Need help biocube 29

antilopka · 03/09/2016, 02:56 PM

Hi everybody!
I need your help. I got a tank 29g Coralife biocube. This is my first tank

But my snails are dying in it, even Mexican turbonail. I also have 2 clownfish and they feel pretty good.

Today I added 6 hermit crabs and one of them had a great lunch with the snails

What could affect only on snails? How can I help them stay alive with me?)
I was ordered this CUC for a start:

15 Dwarf Ceriths
5 Nassarius
9 Florida Ceriths
7 Nerites

And then added 3 Mexican turbonail.
May be it is too much?

Speedfreak241 · 03/09/2016, 03:22 PM

Imo you have to many snails, but I'm not to common with cerith snails as I have never used them. In my biocube I have one Mexican turbo and 2 astrea snails and they keep everything clean. Also how old is the tank and how much algae growth is there as there probably isn't enough algae. The nassarius snails eat uneaten food so if you feed heavy they should be fine.

antilopka · 03/09/2016, 08:15 PM

Thank you for reply!Tank is 3mo. How to understand is it enought algae or not?

Killamanillaman · 03/09/2016, 10:46 PM

I have 5 turbos in my BC29 and they do plenty. I have had to clean my glass maybe 2-3 times in the past 3 months. (This video was before I changed the rock and got rid of some unpleasant algae on the rock that it came with.)

Also, Hermits are opportunistic, They will do what they want, eat what they want etc. Had 5 to start, 1 got killed for its shell. Dropped in some larger empty Astraea Shells and haven't had a problem since.

antilopka · 03/10/2016, 12:46 PM

Ammonia was 4 ppm (I wonder why my fishes and crabs are still alive...). I made water change (5 g). Today amonnia is 4 ppm again

added seachem AmGuard. Will test water in two hours. I'm sad.
90% of snails shell are empty

micgloth18 · 03/10/2016, 01:32 PM

turbos are terrible snails, i have never had luck with them dudes they ended up being crab food. I have about four cerinth snails in my 29 along with three crabs and four nerite snails. I have one fish in there at the moment and I also have a sexy shrimp. They all seem happy but I do overfeed a bit just to compensate for having one fish in there. I have five cerinth snails in my 14 with two nerite snails and two red hermits. all doing fine. IF you do have to many crabs they will kill each other for there shells however. good luck

ReefWreak · 03/10/2016, 01:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by micgloth18

turbos are terrible snails, i have never had luck with them dudes they ended up being crab food.

Doesn't this mean that you never have luck with crabs, because they eat all of your snails?

I don't like crabs for that reason.

antilopka · 03/11/2016, 10:13 AM

Ammonia is still 4

added more AmGuard...

CafeReef · 03/11/2016, 11:01 AM

you could add Prime as well, it should stabilize your Am spike. I agree with above. to large of a CuC, cerits are good, but hermits love to destroy them.

in mine I have 1 turbo, 1 trochous, 2 nassarius, 1halloween hermit and 4 small blue legged hermits. I should have maybe one more turbo and one or two more trochous.

antilopka · 03/11/2016, 11:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CafeReef

you could add Prime as well, it should stabilize your Am spike. I agree with above. to large of a CuC, cerits are good, but hermits love to destroy them.

in mine I have 1 turbo, 1 trochous, 2 nassarius, 1halloween hermit and 4 small blue legged hermits. I should have maybe one more turbo and one or two more trochous.

Thank you. Now I have just several (3-4pcs) Ceriths snails, other snails died (I think because of high ammonia).

I also added seachem stability (do not have prime, will buy it on the weekend).

Last Sunday I changed Coralife filtration system with bioballs to intank media basket and will add fuge basket with Refugium light in the nearest future. I hope it will helps.

BTW my rocks are covered in green today

antilopka · 03/11/2016, 11:14 AM

micgloth18 · 03/11/2016, 10:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ReefWreak

Doesn't this mean that you never have luck with crabs, because they eat all of your snails?

I don't like crabs for that reason.

HAHA! well i guess you could say that. Those snails for some reason, way back when I started my biocbue 29, always feel off of something. They couldn't turn themselves right again. So the crabs moved in for an easy meal. My crabs are vicious.

But I will say this I have seen some of the nano cleaner crews online and they are insane with the amount of crap they tell you to purchase.

micgloth18 · 03/11/2016, 10:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by antilopka

Ammonia is still 4

added more AmGuard...

Have you tested your other levels. Nitrates, Nitrites to see where your cycle is?

antilopka · 03/12/2016, 07:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by micgloth18

Have you tested your other levels. Nitrates, Nitrites to see where your cycle is?

