Snails

[Stephen8169301]

Just wondering… How many snails do you keep in your tank? I have a 20 high and have 3 but want more that clean Dino’s it seems my current snails do not clean them.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Just wondering… How many snails do you keep in your tank? I have a 20 high and have 3 but want more that clean Dino’s it seems my current snails do not clean them.

Snails wont eat dinos as dinos are a flagellate and not algae. You need to address dine before they release tozins and cause various issues within the tank. Do this first and then add the snails listed on bottom:

Prepare by starting with a water change and blow this stuff loose with a turkey baster and siphon up loose particles.
Turn lights off (at least white and run blue at 10-15% IF you have light dependant corals) for 5 days and at night dose 1ml of 3% hydrogen peroxide per 10 gallons for all 5 nights. If you dont have light dependent coral- turn all lights off.
During the day dose 1ml of liquid bacteria (such as bacter 7 or XLM) per 10 gallons.
Clean filters daily and DO NOT FEED CORAL FOODS OR ADD NOPOX as it is food for dinos.
Day 5,, you can start with blue lights - ramping up and work your white lights up slowly

Then add . . . .

4 astrea
3 turbo grazer
3 cerith
4 trochus

6-8 carribean blue leg hermits which are tiny

 

[Stephen8169301]

Snails wont eat dinos as dinos are a flagellate and not algae. You need to address dine before they release tozins and cause various issues within the tank. Do this first and then add the snails listed on bottom:

Prepare by starting with a water change and blow this stuff loose with a turkey baster and siphon up loose particles.
Turn lights off (at least white and run blue at 10-15% IF you have light dependant corals) for 5 days and at night dose 1ml of 3% hydrogen peroxide per 10 gallons for all 5 nights. If you dont have light dependent coral- turn all lights off.
During the day dose 1ml of liquid bacteria (such as bacter 7 or XLM) per 10 gallons.
Clean filters daily and DO NOT FEED CORAL FOODS OR ADD NOPOX as it is food for dinos.
Day 5,, you can start with blue lights - ramping up and work your white lights up slowly

Then add . . . .

4 astrea
3 turbo grazer
3 cerith
4 trochus

6-8 carribean blue leg hermits which are ti

Snails wont eat dinos as dinos are a flagellate and not algae. You need to address dine before they release tozins and cause various issues within the tank. Do this first and then add the snails listed on bottom:

Prepare by starting with a water change and blow this stuff loose with a turkey baster and siphon up loose particles.
Turn lights off (at least white and run blue at 10-15% IF you have light dependant corals) for 5 days and at night dose 1ml of 3% hydrogen peroxide per 10 gallons for all 5 nights. If you dont have light dependent coral- turn all lights off.
During the day dose 1ml of liquid bacteria (such as bacter 7 or XLM) per 10 gallons.
Clean filters daily and DO NOT FEED CORAL FOODS OR ADD NOPOX as it is food for dinos.
Day 5,, you can start with blue lights - ramping up and work your white lights up slowly

Then add . . . .

4 astrea
3 turbo grazer
3 cerith
4 trochus

6-8 carribean blue leg hermits which are tiny

So my Dinos are not terrible.. the issue I’m having is every two or so days I get brown build up on glass and sometimes on sand my tank is still newish about 5 months my phosphates are in a reasonable range I think around .1 I use 0 tds for water changes

 

[vetteguy53081]

So my Dinos are not terrible.. the issue I’m having is every two or so days I get brown build up on glass and sometimes on sand my tank is still newish about 5 months my phosphates are in a reasonable range I think around .1 I use 0 tds for water changes

Can you post pics under white lights? May not be dine as Phos is generally ZERO with dino and may be Cyano. Also safe Phos range is .04-.06 and 1 would be condidered high/elevated.
Cyano and Dino thrive off light especially dino as it is a flagellate whereas cyano is a bacteria

 

[Stephen8169301]

Can you post pics under white lights? May not be dine as Phos is generally ZERO with dino and may be Cyano. Also safe Phos range is .04-.06 and 1 would be condidered high/elevated.
Cyano and Dino thrive off light especially dino as it is a flagellate whereas cyano is a bacteria

I just scraped glass so it’s not really there

 

[Stephen8169301]

I just scraped glass so it’s not really there

 

[vetteguy53081]

