Good Algea Eater?

[Luke_L]

I have a 35 Gallon Reef Tank that I have been setting up for the past 2 months.
I have 20lbs of live rock, 1 coral Banded Shrimp, 1 Red Crab, 10 Hermit crabs, 2 snails.

I haven't added fish yet as I want to have everything else sorted and settled first.  But I have been getting a lot of algea build up on the bottom of the tank and was wondering what type of creature would help clean that up?

[Vincenzo.]

with a tank that size you can have like 40-50 lbs of live rock.
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and the at the bottom is 'slim', that normal..your tank is in cycle. it'll eventually dissipate..but snails are decent helpers to. look up cyano algae you'll find lots. 

[Luke_L]

A friend of mine was saying that I could have up to 50lbs of live rock.  I thought that it would end up being a bit to crowded with more then 20 or 30.

I have 2 snails at the moment but was planning on adding another couple this week, as well as some more hermit crabs, just to help clean up any junk in the tank.

Thanks for the help Vince.

[RoxyDog]

Yeah, you should probably have a bit more rock.  If 50 seems like too much then aim for 40lbs?  Also, check to make sure you have good flow near the bottom.  If there's not enough it can contribute to your algae problem.  Oh and get some more snails. 

[QueensU]

I have a 36 gal reef tank and I only have a little over 30lbs of LR. If you try to get some light, porous rock, you will have lots of surface area for bio-filtration. That way you can leave lots of swimming space for fish.

[sniggir]

I would agree about increasing the amout of LR for sure, and I would also add 15 astrea sail, 5-10 cerith. also do you have good water movement and how often do you water changes.

[Luke_L]

At the moment I haven't done much in terms of water changes, I did a few before I put anything in the tank.  But since adding crabs and snails I have left the tank to settle.

I just resently got 5 more snails for the tank as well as another 8 hermit crabs and a porceline crab to help with the cleaning of the tank.

As for water changes, what amount should I be removing from the tank?

[QueensU]

Luke,

In my 36gal reef tank, I change out about one five gallon pail each week. Every 3-4 weeks I'll change out 2 pails. It seems to work pretty well. I think the general rule is 10% per week?

[Luke_L]

Doesn't that end up becoming rather expensive though?  Just curious because if you have to constantly do water changes wouldnt that mean alot more mix of salt?

The reason I am asking is I am curious to see if there are other ways that help as well, or if that does the best job.


Thank you for the suggestion though I will be doing that today.

[Rybren]

Compared to the cost of your livestock, salt is relatively cheap.  Water changes are extremely important and highly effective in keeping your tank healthy.

To steal a quote from a wise reefer....

The solution to pollution is dilution.

Do lots of water changes.

[QueensU]

Second that. Yes, you end up burning through a few pails of salt, but that comes with the territory. Plus, the water changes will help take out excess nutrients that may be causing your algae problems.