Tested the water 5 minutes ago:
Ammonia 4ppm
Nitrite 0 ppm
Nitrate 0 ppm
High range dropped to 7.4 today

antilopka · 03/12/2016, 08:00 PM

Just ordered seachem prime and kalkwasser, them will come on Monday...
Hope it will solve ammonia and ph problems...

micgloth18 · 03/14/2016, 11:23 AM

You should do a water change to get rid of that ammonia. As a general rule of thumb you don't want to add anything to the tank if you don't have too, you might consider getting some Dragons breath or other types of algae to help clean up the water for you. Sometimes it just takes time for it to calm down. Def. don't add any fish to the tank till that ammonia is down.

antilopka · 03/14/2016, 12:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by micgloth18

You should do a water change to get rid of that ammonia. As a general rule of thumb you don't want to add anything to the tank if you don't have too, you might consider getting some Dragons breath or other types of algae to help clean up the water for you. Sometimes it just takes time for it to calm down. Def. don't add any fish to the tank till that ammonia is down.

Ok thank you. Today after I added kalkwasser I lost my both clownfish

So upset now.
So now will wait till water become perfect. I hope it will be soon........

Gonna give up already..................

antilopka · 03/14/2016, 01:04 PM

BTW two days ago I put chaeto with Refugium light and intank fuge basket.

And water today is:
PH 8.4
Ammonia 4-8 ppm
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0

Will make water change tonight.

ReefWreak · 03/14/2016, 08:34 PM

Dang, sorry to hear about the clowns. How much kalkwasser did you add? The fishes were fine before?

Kalk powder (and diluted kalkwasser) can extremely increase the pH of the tank, and burn fishes. It should ideally be added only with topoff water, and never added as a powder to the tank.

antilopka · 03/14/2016, 08:43 PM

@ReefWreak
I've took one teaspoon kalkwasser, dissolved it in one gallon water, then added in the tank (as in instruction).

One of my clowns still alive and even tries to swim (4 hours ago he was lying on the tanks bottom). I hope he will ok.
One is gone

And - I made water test today and also tested my salinity - so after kalkwasser the salinity became too high!!!!!!!! I think it was the reason of clowns unhealthy.

ReefWreak · 03/14/2016, 09:05 PM

One gallon of RO water, or one gallon of tank water? Either way, that's WAY too much for a tank your size.

For reference, I prepare my kalkwasser as one gallon of RO/DI water with one tablespoon of kalk powder, but then you are supposed to use it as top off water throughout the week. For me, it takes 2 weeks to evaporate an entire gallon, so I add that gallon+teaspoon of kalk powder every two weeks.

You wouldn't want to add a gallon of fresh water to your tank at once even without kalkwasser in it.

Did you add kalkwasser to a gallon of tank water, or a gallon of top off water (no salt)?

antilopka · 03/14/2016, 09:24 PM

@ReefWreak my bad

I took one gallon from the tank, added kalkwasser and then returned one gallon in the tank

For water changes I use the RO/DI water.

ReefWreak · 03/14/2016, 09:51 PM

Sorry. I know it's sad, and I don't mean to be rude about it. Lesson learned, don't hesitate to ask any if is on here or post here on reefcentral to ask. Any chemical going into the tank has the potential to kill everything in the wrong dosage, so if you have any uncertainty, or don't fully understand the implications, don't hesitate to ask, we're here to help.

antilopka · 03/14/2016, 09:57 PM

@ReedWreak thank you. Yes, I get this as lesson to be careful with all the bottles.
Hope my ammonia will decrease soon and I'll be free to order my new pets.
Thank you for your help and explanation - good to know the reason.

Clownfish is too weak still

Now Ph is 8.2

Brett28 · 03/14/2016, 10:01 PM

This helped me alot with kalk and understanding it. Hope it helps you too!! https://youtu.be/POsLy2Mp0m8.

03/09/2016, 02:56 PM	#1
antilopka Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2016 Location: WI Posts: 42	Need help biocube 29 Hi everybody! I need your help. I got a tank 29g Coralife biocube. This is my first tank But my snails are dying in it, even Mexican turbonail. I also have 2 clownfish and they feel pretty good. Today I added 6 hermit crabs and one of them had a great lunch with the snails What could affect only on snails? How can I help them stay alive with me?) I was ordered this CUC for a start: 15 Dwarf Ceriths 5 Nassarius 9 Florida Ceriths 7 Nerites And then added 3 Mexican turbonail. May be it is too much?

03/11/2016, 11:01 AM	#9
CafeReef Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: Elkhorn, NE Posts: 1,405	you could add Prime as well, it should stabilize your Am spike. I agree with above. to large of a CuC, cerits are good, but hermits love to destroy them. in mine I have 1 turbo, 1 trochous, 2 nassarius, 1halloween hermit and 4 small blue legged hermits. I should have maybe one more turbo and one or two more trochous. __________________ 50 Gallon cube

03/14/2016, 09:57 PM	#24
antilopka Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2016 Location: WI Posts: 42	@ReedWreak thank you. Yes, I get this as lesson to be careful with all the bottles. Hope my ammonia will decrease soon and I'll be free to order my new pets. Thank you for your help and explanation - good to know the reason. Clownfish is too weak still Now Ph is 8.2 Last edited by antilopka; 03/14/2016 at 10:21 PM.

03/09/2016, 03:22 PM	#2
Speedfreak241 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: West palm beach Posts: 218	Imo you have to many snails, but I'm not to common with cerith snails as I have never used them. In my biocube I have one Mexican turbo and 2 astrea snails and they keep everything clean. Also how old is the tank and how much algae growth is there as there probably isn't enough algae. The nassarius snails eat uneaten food so if you feed heavy they should be fine.

