my LR

[Lecithin]

I recently set up my tank and have added approx 45 lbs of LR. There is also 60 lbs of LS in there and 50lbs of base rock. The equipment has been running for a few days now (the skimmer is just hitting its stride).

What do you think of the LR? Most of it is from my LFS's display tanks and as such its fully cured. The other stuff is from their premium LR tank and is in pretty darn good condition as well.

The Ammonia has already spiked, I will test the nitrite tomorrow and am hoping to have a clean up crew going soon. How many snails and hermits should I put in there or should I avoid hermits because they might pick on my snails. What type of snails are good to put in there?

When I put the snails in can I put a shrimp in as well?

Sorry for the pic quality, my GFs camera isn't quite as nice as mine so the pics have a yellowish hue, I'll take some with mine once I get it back from my mother.

One last note, the camera wouldn't take the pictures well so the pieces pictured are not the best pieces, these are the ones out of the LR tank, not the ones in the display tank. The display ones are covered in coraline algae much like the piece of LR that is closest to the camera in the first pic.

 

[lando]

The rock looks like it is very good. Test for NO2 and see how high it is. Once you see a NO2 spike and fall to zero you should see a rapid increase in NO3. Doa 50% water change at that time and then test again in a couple of days. If all looks well your cycle is complete and you can add a small clean-up crew. Maybe 12 reef hermits and 12 various snails to start with.

 

[cmor1701d]

Nice rock. It should color up nicely. Over the course of time you will probably find many things living in/ growing on it that you didn't know you had.

I prefer snail and shrimp with no hermits. My snail list:

Astrea Snail-most common of all saltwater tank snails. They are excellent algae eaters and will forage all over the rock, sand, and glass. They fall easily, can not right themselves and die easily.

Banded Trochus Snail - Large snails that are excellent algae eaters although are very slow about it. These guys have a hard time picking themselves up as well if stranded in the middle of the sand.

Bumblebee snails- Not very hardy. Marginal algae eaters, but more of a detritus grazer. They can prey on other snails and sand bed critters.

Cerith Snails (Cortez) - Good algae and detritus eaters that forage rock, glass, and sand. Some can pick themselves up and some cant.

Cerith Snails (White)- Good algae and detritus eaters that seem to stay in the sand more than the cortez, but can be found on the rock and glass. Once again, some can pick themselves up and others cant. These guys are good sand bed snails to shift the substrate around.

Fighting Conch Snails are all about the sand bed and are very cool to watch. They usually dont get flipped over, but if they do, they can kick around and turn themselves back upright. They very hardy too.

Mexican Turbo Snails - super fast grazer that will knock out some algae (including hair) in no time. They mostly stay on rocks and glass, but will work the top of the sandbed too. But, once they are adjusted... they seem to be very hardy and active.)

Nassarius Snails - They mostly stay in the sand, but will sometimes make short trips up the glass. They are mainly detritus eaters and do an excellent job cleaning and shifting the sand. I think these are also some of the most hardy snails out there. These guys can flip themselves upright very easily and quickly.

Nerite Snails - Mostly a rock and glass snail that are all about the algae. The dont move very fast but the areas they have been in are clean as a bell. These guys like to crawl outta the water some, so I often find them in the overflow and sump.

Stomatella Snails - my They are supposed to reproduce very well. No personal experience w/ them.

Strombus Snails (Strombus maculatus (sp?))these are excellent snails that reproduce very well. They seem to be mostly sandbed snails and will occasionally make there way up the rock work. I assume they are mostly detritus eaters.

I have a a ton of nassarius &5-100), a bunch of cerith (20-30), some nerites (10-15) and 4-5 turbo grazers in my 125.

Start with a small crew and build up over time as your needs increase.

 

[Lecithin]

I'm thinking maybe 10 turbos and 10 Nassarius snails.

My gf likes the blue legged hermits but I've heard mixed things, will they pick on my snails?

I would also like to get 2 peppermints and a cleaner shrimp. Will this work well in my 50g?

How much will I need to add later on and how will I know when/if I need more?

 

[lando]

Blue-leg reef hermits should be fine. Scarlets tend to be considered the most reef-safe. I have both in all of my reefs and have never had a problem. Just make sure you add a variety of empty hermit shells for the crabs to grow into. This will also help prevent the hermits from attacking the snails and stealing their shells. The peps and cleaner (skunk, I presume) should be fine.

 

[Lecithin]

yep yep, skunk cleaner.

oO, I have the light on now and man does it look 100x better. I actually found a few snails on some of my LR!

I will have to take more pics because I'm not sure what all of the things are on my LR.

I can't wait for my shrimp! Come on levels, get going!!!