Tank with no lid can I have snails?

[jennie]

Hi,
I have had my tank up for about 10 weeks, 4 weeks with the heat on and 3 weeks with fish.
I have a percula clown, blue tang, sandsifting goby, pink anemone, 2 emerald crabs, 2 little reef crabs.
I am having a pretty big algae bloom and I know snails would help but I don't have a lid on my tank.
I bought the whole setup on craigslist. The woman I bought it from had it as a reef tank ( which i would like to do in the future) I don't know what the light is called but It has a day light, a blue night light and moonlight with a fan. It is propped up by two plexiglass stands over the tank.
So I would like to get a bunch of snails to clean up the algae but will they crawl out? If so what should I do to have a lid and use this same light? Can I just lay it on a glass lid?
Oh, probably overfeeding a little bit we're trying to work on it but I'm always worried that they are hungry. I put TLC in the tank about a week ago I have a powerhead, lfs said water is fine.
Sorry for all of the questions.
thanks so much

 

[spanko]

Algae is growing becuase of the excess nutrients in the water. Cutting down of feeding is not going to starve the fish. Are you feeding only enough that can be eaten within a minute or two with very little falling to the rockwork and sand? If not you are feeding too much. Feed what can be eaten within a minute or two again eaten before falling to the ground. Then do another small batch again that can be eaten before sinking. Try feeding every other day. Snails will stay in the tank, many people run tanks with no tops on them. I would caution you on putting glass tops on the tank as it does not allow for gas exchange between the water and the atmosphere. If later down the road you want to get fish that may be jumpers, look into some of the mesh netting do it yourself tops out there.

 

[jennie]

that is great advice, thanks

 

[cranberry]

It's not too often I disagree with you Spanky, but I'm not a big proponent of feeding fish every other day (dependent on genus and species, of course).
When nuisance algae blooms, it's always wise, as suggested, to re-evaluate your feeding regime. As Henry said, I feed a tank a cube a night, but I go back to pour little bits of that cube over the span of about 30 minutes.
But I believe it stepping up export and not reducing rations. You have yet to figure out your maintenance schedule, this being a new tank, but if you put in the elbow grease, your rewards will be great. More water changes. Evaluate your make-up water and saltwater (is it a source of fuel). Skimmer? etc etc. These things I choose over reducing feeding.
Poke around on some online stores and see if you can find the equipment you have. It's always important to know what you have by name.
How big is your tank? What type of filtration do you have? How warm in your water?
What snails do you have now?

 

[shrub125]

I have a question, sorry to intrude on your thread, but i am currently making a cover for my tank too, and i was wondering how i could cover the back open area, i was thinking about some mesh type material, would that work? what are your suggestions?

 

[jennie]

Hi
I have a 30 gal and no snails so far. I am waiting to see if I can get them or not. The water is around 78-80

 

[socal57che]

If you think that you are overfeeding, then you likely are. Many people overfeed without realizing it.
If you don't have a high nitrate reading, then you can add snails. Since you do have an algae issue, be sure the snails you get are algae eaters. Snails have differing diets...not all types of snails eat algae.
There are steps you can take to reduce algae growth. Controlling the amount of dissolved solids in your tank starts with your water source. Always use RO filtered water, not tap water. Try to stay away from processed dried flake foods. Most are high in phosphates. Rinse frozen foods. The liquid is high in proteins and will not be eaten, just add to the nutrients in your water column. If you don't have a skimmer, buy one. Do water changes religiously to remove dissolved foods from your water column. Avoid certain spectrums of light. (esp daylight) Be sure you have sufficient flow/turnover. Any place food or waste can collect and decay is adding to your problem. Test your water for phosphates.