Snail Choice?

jerseysaltwater

jerseysaltwater

Member
my sand and rock are covered with brown diatoms and brown stubble (about 1/4" long). I have some brown film starting to form on the aquarium glass as well. tank has been cycling 2 weeks with LR & LS. I guess it's time to add cleaners - which snails are best for this? Cerith? Trochus? Nassarious? Turbo?
 
drakken

drakken

Member
Check your ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels before adding anything. At 2 weeks you should be right in the middle of the cycle so it would be very bad to add anything alive (except marcro algae). The diatoms should go away eventually. You can add some macro algae (Caulerpa ) to out compete the diatoms and help keep your water quality good. Do a search here for "macro algae", "Caulerpa ", and "refugium".
Once your levels are good I would go with turbo snails.
HTH
P.S. I'm from South Jersey about 30 minutes from you. :)
 
jerseysaltwater

jerseysaltwater

Member
hey drakken - my cycle is complete - 0,0, <.20, 1.023 @ 78 degrees and 8.1 ph. i used 40 lbs LS, 25 lbs LR in a 26 gal bowfront with a 24x12 footprint. i accelerated by adding "Cycle". I just called a few places in toms river to see if anyone had snails - i couple of dealers around me have turbos, but i heard they tip over and die pretty easily. i don't want my tank to get out of control when i'm away on vacation next week. you can email me directly at edshaw63@yahoo.com - what town are you in?
 
drakken

drakken

Member
Your tank sounds VERY similar to mine! I have a 28 gal bowfront that just completed the cycle. I had a diatom outbreak too and I added 2 turbo snails and a handful of Caulerpa. The diatoms got really bad then slowed down a lot. The turbo snails do a pretty good job but I still have to use my Mag Float to clean the glass.
 
gregvabch

gregvabch

Active Member
i've tried turbo's, margarita's, and astrea's. i prefer turbo's and i've watched them flip themselves right side up when they fall from somewhere and land on their shell. they do not do well in water that is high in nitrates, but that's the case with any snail. plus the turbos are bigger and in my experience they are voracious.
 
jerseysaltwater

jerseysaltwater

Member
would it be irresponsible of me to go pick up 3 turbo snails and put them in the tank, and leave them for a week without being able to check on them?
 
drakken

drakken

Member

Originally posted by JerseySaltwater
would it be irresponsible of me to go pick up 3 turbo snails and put them in the tank, and leave them for a week without being able to check on them?
Well, if one dies while your away it will polute the tank. IMHO I say wait until you get back. If you do not have anything in your tank that requires light then just leave the lights off and the diatoms will die off.
 
drakken

drakken

Member

Originally posted by JerseySaltwater
thanks drakken - just turned the lights off - i'll deal with my little brown ecosystem when i get back :)
LOL, let us know how it turns out.
P.S. I'm in Medford.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top