NanoReefTexas Posted November 20, 2004 Share Posted November 20, 2004 Hey Reefers, Ok, cucumbers, diamond gobies and sand sifting stars are supposed to work miracles, but the catch is... my tank is too small to house any of them long term. I don't want to have to keep trading for a smaller animal as it grows, I am looking for something that will keep my 1" aragonite live sand bed spotless. Any ideas? I hear turbo snails do an ok job, is this true? I just have a few sporadic spots with a really light film of brownish green algae, but to me its an eye sore that needs to go. If anybody has any ideas, please share. Link to comment
Undertheradar Posted November 20, 2004 Share Posted November 20, 2004 white micro brittle stars, or at least the black 2" ones. Link to comment
smokez01 Posted November 20, 2004 Share Posted November 20, 2004 im wondering the same idea also, my subtrate needs serious sifting, the only ceatures i can think of are a fighting conch or a dusky jawfish, but my damn LFS dosnt carry any, they have but havnt since summer, Link to comment
tim0042 Posted November 21, 2004 Share Posted November 21, 2004 Cerith Snails or Nassarius Snails might be your best bet Link to comment
Tigahboy Posted November 21, 2004 Share Posted November 21, 2004 I agree...Diamond Gobies will not last for long in a 10g. They need a lot of sand to sift thru to get the sufficient food it needs. And b/c the sand needs to have enuf food, Diamond gobies should not be placed in newer tanks... Cerith Snails are the best snails for sand sifting...especially for smaller tanks like 10g...they are very hardy too. Link to comment
NanoReefTexas Posted November 21, 2004 Author Share Posted November 21, 2004 Thanks for the input everyone. So if I add a Cerith, a Turbo, or a Nassarius snail, will that leave a spotless sand bed? I don't mind supplement feeding with algae wafers/pellets at all if this would wipe out algae too quickly. I already have the following clean up crew: 2 astrea snails 1 emerald crab (supposedly eatting algae...) 3 blue leg hermits 2 zebra hermits 1 electric orange and black striped hermit I've heard that with crabs and snails, a 1 per gallon ratio is about right, but the cleaners I have now really tear it up in my nano, and algae is practically non existant as it is except a very light film in those few spots on the sand bed, and a few sporadic spots on the glass which if my astreas miss, I clean with my mag float daily. So I hesitate to add more, sounds like a Cerith would be the best bet. My cleaners also do a killer job of catching any frozen food my baby maroon clown, my ricordias, or my anemone miss. I would just stir up the sand bed myself, except that I don't want a snow storm in my tank. I've also heard this can be BAD for a sand bed, and that it can release pockets of something or another... can't remember what it was off hand. Link to comment
NanoReefTexas Posted November 21, 2004 Author Share Posted November 21, 2004 Oh, a non-nano question, but on topic... Sorta. I am thinking about setting up a very small saltwater specialty store here in Sweetwater Texas when I get my tax return that would specializing in corals and invertebrates, nano reefs in particular, and maybe a very few reef friendly fish. Anyhow, my relative question is this. If I were to buy say 2 100 gallon tanks and place egg crate dividers to section off each big tank into 2 smaller 50 gallon sections, but the dividers didn't quite touch the bottom so that they rested about an inch off the live sand bed, allowing a cucumber to go all over the tank to keep the sand clean, would that work out well? I'm looking at a really over kill protein skimmer to filter each tank, in addition to running carbon in a 50 gallon sump/refugium, a live sand bed, an over kill dual chamber calcium reactor, and live rock per tank. Planned Tanks to Start - SPS & Tridacna Clams LPS & Soft Corals If I don't go with big tanks and section them off, I am looking at buying several 20 gallon long or 30 gallon tanks to house each category individually (Invertebrates would be housed in these tanks): Clams SPS LPS Soft Corals Fish Obviously this would be a very small operation to begin, so my equipment list is very small. I will have approximately $5300 at tax return. I am now looking into renting space, as there is a lovely vacant shop on the town's main street with a killer location, and large front windows for viewing for merely $400 a month. I'm really nervous about this, but I am thinking about trying to put a business plan together to sell my hubby on the idea. More smaller tanks would give a neater appearence, but would cost more to run. Less larger tanks would cost more initially... Tough call, though with less smaller tanks, I could avoid the plumbing multiple systems together issue like wal-mart does. Less disease spreading potential that way... Also, I intend to buy all my stock online. Even if I pay retail prices, and double them to sell locally I would turn a 50% profit for what you pay for things in