clams as main refugium filter

[ocnbrze]

its just a thought. i have an empty chamber in my sump that i was going to add cheato to it. but i have a left over kessil light and was thinking of putting some derasa clams with some sand and maybe some sponges as well and use them as my main source for the refugium.

thoughts?

 

[JumboShrimp]

Might be interesting to do for the “fun” of it, but something tells me it’s actual filtering effects on your water parameters would be fairly negligible.

 

[ocnbrze]

Might be interesting to do for the “fun” of it, but something tells me it’s actual filtering effects on your water parameters would be fairly negligible.

probably. it was just an idea that popped in my head. of course it could be the Irish whiskey talking being St Patty's day and all.....LOL

i know that nitrates and phosphates would not be affected by using clams and sponges.

right now the tanking is running fine without a refugium. i just was thinking of doing something different other than cheato.

maybe i'll add some mangroves as well.

 

[Sean Clark]

I'll agree this would be for the fun of it... but YES!

 

[J1a]

i know that nitrates and phosphates would not be affected by using clams and sponges.

Tridacna clams consumes a large amount of nitrate and phorsphate.

 

[ocnbrze]

Tridacna clams consumes a large amount of nitrate and phorsphate.

hmmmm did not know that.....so my idea is not as bad as i was thinking.....or drinking? LOL

 

[hart24601]

I did something similar. Had clams in my basement sump. Can see had few species n there. 70g sps DY and 150g Rubbermaid sump. Hippos, gigas, derasa, squammy, then maxima and such in DT.

They uptook so much phosphate and nitrate the sps frequently suffered from me not keeping up - particularly phosphate. I had ammonia (for nitrate) and phosphate on dosing pumps and the system consumed 6L kalk and a couple hundred ml 2 part a day - mostly the clams. I ended up donating the sump clams to the zoo here as they wanted a display and while it was a fun too down viewing and I liked them, they pulled so much from the water it was hard to keep up and my coral suffered.

 

[hart24601]

Not the best pics. Must have deleted them. Had quite. Variety and color at one point.

 

[ocnbrze]

I did something similar. Had clams in my basement sump. Can see had few species n there. 70g sps DY and 150g Rubbermaid sump. Hippos, gigas, derasa, squammy, then maxima and such in DT.

They uptook so much phosphate and nitrate the sps frequently suffered from me not keeping up - particularly phosphate. I had ammonia (for nitrate) and phosphate on dosing pumps and the system consumed 6L kalk and a couple hundred ml 2 part a day - mostly the clams. I ended up donating the sump clams to the zoo here as they wanted a display and while it was a fun too down viewing and I liked them, they pulled so much from the water it was hard to keep up and my coral suffered.

wow....had no idea that they eat so much. gonna try a few derasas , just for fun and see where my tank gets in return. might have to over populate the tank with fish to keep up with the nutrient levels.......lol

 

[hart24601]

Just have a back up plan to give them away! These guys were not even close to “large” yet for derasa. Fwiw I have around 20 fish in the dt auto fed pellets 4x a day and supplemented frozen too. It’s fun but just realize the consumption will be exponential- 4 2” won’t do a whole lot, but when hit 6” then 12”, then 18”+ they are monsters lol.

I kept all the sump clams in 400-600 par and they moved around to the areas they liked.

 

[ocnbrze]

Just have a back up plan to give them away! These guys were not even close to “large” yet for derasa. Fwiw I have around 20 fish in the dt auto fed pellets 4x a day and supplemented frozen too. It’s fun but just realize the consumption will be exponential- 4 2” won’t do a whole lot, but when hit 6” then 12”, then 18”+ they are monsters lol.

I kept all the sump clams in 400-600 par and they moved around to the areas they liked.

How fast do they grow? Should be years before they get 12", right?

 

[Doctorgori]

this has been mentioned before and I want to do something similar…

Tridacna clams consumes a large amount of nitrate and phorsphate.

 

[davidcalgary29]

I'd think that success would be nearly as great with one of the many saltwater mussel species that show up as hitchhikers on live rock -- perhaps just to it with a large colony? They wouldn't even need the exacting light requirements. You'd think that some type of invasive pest like zebra or quagga mussels would be ideal, but I believe that their salinity tolerance is well below typical marine aquaria standards.

 

[hart24601]

How fast do they grow? Should be years before they get 12", right?

Depends on species and even individuals. A gigas would be a couple years at most. Most derasa a bit slower but I wouldn’t underestimate what a few 6-8 or 8-10” clams pull. I doubt any of mine were 12” when I donated them. I suspect most were 6-8” maybe a couple larger. I have found people when talking clams drastically overestimate their size like fishermen, lol

 

[ocnbrze]

Depends on species and even individuals. A gigas would be a couple years at most. Most derasa a bit slower but I wouldn’t underestimate what a few 6-8 or 8-10” clams pull. I doubt any of mine were 12” when I donated them. I suspect most were 6-8” maybe a couple larger. I have found people when talking clams drastically overestimate their size like fishermen, lol

well i was thinking of starting out with small derasas and then branch out to some colorful ones like crocea or maxima....maybe. so what smalls are like 4" or something right?

so once they get bigger, i might have to re-home them at some point.

 

[Uncle99]

Interesting idea.
Great contributor to export function.
Will be quite expensive these days.

 

[hart24601]

well i was thinking of starting out with small derasas and then branch out to some colorful ones like crocea or maxima....maybe. so what smalls are like 4" or something right?

so once they get bigger, i might have to re-home them at some point.

Smalls right now are probably 2-3”. It’s all good and have fun with it but just keep in mind the limitations and potential issues. Also if they get sick or something upsets them remember your export drops and alk and calcium will spike as they stop growing, hopefully only briefly though.

 

[J1a]

well i was thinking of starting out with small derasas and then branch out to some colorful ones like crocea or maxima....maybe. so what smalls are like 4" or something right?

so once they get bigger, i might have to re-home them at some point.

The tricky thing is you are using them as an export mechanism as well. A small clam is gonna be no where as "hardworking" as a larger one.