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[dfurbee]

I have a 55gal with 50# LR and 60# LS. pH=1.026, Ammonia=0, Nitrites=0, Nitrates=10. Was thinking of ordering the 20-55gal reef package from this site that includes, 10 scarlet hermits, 10 blueleg hermits, 10 nassarius snails, 20 turbo/astrea snails, 2 brittle stars, 1 coral banded shrimp, 3 emerald crabs, and 2 cleaner clams. I currently have 2 astrea snails and 2 blueleg hermits. Does this sound like a good cleaner package? Or is it too large? I do not have any fish at this time, and plan to get them about 2-3 weeks after the cleaner package. Thanks, Deb :help:

 

[teen]

ithink you meant your salinity level was 1.026, not your pH, pH should be around 8.0-8.3.
i would skip the packages swf.com sells and buy the following
-20 nassarius snails
-2 skunk cleaner shrimp
- 1 persian sand conch
- 10 scarlet hermits.
start with that, then add to the crew if need be.

 

[rbaldino]

Originally Posted by teen
ithink you meant your salinity level was 1.026, not your pH, pH should be around 8.0-8.3.
i would skip the packages swf.com sells and buy the following
-20 nassarius snails
-2 skunk cleaner shrimp
- 1 persian sand conch
- 10 scarlet hermits.
start with that, then add to the crew if need be.
I'd agree with skipping the package, though I don't know if your recommendations are enough for a 55 gallon tank, and I would rather have far more hermit crabs than snails. They seem much more effective in my tank.

 

[teen]

the reason i didnt list more snails is because i think thats enough nassarius snails, and turbo snails tend to be clumsy and knock things over.
and personally i hate hermits. the only ones ive seen to be reef safe are the scarlets, and i dont think more than 10 hermits is neccessary for this size tank.

 

[dfurbee]

Thanks so much for the response. Deb

 

[myrtle beach]

Depending on how much growth and bioload you have, I would add less of a clean up crew. I have heard that hermits will rip each other out of the shell and mine eat more leftover food than algae. Snails seem to do more as far as algae.
I would get members of your crew from LFS too, I has seen reports of things dying from here lately, most LFS will hook you up with cheap snails if you are making a purchase of liverock or something more expensive.

 

[renogaw]

i'd possibly add acouple emerald crabs--they aren't too bad till they are bigger and are great cleaners. don't get the coral banded, and wait on adding stars.

 

[rbaldino]

Originally Posted by teen
the reason i didnt list more snails is because i think thats enough nassarius snails, and turbo snails tend to be clumsy and knock things over.
and personally i hate hermits. the only ones ive seen to be reef safe are the scarlets, and i dont think more than 10 hermits is neccessary for this size tank.
I have 10 hermits in my 29 gallon tank, and I could definitely use more, so I'd go with 20-30 in a 55. I also have a mix of scarlet, blue leg, and zebra, and haven't had any problems with any of them.