Abilene (an hour away). And the stuff online blows local stores in Abilene out of the water. What do you think guys? No pet stores here... It's a risk, but there's a college in town that has really started to take off, and they allow students to have a 10 gallon tank in a dorm. Should I go for it? It's not like I haven;t blown tax returns on play money expenditures several times before, and this has the potential to be awesome. I've always wanted to work with marine life... Oh! Also, thinking about having a dedicated seahorse hexagon tank on the front counter. A 20 gallon acryllic sea clear. And as far as what fish I would carry, I am thinking all CB if possible. Also, I intend to offer a printed care sheet on anything I sell including tempeture, required space for adult size, feeding, etc... I also intend to include a small sample (about 2 days worth per creature) of whatever I am feeding any creature I sell to my customers. The way I figure it, if I can't beat out the competition on prices, I'll get 'em with superior customer service. Fish species will be including but not limited to: Seahorses Clownfish Royal Gramas etc... (Haven;t reseached much yet, just in the excited stage thus far) Link to comment
Tigahboy Posted November 21, 2004 Share Posted November 21, 2004 I've also heard this can be BAD for a sand bed, and that it can release pockets of something or another Depends...if you have a deep sand bed, then yes. If you only have like 1", not as big of a deal. I'd say just cerith if you already have algae under control. Maybe get a few and see how they work out for the sand. Link to comment
mattman72 Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 Oh, a non-nano question, but on topic... Sorta. I am thinking about setting up a very small saltwater specialty store here in Sweetwater Texas when I get my tax return that would specializing in corals and invertebrates, nano reefs in particular, and maybe a very few reef friendly fish. Anyhow, my relative question is this. If I were to buy say 2 100 gallon tanks and place egg crate dividers to section off each big tank into 2 smaller 50 gallon sections, but the dividers didn't quite touch the bottom so that they rested about an inch off the live sand bed, allowing a cucumber to go all over the tank to keep the sand clean, would that work out well? I'm looking at a really over kill protein skimmer to filter each tank, in addition to running carbon in a 50 gallon sump/refugium, a live sand bed, an over kill dual chamber calcium reactor, and live rock per tank. Planned Tanks to Start - SPS & Tridacna Clams LPS & Soft Corals If I don't go with big tanks and section them off, I am looking at buying several 20 gallon long or 30 gallon tanks to house each category individually (Invertebrates would be housed in these tanks): Clams SPS LPS Soft Corals Fish Obviously this would be a very small operation to begin, so my equipment list is very small. I will have approximately $5300 at tax return. I am now looking into renting space, as there is a lovely vacant shop on the town's main street with a killer location, and large front windows for viewing for merely $400 a month. I'm really nervous about this, but I am thinking about trying to put a business plan together to sell my hubby on the idea. More smaller tanks would give a neater appearence, but would cost more to run. Less larger tanks would cost more initially... Tough call, though with less smaller tanks, I could avoid the plumbing multiple systems together issue like wal-mart does. Less disease spreading potential that way... Also, I intend to buy all my stock online. Even if I pay retail prices, and double them to sell locally I would turn a 50% profit for what you pay for things in Abilene (an hour away). And the stuff online blows local stores in Abilene out of the water. What do you think guys? No pet stores here... It's a risk, but there's a college in town that has really started to take off, and they allow students to have a 10 gallon tank in a dorm. Should I go for it? It's not like I haven;t blown tax returns on play money expenditures several times before, and this has the potential to be awesome. I've always wanted to work with marine life... Oh! Also, thinking about having a dedicated seahorse hexagon tank on the front counter. A 20 gallon acryllic sea clear. And as far as what fish I would carry, I am thinking all CB if possible. Also, I intend to offer a printed care sheet on anything I sell including tempeture, required space for adult size, feeding, etc... I also intend to include a small sample (about 2 days worth per creature) of whatever I am feeding any creature I sell to my customers. The way I figure it, if I can't beat out the competition on prices, I'll get 'em with superior customer service. Fish species will be including but not limited to: Seahorses Clownfish Royal Gramas etc... (Haven;t reseached much yet, just in the excited stage thus far) Did you do it? Link to comment
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