new turbo snai;

[extremepb319]

Hi... i have a small marine aquarium (20 gal) and i just got 2 turbo snails and when i put them in they wont move or come out of shells at all. theyre probaly fine but im paranoid cuz im new and theyve been in exactly te same spot for like 5 hours. is this normal?? i only saw one little tentacle looking thing come out of one once and thats it.

Any help appreciated,
J.K.(those r my initials not 'just kidding')

 

[Anonymous]

They are probably fine.
If they are still in the same spot tomorrow, then you start to worry

:welcome:

 

[extremepb319]

ok..thanks for the quick reply.....
i just looked and i saw their tentacles/slime fingers(i have no clue what to call it) so i think theyre getting used to my tank.... i will post on their condition tmrw
thanks a lot,
J.K.

 

[Anonymous]

I've never seen many of my snails move at all.
A lot of them or only active in the dark.

 

[extremepb319]

ok...its 8:40 and they have not moved yet...i think it might be something to do with my sand because i got two other snails(i forgot the name but they are the kind from spongebob **its a Super Tongan Nassarius Snail** ) yesterday and when they went on the sand they kind of had a spasm and started twirling and hitting the glass and stuff.On my sand i hae this brown algae looking stuff and it looks kind of stringy and sticky looking. i dont know what it is but i read it might be brown diatoms or something.
Any help appreciated

 

[Reggie]

Extreme, I assume you acclimated them right?

 

[extremepb319]

yep for an hour and a half(i hope thats long enough) and every 15 minutes or so i added a little of my water to the bag. my SG is 1.022 and i did a water test and everything is fine. except my ph is 7.8 but thats not too far from 8.2 and i have a starfish and some reef crabs and they are doing fine. ive had the crabs for 4 months and they are great...... and do you know anything about that brown hairy stuff??
thanks

 

[shavo]

it's probabbly just a bloom, I had minor issues well past 6 months on my setup. how long has your tank been up and running? what are the parameters? nitrates mostly?
what kind of filtration are you using?
also what kind of lighting and how long are they on?

 

[extremepb319]

my tank has been up and running for about 4 month with live sand and 2 scarlet reef crabs.
ph-8.1
nitrite-.5
nitrate-about 10-15
SG-1.022
For my filters i am running 2x20-gallon marineland bio wheel filter and for my initial tank fill up i used RO water but i dont think that matters now. I have done many water changes but recently i heard that there may be silica in my water and thats what i hear can cause those blooms.
My lighting is not the best, i have an 18,000K T8 dual flourescant. I also strongly believe my lighting is a big contributor, but i still dont get why my 2 turbo snails are not doing good/ prbably dead.
The snails have not moved since i put them in 2 days ago but when i poke them the snail inside slowly retracts in even though it was barely out

 

[extremepb319]

O and i have them on a 10 hour of light a day timer (used to be 12 but i lowered it to help prevent some of the algae growing

 

[herpencounter]

If you don’t have any corals you don’t need the light on at all (it looks like you just have some snails).
I don’t have any corals but I have it on 4 hours a day for Coralline growth.

It sounds like you have brown diatoms...
Get some phosguard removes phosphates and sillicates.
Diatoms thrive on sillicates (and light ).
15% water change every week with RO/DI.

As for your snails I’m lost. :?

 

[shavo]

yes the silicates help the bloom, but how come your lights are on a 10 hour schedule? do you have corals? if not i would cut down on the time they are on and is the tank in direct sunlight at anytime during the day?
also there are people that think those bio wheel filters aren't any good. The can be nitrate factories if they aren't cleaned periodically.

also pull out the snails and smell them, if they smell god awful then they may be on there way out the door.

 

[Anonymous]

For my filters i am running 2x20-gallon marineland bio wheel filter

Unless you clean these CONTINUALLY, I would dump these when you can and pick up a protein skimmer.

my .02

As well, maybe get your water tested for copper? As well, you are only testing the basic few parameters...I suggest if youa re staying in the hobby, learn to test alkalinity and calcium as well.

ph 7.8 isnt bad, but if your buffer system isnt up to par, and you are at 7.8 now, it could easily shift even lower very quickly.

EDIT: I see your pH in another post was 8.1? If this is true, your pH swing is very large...I strongly suggest testing alk and calc, and be ready to buy b-ionic part 1 and 2.

 

[extremepb319]

ok... thanks for all the replies. I have put my lights on 4 hours a day and i dont believe they have any direct sunlight. I do clean my bio wheels when they need to be. I dont think copper is a problem because i have had several reef hermit crabs in their for a while and one actually molted last night.( i think thats what its called.) and also my nasarious snails are doing much better and very active. It was just the turbo snails. today they were still in the same spot and not responding so i took them out because i didnt want my ammonia or anything to spike.
The reason my pH went up so quick is because i used some pH up to bring it up .2. Im beginning to think the snails might have gotten stressed out because it was a 45 minute car ride homw from the nearest saltwater fish store.
And i was also looking into a protein skimmer and does anybody know if the Red Sea Prizm skimmers are any good because that is what i am lenaing to?

Thanks for everyones advice.

 

[shavo]

I have the red sea berlin skimmer and it does a great job, not sure about the prism at all. My suggestion unless anybody else chimes in on them is to get a bigger skimmer, do you plan on getting a bigger tank in the future? I guess the prism would do the job on a 20 gal tank. I don't have too much expirience with those little HOB skimmers
sorry and good luck

 

[extremepb319]

hey thanks, yea i am hoping to upgrade to a 75 gallon once i get a better job and more money. I dont have much experience with saltwatater but have read A LOT about it and have a few years with freshwater(i think one of my cichlids is dying, i give it till the end of the weekend) and im hoping a 75 gallon is big enough to look good in a large room but not too much work. I just have one question..what is the easiest way to mix large quantities of saltwater?. I would imagine for initial filling you could mix in the tank but I hear its a bad idea...
thanks for answering my random questions