What should I do???

[JDaugherty3]

Ok, I have had my 45 gal. saltwater aquarium set up for 6 months now. I have 3 different kinds of snails, total of 7. I have 3 red leg hermits and 1 blue leg hermit. I have 1 Scooter Blenny, and 2 False Percula Clowns. I have about 40lbs of live rock, not sure how alive it is. It has just turned brown and a little green. Should I be providing trace elements for the rock? I have undergravel filter with 2 powerheads. I know its not the greatest, but it will do until i get a canister. I have a venturi protein skimmer. The powerheads for the filter have the option of introducing air into them, is this a good idea? I have heard that the more bubbles at the surface, the better. What is a good way to keep the nitrates down? I seem to have a problem with this. I do a 25% water change every other week. Also, what would be a good, next fish, to add next, considering what I have, and my experience level?

[papaya]

you shouldn't need to worry about the rock, although im no expert. more bubbles are always good and cant really hurt so i would highly suggest it. the nitrates can be kept down with frequent partial water changes which you seem to be doing a great job of . damsels are always nice, but may fight with your clownfish pixie hawkfish are also good and should get along well;). triggerfish are interesting, but will eat many inverts including coral, anemones, etc, and possibly your hermits. dwarf angels are good too, but may graze on coral and anemones.....it all depends on whether you want a reef or a FOWLR which is what you have now.

[JDaugherty3]

Would my undergravel filter be the cause of high nitrates? As soon as I can, I will get a canister. I have a FOWLR set up now, obviously, but would like to slowly, over the course of a year or two, start adding some mushrooms and polyps.

[leebca]

The initial post contains a lot of different topics. I will briefly address each, but if you would like more details on any of the topics I suggest you begin a new thread with just that topic or do a search for that topic to see other threads covering that topic, or do both!

1. Probably not enough snails; get rid of hermit crabs.
2. Trace elements are added at half the quantity at twice the time for FOWLR aquariums. Generally in a small aquarium such as yours, you may not ever need to add trace elements.
3. Air into system isn't important. What is important is the surface movement -- the water movement at the surface. You want it to move around and exchange gases with the air in the room.
4. Fish don't care about nitrates. If you want to make this a reef aquarium nitrates will be a problem. Decide what kind of tank you want, then seek nitrate advice. As far as FOWLR aquariums, don't worry about it. If you want a reef aquarium, post your nitrate question(s) in the Reef Forum.
5. Choice of fishes is very personal. I don't recommend anything other than to be careful that you choose fish that will 'fit' and are proper for that sized aquarium AND for which you are able and willing to care for properly. There are plenty of marine aquarium fish books to look through. ;)

Read this before asking more questions: Setting Up a FOWLR Aquarium

The reason I suggest the above link is because it has a lot of reasons for my statements above and in more detail and it has links to other posts with more details and answers to your questions. You want to look for answers in those posts because they are detailed and if I try to answer here, I may miss something important.

[JDaugherty3]

Whats wrong with hermits? Just curious. How many and what kind of snails?

[papaya]

hermits will often eat each other......you start ou with a bunch, and end up with one.....and some species bother other creatures......turbo snails are great , as are top snails, as are fighting conchs and nerites!

[JDaugherty3]

Thanks, how many should I have in a 45g setup? I have 4 nassarius snails, and 3 that I think are turbo snails. They have a cone shaped shell and mostly stay on the glass.

[JDaugherty3]

They could be astrea snails. They were sold to me as turbo snails, but after some research, they look more like astrea snails.