03/09/2016, 08:15 PM	#3
antilopka Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2016 Location: WI Posts: 42	Thank you for reply!Tank is 3mo. How to understand is it enought algae or not?

03/09/2016, 10:46 PM	#4
Killamanillaman Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: Southern California Posts: 47	I have 5 turbos in my BC29 and they do plenty. I have had to clean my glass maybe 2-3 times in the past 3 months. (This video was before I changed the rock and got rid of some unpleasant algae on the rock that it came with.) Also, Hermits are opportunistic, They will do what they want, eat what they want etc. Had 5 to start, 1 got killed for its shell. Dropped in some larger empty Astraea Shells and haven't had a problem since.

03/10/2016, 12:46 PM	#5
antilopka Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2016 Location: WI Posts: 42	Ammonia was 4 ppm (I wonder why my fishes and crabs are still alive...). I made water change (5 g). Today amonnia is 4 ppm again added seachem AmGuard. Will test water in two hours. I'm sad. 90% of snails shell are empty

03/10/2016, 01:32 PM	#6
micgloth18 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: Virginia Posts: 109	turbos are terrible snails, i have never had luck with them dudes they ended up being crab food. I have about four cerinth snails in my 29 along with three crabs and four nerite snails. I have one fish in there at the moment and I also have a sexy shrimp. They all seem happy but I do overfeed a bit just to compensate for having one fish in there. I have five cerinth snails in my 14 with two nerite snails and two red hermits. all doing fine. IF you do have to many crabs they will kill each other for there shells however. good luck

03/11/2016, 10:13 AM	#8
antilopka Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2016 Location: WI Posts: 42	Ammonia is still 4 added more AmGuard...

03/11/2016, 11:14 AM	#11
antilopka Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2016 Location: WI Posts: 42

03/12/2016, 08:00 PM	#15
antilopka Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2016 Location: WI Posts: 42	Just ordered seachem prime and kalkwasser, them will come on Monday... Hope it will solve ammonia and ph problems...

03/14/2016, 11:23 AM	#16
micgloth18 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: Virginia Posts: 109	You should do a water change to get rid of that ammonia. As a general rule of thumb you don't want to add anything to the tank if you don't have too, you might consider getting some Dragons breath or other types of algae to help clean up the water for you. Sometimes it just takes time for it to calm down. Def. don't add any fish to the tank till that ammonia is down.

03/14/2016, 01:04 PM	#18
antilopka Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2016 Location: WI Posts: 42	BTW two days ago I put chaeto with Refugium light and intank fuge basket. And water today is: PH 8.4 Ammonia 4-8 ppm Nitrite 0 Nitrate 0 Will make water change tonight.

03/14/2016, 08:34 PM	#19
ReefWreak Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Astoria, NYC Posts: 10,159	Dang, sorry to hear about the clowns. How much kalkwasser did you add? The fishes were fine before? Kalk powder (and diluted kalkwasser) can extremely increase the pH of the tank, and burn fishes. It should ideally be added only with topoff water, and never added as a powder to the tank.

03/14/2016, 08:43 PM	#20
antilopka Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2016 Location: WI Posts: 42	@ReefWreak I've took one teaspoon kalkwasser, dissolved it in one gallon water, then added in the tank (as in instruction). One of my clowns still alive and even tries to swim (4 hours ago he was lying on the tanks bottom). I hope he will ok. One is gone And - I made water test today and also tested my salinity - so after kalkwasser the salinity became too high!!!!!!!! I think it was the reason of clowns unhealthy.

03/14/2016, 09:05 PM	#21
ReefWreak Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Astoria, NYC Posts: 10,159	One gallon of RO water, or one gallon of tank water? Either way, that's WAY too much for a tank your size. For reference, I prepare my kalkwasser as one gallon of RO/DI water with one tablespoon of kalk powder, but then you are supposed to use it as top off water throughout the week. For me, it takes 2 weeks to evaporate an entire gallon, so I add that gallon+teaspoon of kalk powder every two weeks. You wouldn't want to add a gallon of fresh water to your tank at once even without kalkwasser in it. Did you add kalkwasser to a gallon of tank water, or a gallon of top off water (no salt)?

03/14/2016, 09:24 PM	#22
antilopka Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2016 Location: WI Posts: 42	@ReefWreak my bad I took one gallon from the tank, added kalkwasser and then returned one gallon in the tank For water changes I use the RO/DI water.

03/14/2016, 09:51 PM	#23
ReefWreak Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Astoria, NYC Posts: 10,159	Sorry. I know it's sad, and I don't mean to be rude about it. Lesson learned, don't hesitate to ask any if is on here or post here on reefcentral to ask. Any chemical going into the tank has the potential to kill everything in the wrong dosage, so if you have any uncertainty, or don't fully understand the implications, don't hesitate to ask, we're here to help.

03/14/2016, 10:01 PM	#25
Brett28 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2015 Location: Spokane Posts: 62	This helped me alot with kalk and understanding it. Hope it helps you too!! https://youtu.be/POsLy2Mp0m8.