atmmachine816

1 scarlet skunk cleaner shrimp
1 peppermint shrimp
4 astraea snails
4 cerith snails
1 emerald crab
1 turbo snail


Sound ok for my 5.5 gallon tank, will be a reef also.

thanks

inuyasha_lover_21

Sounds great! Turbo snails have lot of poo in them so be careful LOL

agsansoo

Your going to like watching the cleaner shrimp clean your fish. You can't go wrong with the turbo either !
Great crew. How much algae do you have in your tank ?

atmmachine816

Ok thanks. Right now I think I have a little brown (diatoms probably) on some LR and that's it really. Not much, I'm using a phosphate remover in my filter maybe it's doing an excellent job but tank is 2weeks old today.

Do you think I should step down on some snails or just special feed them if I don't have enough algae?

Mike

I'd lose the crab and only get 1 each of the other snails. Some places recommend 1 turbo snail per 10 gallons.

atmmachine816

1 scarlet skunk cleaner shrimp
1 peppermint shrimp
1 astraea snails
1 cerith snails
and
1 emerald crab

Ok lost turbo snail, I'd really like to keep the crab unless it's going to be a problem, do you know what type of problem he will make?

inuyasha_lover_21

As they get older they become more aggressive

Mike

And the emerald crab may go after the other inverts in the tank. Snails would be easier targets for the crab since they are slooooww movers.

inuyasha_lover_21

sometime next month I have to put the hermits in another tank so they cant get my snails or fish. Also watch out for bumble bee snails if you ever plan on getting them in the future.

atmmachine816

Hmm never heard of that before, maybe I'll stay away from them then. Is there another type of crab I can get, I saw a decorator crab at my lfs but they get fairly large and others get too large/mean, are there any that would be suitable?

I'm thinking I might have to bump up the snails a bit since I'm getting some algae now with a 10w bulb and I'm going to get 36w of light friday but I'll have to see.

Is it ok to add some snails later after you already added some snails, I'm assuming yes?

thanks

Mike

It's going to be a challenge to keep algae from growing in your small setup. Adding more snails will just add to the amount of nutrients (they still eat and create waste). Heck, it can be somewhat of a challenge in larger saltwater setups too with high output lighting. You really have to stay on top of limiting nutrients using protein skimming, RO water, low bio-loads, high water flow, frequent small water changes, etc.

IMO, Adding more snails will just be a problem from an added nutrients standpoint.

atmmachine816

Hmm ok well so far I only have diatoms so it's not a huge deal and I'm using phospate remover also and distilled water. I can't get RO water often enough so distilled will have to do. I'm thinking of doing two half-1gallon water changes a week, will have to monitor levels. I hope to get a protein skimmer eventually but will have to see about that.

I guess I'll stick with
1 astraea snail
1 cerith snail
1 peppermint shrimp

Will see how that does and consider adding a scarlet skunk cleaner shrimp

Considering adding 1or2 clown goby for fish, though not sure on that yet, need to do some more research.

inuyasha_lover_21

I would suggest a redea protein skimmer. Thats if you plan to get one. I heard from so many people that they are the best to get. How is your refugium comming along?

Mike

I've used the Red Sea Prizm Protein Skimmer in the past and thought that it was just average for the gunk it pulled out and it leaked. I've had others write in about theirs leaking too. For about $50 more you could get an Aquac Remora.

Reviews w/Comments:
Prizm Protein Skimmer
Aquac Remora Protein Skimmer

atmmachine816

Hmm wil look into it. Refugium hasn't changed, no more LR, no new lights.

Mike I think I'll get the aquac Remora nano skimmer, pricey but looks nice though there's anothe skimmer that I'm looking at and I'll post a link later. I'm going to have to wait for a skimmer for another couple months. There's other costs that I need to pay and I have to wait for my parents to order it online again, they didn't really lilke the 120$ for lights and refractometer