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looking for "reef janitor" packages
- Thread starter AngelPete
- Start date
How come you didn't get any in the invert group buy?
Alot ... I have over 100 snails and over 80 hermits in my 120 between my sump and tank and I still think I need more.
Go ask Will at Aquatic Obsessions ... tell him how many you want/need and he'll order them. If you buy online you'll just have to pay shipping anyway.
You could try these guys down on Route 22.
Ocean Gallery II Pets & Water Gardens
908 US Highway 22 North Plainfield, NJ
They don't sell janitor packages, but their prices on hermits and snails are about the lowest I've seen in retail stores. (of course, I found this out AFTER I'd bought everything I needed)
For online, I used:
http://www.garf.org/
Ocean Gallery II Pets & Water Gardens
908 US Highway 22 North Plainfield, NJ
They don't sell janitor packages, but their prices on hermits and snails are about the lowest I've seen in retail stores. (of course, I found this out AFTER I'd bought everything I needed)
For online, I used:
http://www.garf.org/
Jf2381 said:
That's an interesting deal but I would caution anyone from getting 80 hermits in a so called cleaner package. I know mike says he has 80 but to me it's way too many. I have never heard of a "cone" shell being in an pack unless we're talking about the venomous cone snail. Big ones can kill or at least deliver a very very painful punch to adults.
Linkias should not be considered part of a crew either. Difficult to acclimate and something that should be introduced only in a mature tank. If I had a dollar for everytime I read about a linkia suddenly disintegrating... One thing I ask people about garf is -you realize they are located in the middle of Idaho right? Second - their website is just horrid - and re-visiting it again now - my opinion does not change.chaoscat said:
Anyways - there is a group buy in march: http://www.reeftopia.com/index.html
For a 210 - I would start with a mixture of astreas (mind you they may flip so if you are not interested in getting your hands wet to flip them back - they will die), Cerith (algae eater but also help with turning the sand), Nassarius vibex (again sand turners -but they don't eat algae - only fish food/poop!). In my opinion-you could start with 50 and keep adding more later if you find yourself using your mag float still.
Oh don't get fooled on ebay with the non-vibex nassarius snails. A lot of those snails found on ebay are the temperate species nassarius obseleta that will slowly cook in your tank (reducing overall lifespan).
If you can avoid it - (and I know this goes against what a lot of others on this board think) - I would suggest forgoing the hermits altogether. A few in your tank may be fine but they are omnivorous - which means they may as well snack on tasty fish food instead of cleaning the tank of algae.
Not to mention the fact that most tanks do not have enough food for the hermits and they start going after the snails. Hmmm...do I work my way up this LR for some veggies or just grab some escargot AND get a new home!
Liverockandmore.com has some great prices on cerith and narcisus snails but I'm not sure what species they are. Has anyone tried them?
NapoliNewJersey said:
I would disagree with this. I have a 120 display (180 total volume) and have fewer than a dozen decent sized snails, even less hermits (scarlets only), and 6 emerald crabs in my display with 2 tigertail cucumbers and 2 fighting conch. If overgrazing occurs and herbivores die off, algae will bloom and headaches will follow. When nutrient input is managed properly, natural population denisties can be achieved in a closed system. I'm not discrediting any method of aquarium management, but you'll hardly ever find 80 hermits and over 100 snails in 8 square feet of natural coral reef. Get a bigger skimmer man.. ;D
harlequinreef said:
From Garf.org:
My stystem is around 200 Gallons... thanks tho.
I would say that obviously there are many "roads that lead to rome" so to speak. Each one of us will be different - but if indeed pete needs 440 grazers in your 220 tank(per garf) - I strongly suggest not buying all 400 at once. If you find that your nutrient /algae growth is minimal, you could get away with much less.
garf.org - we had two different people support this - and I don't want to take away this thread into a pro/con garf. They state that one snail and one hermit per gallon of tank space. I would simply urge caution and take that as a guidelines - just like the watts per gallon. Obviously a person with a 110 gallon high tank (48" length), should not have the same number of CleanUpCrew as someone with a regular 100 gallon tank (72"length). Similarly the lighting would need to be different since the 110gallon is 30" high vs 19" high for the 100.
I still think start out with a small batch and as you need more, just add more.
Good luck!
garf.org - we had two different people support this - and I don't want to take away this thread into a pro/con garf. They state that one snail and one hermit per gallon of tank space. I would simply urge caution and take that as a guidelines - just like the watts per gallon. Obviously a person with a 110 gallon high tank (48" length), should not have the same number of CleanUpCrew as someone with a regular 100 gallon tank (72"length). Similarly the lighting would need to be different since the 110gallon is 30" high vs 19" high for the 100.
I still think start out with a small batch and as you need more, just add more.
Good luck!