reef safe inverts??

[chode]

i was wondering if anyone could tell me about the reef safeness of my inverts. i no a starfish i have is not reef safe and he will be taken back to my lfs when i get my first coral. i also have just some regular hermit crabs i got from the beach and some snails. im not sure what kind of snail they are they are not turbo or astrea they are just like 10 a dozen at my lfs. other things are an emarld green crab and a brittle star. thats all i have now. thanks.

[chode]

anyone?? also when i say 10 a dozen i meant 10$ a dozen thanks

[MikeS]

I'd lose the hermits.....IMO the only reef "safe" hermit is the Scarlet Reef Hermit....most of the others tend to be a bit too omivourous.....

On the snails...if you are not reasonably sure what they are, I wouldn't put them in the tank....

JMO....but better safe than sorry....

Mike

[chode]

ok thanks thats pretty much what i was thinking but just wanted a second opinion. so scarlet hermit crabs are good. turbo snails are ok to right. also are there any other kind of crabs that are reef safe as far as algae and sandbed eaters. like maby a horseshoe crab or something. just trying to get an idea of what to replace my hermits and snails with. thanks again.

[nbaker]

I have baha hermits, even those are said to be bothersome and are the same size as scarlets, but they were free. however scarlets are the best all around, and the are good for algae and the sandbed, and are usually pretty cheap. for snails I'd go with Nassarious, Bumble bees, and Baha to state a with a few. I currently have all of them and they're are all hard workers. They even clean up stray food very quickly.

[chode]

thanks for the help

[chode]

ok heres my situation. after i take out everything i need to take out ill be left with a brittle star and a emerald green crab in my tank. my levels are finally stable. ammonia .0 nitrite .0 ph8.1 nitrate.0 and calcium slowly rising. right now its at about 280-300. i currently have 120$ to spend on the tank. if you were in my situation what would you put in as far as fish inverts maybe mushrooms and such. i currently have 130 watts of pc. in the future i will get a couple of 175 watt mh but for now this is wut i have and this is my buget. i would like a yellow tang but is it not a good choice. also wut cleaners should i put. sorry if i ask a lot of ?s but im new and dont wanna ruin anything. i want it to eventually be a full blown community reef tank but i need stuff that will work for now and for later. thanks

[fragged]

Man that's a tall order...as far as inverts, consider what was suggested previously. Take a look at other folks tanks, get their fish lists and see what kind of successes and failures they've had. Tangs are hit or miss. I've had good and bad luck with them. Take a look at bottom dwellers, dwarf angels, clowns...stay away from fish of the same species or shape (unless they're a mated pair). You probably already know all this. Take your time and enjoy the research :) !

[upstoday]

Are dwarf angels considered reef safe? I'm just wondering for myself, you know making my list, checking it twice, seeing who's naughty and who's nice.

[Angelscrx]

I have two tomato clowns, a psychadelic mandarin, a sailfin blenny, a scooter blenny, a royal gramma, an emerald crab, hermits (red leg, black and white leg, and some blue), astrea snails, bumble bees, and some others. No turbos, they kept knocking stuff over. I may move the scooter to the refugium when it is all done setting up. It is really up to you and how you want the tank to look like. The thing about tangs is not everyone has the same experience with them. Do some research and the decide.

[chode]

ok tahnks for all the help

[MikeS]

Are dwarf angels considered reef safe? I'm just wondering for myself, you know making my list, checking it twice, seeing who's naughty and who's nice.

Dwarf angels fall into the "keep an eye on them" category....many people keep them in reef tanks with absolutely no problems, but some experience problems with them nipping....generally I'd say they will be ok, just "keep an eye on them".... :-D

Mike

[chode]

well i got rid of all my snails, hermits and my cushion star. the lfs gave me one third of the price back as to what i would probably see these things for sale for. i only had about six snails and six hermits and i traded all of those plus the cusion star for a blue linkia star who seems to be doing good. all the plumbing and everything is done with my sump and diy overflow. all that is left is for it all to dry. hopefully it will be runnig by this weekend. just thought i'd fill yall in.

[nbaker]

cool chode... everything to dry :lol:

[chode]

im talking about the stuff i sealed it together with and the pvc fittings.

[cich1]

post some pics of everything if you can

[chode]

ill try to get some pics if i can get this camera workin.

[nbaker]

im talking about the stuff i sealed it together with and the pvc fittings. I was not tryin to be a jerk.. just seems my luck latly, my wife would prefer me to have the wet vac already out when i do experimental DIY'ing lol

[chode]

i totaly understand because i filled the overflow with water and it was leaking at the bottom where it leads to the sump. looks like another day or 2. but that was the only prob.