Any clam suitable for this tank?

[mr. bojangsjang]

What clams (if any) are suitable for the following tank:

15 gallon display (24"x12"x12")
29 gallon sump, 25 gallon of actual water though
150 watt 14K MH sunpod
tunze nanostream 6025
317 gph return pump with wavysea attached
24 pounds of LR
3/4" coarse sand
Tunze Skimmer

Lots of SPS corals
zoa's


I don't want calcium and/or alk levels to be depleted too much, so would any clam be suitable?

 

[OoNickoC]

I would assume you've never had a clam. I would recomend a good sized maixma, as the croceas are a bit needy for the first round and most others simply grow to fast for that size tank with good conditions. A full grown maxima will take up a good portion of the tank, but if you get a healthy specimen @ 4-5" you should be able to estimate the calcium intake within a few weeks rather than ramping it up as it grows.The larger clam sp. are going to consume your calcium alot faster than the maxima or crocea's as they grow a "bit" faster and top out around 19" if givin the room in most aquaria. Sound like a nice setup for the right clam.

 

[mr. bojangsjang]

When you say croceas are a bit needy for the first round what do you mean? Which grows larger, maximas or croceas? Which of the two uses more calcium?

 

[a4twenty]

crocea's need the most light and aren't quite as hardy as other species, they are the smallest though. a crocea will grow to about 6" and a maxima about 12".

as for calcium use i'd have to say the larger clam would use more to build a larger shell.

 

[Peabody]

Clams do suck the ALK/CA right out of the water, so you need heavy supplimentation and very regular testing of both.

Your tanks does seem like it could be easily suitable for a max or crocea.

 

[mr. bojangsjang]

So would it be fair to say a crocea would be suitable for my tank? Even though they aren't as hardy as maximas I think it will do pretty good.

 

[a4twenty]

if your able to keep SPS, i think you'll be ok.

 

[Peabody]

Yes, just constantly measure and substitute ALK/CA. (Keep that salinity rock steady too!)

 

[mbbuna]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8598717#post8598717 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mr. bojangsjang
So would it be fair to say a crocea would be suitable for my tank? Even though they aren't as hardy as maximas I think it will do pretty good.

IMO/IME Maximas are harder to keep then Croceas

 

[mr. bojangsjang]

Salinity will be very stable as I will have an ATO.

Also, I was hoping since the sump is 25 gallons and the display is only 15, do you think CA/ALK will remain stable?

 

[Peabody]

No....clams have a high demand and necessitate constant supplementation. (I had a 15g with a 10g sump at one point and ended up getting a CA reactor because I was going through 2 part CA/ALK supplements like mad!) You will need some sort of daily regiment whether it's a 2 part, kalk, a reactor, etc. Pretty much every sps/clam keeper of 5 or 5000 gallons needs some type. Your frags, when they start to take off will make it even more necessary.

 

[mr. bojangsjang]

Ohh ok thanks Peabody. Do you think I could get away with just adding kalk? Does kalk add ALK and CA?

 

[Peabody]

Kalk is rather limited....you can only add as much as you evaporate. Try it...(Be sore to test every day or 2) I tried it and I couldn't keep up. THen I tried kalk with vinegar and still keep up. THen I tried 2 part with kalk and could barely keep up. So, I broke down and bought a reactor. (That was a 15g with 10g sump....3 small maximas growing like crazy and a good 15+ sps frags growing like crazy)

 

[ezcompany]

my 24 gallon drinkd 30 ml of ca and alk everyday along with half a gallon of kalk.

 

[Peabody]

Man can I sympathize. I litereallly used like 5 times the maximum daily recomendation of B-Ionic + Kalk and was just squeaking by. The reactor was a life saver