[leebca]

What you should do is get informed about clean up crews from experienced hobbyists and 'experts.' Read at least the first post and its recommended links to learn more about clean up crew members. These other posts will help you identify what you do have.
Clean Up Crews - Reef Hobbyist Online Magazine
3 articles on snails:
The Grazing Snails, Part I - Turbo, Trochus, Astraea, and Kin by Ronald L. Shimek, Ph.D. - Reefkeeping.com
The Grazing Snails, Part II - Abalones, Limpets and Nerites by Ronald L. Shimek, Ph.D. - Reefkeeping.com
The Grazing Snails, Part III: Conchs, Ceriths, Cowries, and Columbellids by Ronald L. Shimek, Ph.D. - Reefkeeping.com

Nassarius Snails as Scavengers in Reef Aquaria
Aquarium Frontiers Library

The number you need mostly depends upon your system, how you run, if you overfeed much, etc., etc. In general 2-5 herbivore snails per gallon is a good start and then you can adjust the number later (if necessary). If you are running a disease-free DT, make sure these new snails are quarantined.

A lot to look through, but if I tried to answer your questions, I might forget something. The above contains all the accurate details.

[papaya]

just a note......i may be wrong, but i do believe that turbos are a type of astrea .

[JDaugherty3]

They look the same, just different shells.

[papaya]

ahhh.....makes sense lots of snails are good! (of either kind)

[JDaugherty3]

I think I will go with 45-50. Turbo and Astrea snails. Thanks for all the help

[Ninong]

They could be astrea snails. They were sold to me as turbo snails, but after some research, they look more like astrea snails.

Yes, that can be confusing. Unfortunately, some vendors sell Astraea snails as Turbo snails. Turbo and Astraea are different genera in the same Family: Turbinidae. There are close to two dozen different species of turbo snails in the genus Turbo and at least half a dozen different species of astraea snails in the genus Astraea.

Only snails in the genus Turbo should be called turbo snails. Astraea snails should be called astraea snails, not turbo snails. All snails in the Family Turbinidae can correctly be called turbinids but only those in the genus Turbo should be called turbo snails.

[papaya]

is there any difference in performance and size though? (by performance i mean algae eating ability)

[Ninong]

is there any difference in performance and size though? (by performance i mean algae eating ability)

Yes, of course, there are a lot of differences. I suggest you read the articles by Dr. Ron Shimek that Lee linked in his previous reply. We're talking about more than two dozen different species of snails here. They don't all eat the same stuff.

If you have a particular species of Turbo or Astraea in mind, then just specify which snails you're asking about. The most commonly available turbo snail in the hobby is the really large Mexican turbo snail (Turbo fluctuosus). It comes from Baja California, a temperate zone. It has its advantages and disadvantages. For one thing, it's really clumsy and will knock over stuff in your aquarium. On the other hand, it can come in handy for certain chores. Its diet is a matter of dispute.

Whether it dines on mostly diatoms or something else is what some people have differing opinions on. In spite of the fact that I kept four of them in my tank, I'm still not absolutely certain what they eat. Sometimes it's difficult to tell if a snail is grazing or just passing by. I got mine because Dr. Timothy Hovanec wrote that they will eat red turf algae and I had some red turf algae that I couldn't get rid of. Within a few months after adding the four Mexican turbo snails to my aquarium, my red turf algae completely disappeared. I can't say that I ever witnessed the turbo snails eating the red turf algae. Maybe they ate it only late at night while I was asleep. Someone else told me that they eat mostly diatoms.

Most, if not all, astraea snails in the hobby come from the Florida Keys, another temperate zone. With the exception of the star snails, most, if not all, of the other astraea snails can't right themselves if they fall to the sand bed and land on their shells. You have to turn them over yourself or they will simply stay there on their backs until they die or your hermit crabs kill them, assuming you have hermit crabs. Like Lee, I'm not a big fan of hermit crabs.

In any case, I suggest you read Dr. Shimek's articles on snails before you decide which ones you want.

P.S. -- Just as some vendors sell astraea snails and call them turbo snails, other vendors sell astraea snails and call them trochus snails. You have to know in advance if the vendor in question knows what he's talking about if you are ordering online. Talking to them about this will not work. Some of them have very strong opinions about the identification of their snails in spite of the fact that their identification is dead wrong.