new tank. Questions

[Lacrosseboss18]

I just set up my 10 gallon nano-reef. I have about 14lbs of live rock in there with 20 lbs of ls. I also have 2 damsels to help cycle the tank. I was just wondering when do i get the clean up crew? Should i wait for the tank to completely cycle (one month) or do i get it right away? Also i was wondering how many astro snails to get and how many blue leg hermits or if i should get a different type of snail and crabs? They guy at the store told me to get a few turbo snails but from what i have read they gget too big and that was all they had. Thank you for your help.

[Djm9288]

get rid of the damsels, thats just cruel

[ross76053]

You don't need to wait the full cycle to add part of your cleanup crew. I'd wait on the snails, though. They're really picky about water (esp. salinity). After your ammonia, nitrates & nitrites are below 1, I'd say add as many hermits as you'd like.

 

As someone pointed out to me when I started, it's gonna get really old staring at rock/sand after about 10 days....

[Pikelet]

Didn't your mommy tell you its rude to stare?

 

Despite a few exceptions, most crabs are omnivorous so its important not to add them too early while you're trying to build up plenty of sand critters, pods et al. I'd wait till the big three are at zero and then add some snails to control the algae. Astraea are good.

[hhasty79]

As has been mentioned above, you don't need to subject the damsels to all that stress. The LR will cycle your tank all by itself, so take them back to the store and get some credit or trade for some snails.

 

Besides which, I thought watching my LR cure and critters/algaes/sponges/etc start to pop up has been the most interesting part of the tank! I got my cleanup crew after about 6 weeks.

[BCOrchidGuy]

I figure put in your cleaning crew at the first sign of green algae growth. They need something to eat or they will eat each other if you go with blue legged hermits.

[Lacrosseboss18]

Ok well Damsels are all back now. They are no longer an issue. I keep getting bad information from this fish store. I dont like them anymore, anyone else have any problems with Fish Town USA in Queens NY they are so bad all they care about is getting your money. Thanks guys for all your help i am going to go pick up this sealife test kit this week so i can start to test my water and then i will get the clean up crew. How does 6 astros and 6 blue legs sound. Since you said some bad things about getting the hermits too soon i will start off with 3 maybe and then build up in a few weeks to the 6. Thanks for all your help

Joey

[chufa]

Sometimes I wonder how many tanks my yellow tail damsel has been at.

 

Lacrosseboos: If you plan to keep astreas, keep in mind that they can't right themselves up if they fall upside down, so you have to watch them and righten them up if nescessary. They don't fall often, though, but sometimes hermits may turn them over, if you have them.

[tgrupert]

Originally posted by ross76053

As someone pointed out to me when I started, it's gonna get really old staring at rock/sand after about 10 days....

 

I've been staring at rock and sand for weeks. Every day I find somthing new. I don't want to FSU by jumping the gun.

[printerdown01]

As someone pointed out to me when I started, it's gonna get really old staring at rock/sand after about 10 days.... -Ross

geez I can't believe you still remember me saying that... Anyway, I give this advice to just about every newbie. Feel free to add a few snails when you start seeing even the slightest bit of algae growing on your glass. I actually had about 5 astrea in my tank by the end of the first week. These along with blue legs and red legs can add a little bit more to your tank, for you to watch. It is a long haul to sit and watch your rock grow for 5 weeks or so!! Trust me! You can cycle with damsels, but it is just as easy (not to mention cheaper and less stressful for the animals) to cycle by simply adding a little bit of fish food, or by using the die off from LR.

[Xavier]

I'm cycling my tank right now.. ammonia at 0, but nitrites and nitrates are really high.. started getting brown algae, but that's dieing off and the bright green algae is starting to take over..

 

Ran my complete line of tests last night after my Thanksgiving vacation to Vegas and found pretty much everything in check.. I did a water change the night before I left and I think I'll do another tonight and see if some of the levels that were low come back up...

 

Is it not mean to add snails, shrimp, and crabs to the tank with such high Nitrites and Nitrates? I could just as easily scrape the front of the glass off to clean it up until the cycle has finished...

[ross76053]

geez I can't believe you still remember me saying that...

*Laffs* - and I remembered it was you who told me, but don't like to quote other people when giving my opinions without asking them first. That was great advice, by the way, as yours always is.

 

Lacrosseboss18, I've ordered live rock three times now, and each time I've ordered it, it's come with hitchhiker hermits that stayed in the curing tank with the rock with no problems. So if you're gonna add snails, there's nothing wrong with adding hermits as well....they'll do fine (and they're great fun to watch).

 

See you-

Ross

[tgrupert]

Since I posted that I have found new critters. Wouldn't it suck if you got a omnivorous crab or snail and it ate one of your critters or their eggs so that they didn't reproduce and you ended up having less diversity? before I submited this i just found another tiny snail, that makes three total.