My first SW Fish

[Sir Ottis]

These are my first ever SW fish. I am very excited. They buddied up as soon as I put them in the tank. They rarely are more than 6" apart.

I have been researching and learning about sw tanks for six months now and I was very nervous about getting things right.

Now, about tham darn detritus

 

[melosu58]

Now, about tham darn detritus

That`s what the clean up crew is for.

 

[neilanh]

Congrats on your new pickups!

 

[pat8you]

nice looking clowns

 

[roka64]

Very nice and congrats. You can add a few snails, they will take care of the fish waste.

 

[Sir Ottis]

I have 4 Turbos and will be adding a few more today. I have 110 lbs of lr that has a good bit of detritus. I am trying to get it taken care of.

The turbos are plowing through it really well, and they are leaving ALOT of poop.

What is the best way to get rid of the snail poop?

 

[cmor1701d]

More snails:
Nassarius Snails : Great detrivores and sand-stirrers. They will hide in the sand until feeding time.
Astrea Snails : A great algae eater, but sometimes fall off the glass onto their backs and will require a little help to right themselves.
Banded Trochus : Algae eating machines. Ideal size, won't knock over corals/rock, and can move very fast.
Stomatella Snails : Will breed in your tank! You will only need to get 4 or 5. They're great algae eaters and stay very small.
Cerith Snails Will also breed in your tank. Good algae eaters and sand-stirrers.
Fighting Conchs : Little vacuum cleaners. One per 2 sq. ft. of sand.

Get some Ceriths and some nassarius to start.

 

[Sir Ottis]

I added 4 Turbos today to bring me to 8
Already have 6 Nassarius and 6 Astreas

The Turbos are the ones creating all of the poop. Will the other snails eat the Turbo's poop?

 

[cmor1701d]

You want about 1 snail per gallon for a very rough rule of thumb. The turbos get BIG. I have 4 or 5 in my 125. They are escargot size and will end up as such if they don't stop knocking my corals off the rocks they are glued to.

I would add about 20 cerith and the same in nassarious to help with detritius cleanup.

 

[marchmaxima]

congrats on the successful foray into saltwater tanks. You're braver than I am!

 

[Ziggy953]

If you are having a lot of detritus settling on your rockwork you may want to increase your flow around those rocks. What kind of flow do you have in the tank?

 

[Sir Ottis]

My detritus is gone now. Thanks to my Turbos, Astreas, and crabs. The turbos plowed through it like it was harvest time. I also did one dose of Reef Buffer. Everything is as clean as it can be. Oh, I also cut back my light time while I was doing this. I think I started the lighting too soon before I had the clean up crew in place.