is this liveaquaria ceaner pack too big for a 10g?

[fishcatch22]

hey, all. i'm going to start a 10g marine tank sometime later this year, and I want ot know if this cleaner kit at liveaquaria that I was thinking of ordering would have too many beasts for a 10g. here it is: http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pCatId=535
it says on the tag that it's a good pack for small aquariums, so i'm assuming a 10g is included in that. the only other planned inhabitant is a common (ocellarus) clown. maybe if it's too much I could ask them to take some of the creatures out? if so, what would I need to omit to make it fit?

[Kiel'thalin]

I would not get that package. I would just get a variety of snails, I would suggest this to start out:
(2)Cerith (best overall cleaner)
(3)Astrea (good for algae on glass)
(2)Nassarius (Only eats carrion)
(1)Bumblebee Snail (good detritus eater)
You can skip out on all the crabs and nudibranch unless you like the entertainment. Those snails listed will give you a very balanced cleaning crew. You can add more Astrea and Cerith, but I would not do more than 3 bumblebee's or more than 5 nassarius. That will save you money and will probably be a bit more happy with it.

[fishcatch22]

actually, I was just looking for a nice pack with a variety of inverts, not just snails. and you didn't answer my main question of weither or not all the animals listed would fit in a tank of that size.

[Kiel'thalin]

Oh, no problem, they will fit, but you might have trouble out of the nudibranch and the emerald crab down the road. On the nudibranch they usually do not last long by either eating all the food and starving, or they will get caught up in the current and die via powerhead. I would go with a single Scarlet hermit, or a couple of the dwarf variety hermits (Blue Legged, Zebra) vs the Emerald Crab. I defiantly believe in the cerith snails, they can really clean.

[fishcatch22]

my original invert plan was just a few margarita snails and a scarlet hemit crab, but this one just caught my eye. and can't I just supplement the nudibranch's diet? what's bad about the emerald crab? and I wasn't planning on a powerhead. do I really need one? i'm trying to keep equipment costs as low as possible.

[Kiel'thalin]

What are your plans for:
Live rock.
Water flow.
Filtration.
I would suggest staying away from that pack and add as you go, starting out slowly. The Emerald crab would be okay, but risky, they can get big an opportunistic feeder and may turn on other inverts or even fish. Something that is rare in the Hermits I mentioned. The nudibranch I would stay away from too, trust me it will end up dieing, maybe not right away but you can put that money in something that is going to be around a lot longer that him. Also stay away from and sea stars, especially the sand sifting ones. I hope everything works out.

[fishcatch22]

I was thinking of: UG filtration, wouldn't the powerhead for the filter provide good circulation and current? LR: ummm... don't know the kinds, whichever one they have, really. getting maybe... 8-9 pounds. so I was thinking I could get that pack but omit the nudibrach since you say it'll be more trouble than it's worth.

[dorkfish]

A power head is benificial, and helps eliminate dead spots where detrius will acumulate, and cyano bacteria (a type of bad/detrimental algae) seems to only grow in the low flow areas. You should aim for 10-20x tunover per hour for a fish only tank, 20-40x turnover per hour for a reef system. So, if your planned filtration/water motion method won't give you this much flow, then get a powerhead.

As far as that cleaner pack goes, it seems like a bit much for a 10g (garf recomends no more than 1.5 tank cleaners per gallon); Kiel'thalin's list seems more aporpriate for your tank size.

[fishcatch22]

yeah, so i've taken out a few snails and made this list: 1 emerald crab, 8 margarita snails, 3 narissius snails. no astreas, no nudibranch.

[dorkfish]

yeah, so i've taken out a few snails and made this list: 1 emerald crab, 8 margarita snails, 3 narissius snails. no astreas, no nudibranch.

Sounds good, except I would be catious with the emerald crab; one of my friends had one that decided to eat some of his fish.

[fishcatch22]

Sounds good, except I would be catious with the emerald crab; one of my friends had one that decided to eat some of his fish.don't worry. i'll supplement his diet with crab food and dried kelp and stuff so he doesn't supplement his diet himself. ;)