Zach W Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 Ever since I started looking into starting a reef aquarium I was drawn to clams and I knew when I started my own tank I would get a clam at some point. Well I have started my tank and it is pretty much exactly 3 months old. I know it is probably too soon to add a clam now but I just wanted to get an idea of when I could look into this addition for planning purposes. I know this may be a leading question and I will probably get answers of "when you are able to maintain stable parameters" which I totally understand. In my reading though I have seen information that is all over the place. For reference my tank is a IM fusion 20 and I have a NanoBox Duo as my light. Right now I have Nitrates at ~10 and phosphate at just under 0.05ppm. Ive read that clams like the water a little dirtier as they uptake organics while they are filtering water. Also, for a tank this size which type of clam would be best? Thanks! Quote Link to comment
ninjamyst Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 live rock or dry rock? what else is in your tank? are calcium and alk stable (stable as in you test them weekly and they don't change)? Quote Link to comment
Zach W Posted June 4, 2018 Author Share Posted June 4, 2018 Started with live rock, currently I have two clowns and just put three corals in to make sure everything is ok. Coral wise I have a hammer, mushroom, and candy cane. Nitrate and Phosphate have been stable at the parameters I have mentioned. Alk has been stable at ~7.5 for probably a month and a half. Just started testing calcium and it was at 420 but only one test so I don’t know if it is fluctuating. I have been doing ~20% waterchanges weekly for maintainece. Quote Link to comment
RayWhisperer Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 That all changes as you start adding animals that utilize calcium. Whether it be corals, clams, or otherwise. Those numbers drop daily. That’s why you’ll so often see the comment “when you can keep your parameters stable.” And with growing clams, those numbers drop incredibly fast. Time wise, I like to suggest a mature tank, as in, I don’t really have a time. However, I’ve seen most suggest 6 months. Though, the longer you wait, the better. In reality, it’s as much about the person, as it is the tank. Honestly, I don’t think anyone with less than a few years under their belt should try. That’s just me, though. Quote Link to comment
A Little Blue Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 A lot to do with nutrients and stability of your tank. Risk increases with less mature tanks for sure. I for one took a chance on Maxima Clam (it’s more suitable for my tank as it does better placed on LR instead of a sandy substrate). Honestly, I am not stressing about it too much. It’s a small clam so frequent feeding with phytoplankton is recommended. Quote Link to comment
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