I just scraped glass so it’s not really there

This is the power of pictures. Looks more like diatoms which is often associated with newer tanks and sand as well as dry rock. While it affects new tanks, can also affect aged tanks. Diatoms are a brown algae that typically appear in a reef tank that has just completed its cycle but they can also appear in an established reef tank. They can cover sand, rock, pumps, glass, you name it. Diatoms look ugly but in most cases they are harmless so the key is to not panic when they appear.
Diatoms feed mainly off of silicates but also consume dissolved organic compounds, phosphate and nitrates. Unfiltered tap water can contain silicates and is a good way to jump start a bloom if you use it to mix salt or to replace water that evaporated from the tank. The best way to prevent this from happening is to filter water through a RODI unit, although you can still get a diatom bloom when using RODI if the cartridge that removes silicates expires.
Diatoms are typically harmless to a captive reef and can be beaten once their food source expires. Once you put the end to the source, the outbreak should last a couple of weeks so just be patient and it will pass.

For major outbreaks you may want to consider the three day blackout. Diatoms are easily wiped from the glass with a mag float, a turkey baster or a toothbrush can access other areas of the tank. Be prepared for them to re-establish themselves quickly, they are likely to be able to resettle and have exponential growth rates.
To prevent their return, practice good aquarium husbandry by doing regular water changes, keep the substrate clean, don’t overfeed the fish, ensure your skimmer is running at an optimal level and rinse out filter socks and sponges on a regular basis.

Some cleaner crew to help control it are : Cerith snails, Nerite snails and Trochus snails and also Astraea snails are effective at removing diatoms.

 

[Stephen8169301]

This is the power of pictures. Looks more like diatoms which is often associated with newer tanks and sand as well as dry rock. While it affects new tanks, can also affect aged tanks. Diatoms are a brown algae that typically appear in a reef tank that has just completed its cycle but they can also appear in an established reef tank. They can cover sand, rock, pumps, glass, you name it. Diatoms look ugly but in most cases they are harmless so the key is to not panic when they appear.
Diatoms feed mainly off of silicates but also consume dissolved organic compounds, phosphate and nitrates. Unfiltered tap water can contain silicates and is a good way to jump start a bloom if you use it to mix salt or to replace water that evaporated from the tank. The best way to prevent this from happening is to filter water through a RODI unit, although you can still get a diatom bloom when using RODI if the cartridge that removes silicates expires.
Diatoms are typically harmless to a captive reef and can be beaten once their food source expires. Once you put the end to the source, the outbreak should last a couple of weeks so just be patient and it will pass.

For major outbreaks you may want to consider the three day blackout. Diatoms are easily wiped from the glass with a mag float, a turkey baster or a toothbrush can access other areas of the tank. Be prepared for them to re-establish themselves quickly, they are likely to be able to resettle and have exponential growth rates.
To prevent their return, practice good aquarium husbandry by doing regular water changes, keep the substrate clean, don’t overfeed the fish, ensure your skimmer is running at an optimal level and rinse out filter socks and sponges on a regular basis.

Some cleaner crew to help control it are : Cerith snails, Nerite snails and Trochus snails and also Astraea snails are effective at removing diatoms.

Very great explanation thank you! could my tank also look like this because I dose phyto?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Very great explanation thank you! could my tank also look like this because I dose phyto?

Yes- phyto will contribute

 

[WheatToast]

Yes- phyto will contribute

+1 as dosing will add nutrients to the system.

 

[Stephen8169301]

+1 as dosing will add nutrients to the system.

Should I stop?

 

[WheatToast]

Should I stop?

What are you specifically attempting to accomplish by dosing phytoplankton?

 

[Stephen8169301]

What are you specifically attempting to accomplish by dosing phytoplankton?

I guess to help feed my pincushion and feather duster and pods I do very small dose every 2 or 3 days

 

[WheatToast]

I guess to help feed my pincushion and feather duster and pods I do very small dose every 2 or 3 days

Pincushion urchins are grazers, so I doubt phytoplankton benefits them. Copepods also do not require phytoplankton dosing to survive in our tanks, though they will benefit from it. There are reports of feather dusters doing fine without phytoplankton, though this may depend on the species and there isn't much information on their feeding so hopefully others can chime in on this.

 

[Bucs20fan]

Just as an added piece, astrea, turbo, cerith and conchs will eat dinos. 100%. It causes mortality later after dinos as they are toxic, but they do in fact eat it.