Jestersix

Mike and Ashley's 150g reef tank (our first)

Mine I've ordered from eBay. But tell you the truth if you going to put them in your tank during this period and there is no fish you have pretty high chance of not having anything. I started my tank with snails and hermits and then put fishes in . Clean up crew was in there at least a month.
 
I have gotten CUC packs from saltwaterfish.com and liveaquaria.com many times over the years without ever quarantining them and without any serious issues.
 
I haven't even gotten any fish into QT yet, so I am pretty far away from anything other than a clean up crew. Need to rectify that.

Just received word my Mitras will be here mid next week, yeah! Then 'll be able to really kick start the algae bloom!
 
Start getting in to the habit of testing n keeping records.

Start testing for alk Ca n mg nitrates n phosphates.


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When I got cut, I started with 60-80 dwarf ceriths, 20 trochus, 10 big Turbos, 4 conchs, 4 chitons and some others.

Also had blue n red hermits.

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That many, OK thanks. Sounds like an order from one of the web services as that many would get me free overnight shipping.

I have been testing/logging weekly. Expect the frequency to go up when I get inhabitants just to keep a close eye on things. Using the apex to log (nice setup with the colors/amounts and everything right in the program) and a mix of Hanna and Salifert to test with. The Alk seems to be the only one dropping and I touch that up with some BRS sodium bicarbonate just to dial in how much does what to the Alk level. Using RPM Pro salt and the Ca, Mg, and Phos are all in a happy range at the right salinity mix out of the box. The RPM Pro salt is a little low on the Alk mixed straight up (I am getting 6.5 dHK with the Hanna), maybe I am precipitating some of it out by mixing too much salt too fast as it is supposed to be around 8. I'll try adding it slower next time. Thinking about maybe trying Red Sea Coral Sea Pro salt, which supposedly has a higher Alk concentration in the mix (12 dHK).

Thanks again everyone for all the helpful advice and assistance.
 
I've had higher (10+) alk and lower (>9) and I prefer the lower. I felt like there was more growth and better colors but that could just be me.

scuzy said:
The thing I hate is that the lfs keeps their snails in same system water as their fishes. And I can see fish with ich and parasites in some of these places. Thus you have the question do you need to quarantine them longer?
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Neptune keeps their cuc animals separate from their fish. They've got that whole section in the back corner.

I like trochus, nessarius, and cerith for the bulk of my cuc but have many others that round it out for diversity. I think your plan of spreading out your additions is a good thought. I remember Rich Ross making a comment about this last time he spoke to the club. He said people often fill their tanks with a cuc only to have a bunch of them die from starvation since there's not food built up in the system.
 
Thanks Guys,

Anyone know if AC keeps theirs separate? I can just order online and have them by Wednesday otherwise. They'll be here by the time I am setting up my lights. Interesting on the Alk level, thanks!
 
WCKDVPR said:
Thanks Guys,

Anyone know if AC keeps theirs separate? I can just order online and have them by Wednesday otherwise. They'll be here by the time I am setting up my lights. Interesting on the Alk level, thanks!
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They do not. Turbos, trochus, and astrea are usually in the coral tanks and nassarius and cerith are in the front set of fish tanks because they need sand.

I personally haven't had much success with snails shipping via mail. I usually get a lot of die off. I'm not sure how much you need to worry about ich especially since you're sans fish and will likely be that way for at least a month. But, to each their own. Determine your risk tolerance.
 
Just wanted to share my very recent experience with cleanup crews. I was tempted to order a huge CUC pack online but I saw a BRS video that said too many cleaners can actually be bad when they run out of algae and start to die off, causing a spike in nitrates. So I decided that I would purchase my cleaners as needed or as the algae worsens. Midway thru my tanks cycle I started noticing algae on my sand so I purchased 5 nassarius and 5 hermits from Neptune. A few days later my glass and rocks were starting to turn brown and I happened to be by AC so I purchased 3 trochus and 3 asterias. Earlier this week my tank was almost completely brown so I got reinforcements for my CUC. Went back to Neptune and though they didn't have much cleaners, I managed to pick up 5 more astreas. Today I get home and my tank is for the most part clear of the nasty brown algae! And that's with only 21 cleaners! I mean I also turned down my lights to starve the algae and my tank IS only 45 gallons but you get the point. [emoji4]


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I usually get my CUC from reefcleaners.org out of FLorida. They have Nerites, Nassarius, Ceriths, Chitons, and hermits. But, they don't have Trochus, Astreas, Turbos. Their systems do not have fish...so probably less of a risk if you don't QT.
 
I used to be a hermit fan because they were fun to watch and you could just see them eating away all the bad stuff. But, they decimate my snails. So...no more hermits. I also just go with cleaner and fire shrimp. Once the shrimp molts they are safe.
 
Wlachnit said:
I used to be a hermit fan because they were fun to watch and you could just see them eating away all the bad stuff. But, they decimate my snails. So...no more hermits. I also just go with cleaner and fire shrimp. Once the shrimp molts they are safe.
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I heard that about hermits, I think as soon as my tank stabilizes I'll transfer mine to the sump.


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I second reefcleaners. My trochus spawned like crazy a couple week ago (pH boost since all my fish are out of the tank triggered spawn). In a month or so I'll have hundreds of babies that I'll be trying to give away.


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Gablami said:
I second reefcleaners. My trochus spawned like crazy a couple week ago (pH boost since all my fish are out of the tank triggered spawn). In a month or so I'll have hundreds of babies that I'll be trying to give away.


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Perfect timing for the swap. [emoji6]


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Gablami said:
I second reefcleaners. My trochus spawned like crazy a couple week ago (pH boost since all my fish are out of the tank triggered spawn). In a month or so I'll have hundreds of babies that I'll be trying to give away.


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I'll take some. I like trochus. I'll have to try some astreas sometime too.
 
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