hermits i should put in there and about how many? I dont want to put a turbo, cause i dont want to have a chance of my rocks fallin.

 

Is it too early to start putting them in? I heard that if ur rocks dont smell, thats a good sign? And when is it ok to put fish and corals (soft)?

 

I wanna put to clown fishes (2)? Is it true that the younger ones are males, and the older ones are female? I think i need to read more about clowns.

[ravernat]

picture of my tank on my web site

 

http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4287155661

 

cause i dunno how to post pics on the forum

[Joe_the_Hun]

Based on what I've read, the formula is one snail for every gallon, and one hermit for every two gallons of water in the tank. I would mix and match the snails. Variety is always a good thing. Nassarius snails are good for sand turnover. Margaritas and astrea are good for algae grazing. Cerith can go both ways. You can also add some nerite snails for measure. I have a cube and currently have 2 astrea, 3 margarita, 3 nassarius, and two ceriths. In addition, I have a queen conch, 1 blue hermit and 4 red hermits in my nanocube. Based on the total volume of water of seven gallons, this is more than enough.

 

Before you add anything, you should make sure your ammonia and nitrite levels are zero. Some nitrate is tolerable though I wouldn't put anything in if it is still above 20ppm. Good luck.

[Green Mandarin]

i have a nano with two clowns, it took me a while to put them in, the first couple fish died in a week or so. the coral id definately wait on for a while, ive killed off some that way too

[Aiptasia]

Ditto what Joe said above!

[irabren]

I have a 10 g also and plan on using the package from TBS - they use 20 lbs live rock - you might add 10lbs - they also use 20 blue leg hermits and 5 turbo snails; 1 brittle star; 1 tiger tail cucumber; 1 peppermint shrimp. I wouldn't add critters till tank has cycled. Then wait for a month or 2 till tank matures a little before adding fish.

[2muchreef4u]

MAKE SURE TO DO A 25%-30% WATER CHANGE BEFORE ADDING ANYTHING IN YOUR TANK. BASICALLY, WHEN THE LIVE ROCK & SAND WERE FIRST INTRODUCED INTO YOUR TANK, YOU WILL ENCOUNTER A LOT OF DIE-OFF WITH ORGANISMS LIVING IN THE ROCK AND SAND BEDS DURING THE FIRST COUPLE OFF WEEKS (EVEN WITH CURED LIVE ROCK), THAT'S WHY YOU ARE ENCOUNTERING A SIGNIFICANT ALGAE BLOOM.

CHECK YOUR AMMONIA LEVELS FIRST... OR AN EASY WAY SMELL YOUR AQUARIUM WATER. IF IT SMELLS SPOILED, THE AMMONIA AND NITRATES ARE EXTREMELY HIGH. A HEALTHY REEF ENVIRONMENT SHOULD SMELL LIKE THE OCEAN.

[MrKrispy]

if you are trying to run a reef tank you best git to the store and get some water test kits, especially before you add critters. I had live sand with my live rock and it still took over 3 weeks for the nitrates to get down to acceptable levels. Patience young reefer!