Clam only tank?!?!

[Jeepman3sk]

Ok so basically I am in love with clams and I'm thinking of moving my tank over to a clam only tank. Basically I just want lots of clams in my tank. I have no problem caring for clams they grow very well in my tank. Here is my question I don't have a CA reactor or anything right now. Do I need to get one if I want to pull this off? Right now I just use Kent Ca in my tank to keep the levels up. Buts it is pretty hard to keep it that way with a 8-9 inch clam in a 29g tank.

 

[vector]

Clams don't care how the Ca gets into the water so long as it is in balange with Alk. I curently keep around 50 clams in thier own tank and mantain ammonia at .5ppm, which you cannot do if you have corals in there

 

[mbbuna]

clams will rapidly depleted Ca & Alk from the water. in a 29g this will be very evident. i wouldn't suggest keeping more then a few(2 or 3) in 29g. if you wanted to try to do this with out Ca reactor, the only way would be with a 2 part on a dosing system.

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/rhf/index.php#18

 

[jmaneyapanda]

Some other things to consider- you mention a "clam only" tank. Do you mean no fish, corals, etc etc? If so, you will want to make sure the clams can aquire some nitrogenous "food" sources. In most typical tanks, this comes from fish and coral waste, feeding, etc. However, if these are absent, the clams may become nutrient starved.

To answer the original question, though, I would strongly suggest in investing in a calcium reactor if you want to keep a high load of clams. I used to dose two part calcium and alk, but it gets real old real quick, and the costs will add up. The calcium reactor will save you money over time.

 

[Jeepman3sk]

I would keep fish with the clams. I have about 40 pounds of LR and some corals right now. I was thinking of clearing out some of the LR so I have some room on the sand to work with. Currently I have a 8-9 inch clam which takes up about a third of my tank. He is pretty happy but I want a few other clams and don't really want to sell him yet. But if this won't work I will sell him and get a few smaller clams for the tank.