vanz Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 So I'm in need of snails to clean all the hair algae and macro algae that's been growing out of control. All of these things were under control when I had my long spined urchin in the main tank. And now since he's in prison, things have been coming out to play. I might order from reeftopia unless someone has a better site. Is the following too much to add to a 40g? Currently, there are only 2 jumbo nassa snails and a bunch of nerites. Nerites only clean the glass. ______________________ 36 astrae snails 10 scarlet hermits 12 blue leg hermits 4 emerald crabs 6 cerith snails 6 nerite snails 2 star snails $99 Or should I get this 100 astrae snails 100 blue leg hermits 24 cerith snails 1 small fighting conch $109 Maybe someone wanna split an order with me? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vanz Posted March 5, 2008 Author Share Posted March 5, 2008 The sad thing is that there is only 1 fish left in my tank. I have red slime algae growing on the top now. And I only feed like once a week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uhuru Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 that sounds like a lot of snails in both cases, but then again I got 10 snails for my 40br and they didn't do a thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
defigart Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 I don't see much on the list that will eat all that red algae. You need Carribean red hermits, or a similar hermit to eat all that red slime algae. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vanz Posted March 5, 2008 Author Share Posted March 5, 2008 I checked the tank again and it looks like the slime algae is starting to going away. All I can think of that helped is I turned off one of the tunze pumps the other night....man those 6025 is crazy strong in my 40. I don't need 2 on at the same time anyway as I don't even keep sps. I just need something that eats algae and turns the sand bed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SquidHC Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 I strongly suggest you avoid any/all hermit crabs. They get big and knock stuff over in your tank and they will eat your snails. Some say the red legged or blue legged are nicer, but whatever. They still eat your snails. It sounds to me that there are more deep rooted issues in your tank that need to be figured out. GO ahead and dump a HUGE clean up crew in your tank, but in a month when theres nothing in there to eat there just going to die off creating other issues. I think people would be more able to help you if you told us a bit more about your tank, then we can narrow down some things that might be causing the problems. On another note, the "red slime" algea is typicaly cyano algea and is commonly caused due to lack of flow. I have never heard of people getting rid of it by reducing the flow in there tank. All in all I think adding that much of a clean up crew is way too much for a 40g. Like I said, dont look for a solution without first figuring out what the issue is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SquidHC Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 Also, what is your water change schedule like? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smann Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 I agree with SquidHC, i've had algea problems and went the cleaner crew route, it didnt work they just slowly die off . i only keep a small amount of snails and hermits for looks. Uasually its water quality, maybe lighting but a clean tank with good water flow and turnover should only have enough algea thats taken care of with weekly surface cleaning and vacumning during water changes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pledosophy Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 Try etropicals for pricing. I don't think that so large of a cleanup crew is our answer IMHO. I have much less in my systems and have no problems with alge despite having no filters outside the refugium. I have one turbo, two emeralds, a scarlet hermit, and 3 astrea in a 65. IMO that large of a clean up crew is a temporary band aid that will leave a bigger problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vanz Posted March 5, 2008 Author Share Posted March 5, 2008 Hmm i thought i posted something this morning, I guess it didn't go through. Anyway, I didn't think I needed that many, but it was the smallest pack they had at reeftopia. I don't know what the recommended number per gallon for snails. The last water change was probably done 3 weeks ago at 30% or so. This tank is around 2 months old with rocks from my previous tank and some new ones from an ex reefer. Forgot to mention that the problem is only with these new rocks. My old rock is algae free, except coraline. When I acquired them, they had already been covered in algae. I had my long spine urchine mow them down and then I used the rocks in the new tank. Now the algae is just growing back because there is nothing eating it. I knew I should have baked the rock but I was in a rush to start the new tank and didn't want a new cycle all over again. Anyway, I'm just going to do a bigger water change and add some snails. We'll see if that helps. I don't know about the cyano, but I know higher flow won't solve that problem. When I had the 2nd pump on, the cyano was just flowing with the stream and caking the sand. Now when I turned off the pump, things are starting to look a lot better. I'll report next week if it goes