adding some critters

[dpmac10]

hey how are u doing well i'm just starting a 10 gallon salt and iwas wondering when i can add lthe snails and stars adnd stuff like that that would eat the alge and how many would u say to add to the tank. thanks any more suggestion would be helpfull to thanks

[mogurnda]

Hey dpmac!
It all depends on how long you've been running the tank, and what is in it now? Are you using live rock? Where are you in the cycle? Once your tank is cycled and you start to see some algae, then you can start with a cleaning crew. With such a small tank, it's better to do it little by little.

[dpmac10]

hey well i just started it saturday and the tanks is looking very clear, i have about 3 pounds of live rock in the tank right now and 4 pounds of live sand i was going to get some more of each how much should i have of both for the tank. and i was reading about adding a shimp should i also do that to soon.

[dpmac10]

and also what do u recomend for lighting all i have right now is the lights that came with the 10 gallon tank it is two short about 5 or 6 inch bulbs. they are (this is what the box said for the bulbs) Aqua cultra is the brand Pre tested 15W/120v incandescent Aquarium grow bulb is this fine or should i get something else i hear of people gettin pc lights what exactly are those. and how would i go about putting them on my tank.

[OrionGirl]

For cycling, you can add the shrimp now, and pick up some tests kits to monitor the ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. Additional live rock is a good idea, but if you're getting precured rock I would wait until after the initial cycle.

You don't want to add any live critters until the tank has cycled.

The lighting you have now won't work for corals and photo synthetic critters, but will be fine for shrimp, crabs, stars, fish, etc. PC refers to power compact lights, which have higher output than normal output lights (which you have). You can purchase full hoods or retrofit kits from a variety of places.

[mogurnda]

What were you thinking about keeping once it settles down?

[dpmac10]

i was wondering what else u could use instead of a shrimp to cycle the tank. thanks

[BrianH]

If you put a total of 10-15 lbs of live rock you should have a bacteria population large enough handle the biological filtration. Just make sure you test for ammonia, and nitrites. After they both are 0 your tank has cycled. The time this takes depends on the condition of the LR you add.

Brian