New to reef aquarium hobby

NY_Caveman · Nov 19, 2018

Aslam Kavde said:
Thanks, are there any particular types of snails/shrimps/crabs i should add first?

I really like the combo of Trochus and Cerith snails. Both can flip themselves over if they fall and between them they cover most algaes as well as diatoms and detritus. I recently added some Turbo snails and they have been real workhorses. I keep a few hermits around too. The red legged ones seem to go after the longer hair algae the others ignore. If I had sand I would probably add some Nassarius snails to stir the sandbed. They do not go after algae but do eat detritus. Start small though, just a few snails, and add more later as your bioload increases and the tank matures. I will note people tend to look to dump chemicals in their tanks when they get algae when a couple of snails might solve the problem naturally.

Hope that helps.

mike werner · Nov 19, 2018

WELCOME!

Raege · Nov 19, 2018

Hi Aslam welcome to R2R. Don’t worry about asking questions. If you can’t find an answer in a thread plenty of folks here willing to help to make sure you succeed.

Ruben's Reef · Nov 19, 2018

!!! Welcome to R2R Aslam !!!

JasonK84 · Nov 19, 2018

KJ · Nov 20, 2018

Welcome to R2R!!!

Dsnakes · Nov 20, 2018

Welcome to R2R

Thanks for joining us!

Chrisfish · Nov 20, 2018

Welcome to R2R, we’d love to see some pictures

reef lover · Nov 20, 2018

Welcome to r2r!!https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/the-supreme-guide-to-setting-up-a-saltwater-reef-aquarium.138750/

reacclimating 2 the hobby · Nov 20, 2018

Welcome to R2R! The only silly question is the one not asked.

SPR1968 · Nov 20, 2018

Welcome to R2R Aslam, it’s great to have you with us!

Lovemyreef2015 · Nov 20, 2018

Oscaror · Nov 20, 2018

Aslam Kavde said:
Hi Folks, my name is Aslam and am based in the UK (London).
This is my first time I've ever joined a forum so forgive me if i ask for help with little things that might seem silly to you.
I have kept a freshwater tropical aquarium for 10 years and used to keep Cichlids but the time has now come for me to delve into keeping a reef tank (I've always wanted one but has scared me with people telling me it's too hard to look after).
I've taken the jump now and have bought a Red Sea Max C250 used aquarium from someone who did not have the time any more to look after it.
After cleaning it, I've added real reef rock ( I didn't want to go with live rock due to not knowing what might come out of it) and live sand to it.
I'm using the RS starter mature kit and am on day 6 of the cycle.
I read an article on Reef hacks to run the cycle for 30 days rather than the 21 days it says on the kit so i'm going to follow Reef hacks advice and cycle for 30 days, only thing i'm not too sure of is when to add the clean up crew - any advice there please would be great.
Thanks

Welcome aboard!

GoldeneyeRet · Nov 20, 2018

Welcome to r2r Aslam!

Aslam Kavde · Nov 20, 2018

So here are some photos of my tank being set up, I'm on day 7 of the RS Reef Mature cycle and completed the first 5% water change.

Aslam Kavde · Nov 20, 2018

NY_Caveman said:
I really like the combo of Trochus and Cerith snails. Both can flip themselves over if they fall and between them they cover most algaes as well as diatoms and detritus. I recently added some Turbo snails and they have been real workhorses. I keep a few hermits around too. The red legged ones seem to go after the longer hair algae the others ignore. If I had sand I would probably add some Nassarius snails to stir the sandbed. They do not go after algae but do eat detritus. Start small though, just a few snails, and add more later as your bioload increases and the tank matures. I will note people tend to look to dump chemicals in their tanks when they get algae when a couple of snails might solve the problem naturally.

Hope that helps.

That's great thank you.