away completely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 I think you are on the right track. Flow won't solve cyano. I've kicked cyano in my tank finally. And believe me, i've tried every single thing out there. What did it for me in the end i think was a combo of: changed all RO/DI filters, weekly 25% WCs coupled with syphoning out all the cyano i could, increased skimmer performance, and GFO/carbon changed weekly. I'm almost thru my first tub of GFO and my cyano is all gone. Its interesting to note that throughout my 8m ordeal with cyano, i never once got a reading over 0 for TDS from my RO unit, phosphates or nitrates. I also changed salts 3 times. I did notice that astreas will eat the cyano as you get it under control. My snails ate it off the glass and rocks mostly. As it gets weaker, it must get tastier for the astreas. Also keep in mind that snails come with diseases and pests. The last batch of snails i got had monti eating nudis! :( Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vanz Posted March 14, 2008 Author Share Posted March 14, 2008 Red slime algae is not going away. I gave in and bought a phosban reactor to fight my algae problem....it's not getting any better and the algae is spreading faster than ever. It may be possible that the new rock I got is leeching phosphates. The rocks are really huge and I have no way to treat them outside the tank. I just changed the photoperiod to 6 hours from 7. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 Hang in there. I know your pain. I fought it for over 8 or 9 months. You must be diligent in your husbandry, thats the best advice i can give you. Weekly WCs coupled with syphoning, heavy skimming, PO4 absorbing media, keeping alk/calc in the upper range, new bulbs in needed, new RO filters if needed, and low feeding. If you can, remove your fish. I had to due to ich, but those 2 months with no fish really helped out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lundy24 Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 I've dealt with cyano in the past and had a pretty similar experiance as impur. I battled it for months, using phosban, heavy skimming, siphoning, and frequent water changes. It was a long process but i finally beat it. No fish for several months and a couple chemi-clean treatments were what finally made the difference. I have had a few spots in another tank and 2-3 days without light made it disappear. You should be able to get rid of the cyano, it just takes patience and excellent husbandry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
defigart Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 I have found the best way to get rid of anything is to make it "unhappy". I added a sand sifting goby to my plethera of "cleaning crew". the hermits, and snails were keeping it (cyano) off the rocks, but they wouldn't touch it on the sand. The goby turns over the sand so much that the cyano couldn't grow there any more. It was less of a one-two punch, and more of a "one, two, three strikes your out". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pledosophy Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 Vanz, if you haven't ordered your clean up crew yet, I'll split a package from Etropicals.com with you. They have a sale and free shipping on orders over $60. What I want will easily cover half of that, so then you wouldn't have to get so much of what you don't need. Cyano sucks. If you don't have corals three days with no light will kill it, but if the source of the problem is not corrected it just comes right back. Even if you have corals many can go for the three days but some don't fair so well. How high is your phosphate level? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vanz Posted March 15, 2008 Author Share Posted March 15, 2008 Which package are you looking at? I just picked up several astraes from waves. I need something that will turn over my sand. A sand sifting goby may be my answer. My cyano problem is pretty minimal, I'll just have to vacuum the infected area and hope it goes away. It's only in one spot in my tank, and that's the open cove and it's growing on the sand. I haven't tested phosphates, but even if I did, it will probably be zero since the algae consumes it. I'm going to bring my water in for testing soon though. Let me know what package you are looking at and maybe we can working something out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kriswaters Posted March 23, 2008 Share Posted March 23, 2008 Cyano is a huge battle for me as well...how did this stuff come about?? Anyway. I have new filters for my RO/DI unit on the way along with a new batch of resin. I have tried chem-clean and it broke the cycle down a bit. Lights off for 4 days...didn't work. I have a humongous ball of cheato in my sump...phosphates check out at zero. As for water changes, every time I do one, the stuff gets worse. I skim heavy , feed as little as possible and pull the stuff out after it grows thick like carpet (so far this has been the best method of getting it to die down). The snails or the hermits don't touch it, and the bristle worms use it as an ice rink (LOL). It has been about 3 or 4 months and I am sure that eventually, I will get rid of it. I really hate this stuff. Kris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted March 24, 2008 Share Posted March 24, 2008 What salt are you using Kris? Tried changing salts? Have you tested your newly made SW? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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