worms and pods o my!!

[ugluk]

Lots of great talk on here about pods and worms and all the little critters that I think I like more then fish but do not have in my tank. Recently I discovered IPSF.com and a couple of days after that I just happened to be leafing thru a Foster & Smith catalog a discovered to my great joy that there is such a thing as a HOB Refugium (I do not have a sump).

So now I am going to get the mix and match special and would like some help and what would be the best mix for my tank. I have a FOWLR and I am looking to help keep the tank as stable as possible and to give food for my fish. In addition to what I have listed below I will be getting a Kole Tang, Scotts Fairy Wrasse and a Flame Angel.

What I think I will get so far:

1. Amphipods- very dissapointed that they did not come with my live rock. Which of my fish would eat these?

2. Bristle Worms- great discussion on this sight about them tonight. I came out of it thinking they are beneficial. Would like to have more things occupying my sand.

3. Tang heaven (is any color better then the other?) This would help my tang and it says on the sight that this would act as a natural filter sort of like Chaetomorpha. While I dont think it will be as affective I do believe it will be beneficial.

4. Sandbed Clams- like lots of stuff in my sand and they sound beneficial. I hear they are hard to keep though.

5. Wondermud- Sounds like a hodge-podge and a good start for the sand in my refugium but it does sort of make me worry about introducing something harmful to my tank.

After that I am not sure. I dont want any hermit crabs so that eliminates some and since I dont have any strong thoughts on the rest I might get the pod breeding kit which would be 6/7. Any suggestions?

I was also thinking about doing the super mix n match for the stars and worms. I would do three so I could get the free mini stars.

1. Mama mia worms- Like lots of stuff in my sand

2. Comet stars- like the small stars so they could clean up the food and stuff that lands on my life rock.

3. Not sure. I was thinking the cuke but they dont give enough info about it and I hate to put anything in my tank I havent researched. I have a button polyp that is doing well but I really dont know much about corals since my tank is FOWLR.

Any thanks for getting thru my long post and any opinions are appreciated.

 

[ugluk]

cant anyone help a brother out here.

 

[trrack2far]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11581471#post11581471 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ugluk
cant anyone help a brother out here.

Hey Ug,

a HOB fuge will definitely be benicicial to your tank. A sump/ fuge would be better but........

The HOB would definitely give the pods a protected place to hang out and multiply. Its amazing how quickly they do that! Deep Sand Bed with Macro Algae is the way to go.

Bristle worms are definitely beneficial. I would be surprised if you dont have any hidden in the rocks. They usually dont come out in the daytime.

Pods - I would be very surprised if you dont have them too...you just may not know it. All fish will heat them if they get a chance.

Wondermud - I havent heard anything bad about it. Several folks I know have used it with no regrets that Im aware of.

Tang Heaven - The tangs would probably eat it all up if you put it in your tank! Tangs are natural algae eaters as Im sure you know. It would be best to put in in the fuge. When ever it needs trimming, then feed the trimmings to the fishes. None of the colors are better than the others.

sandbed clams - nah... I would stay away.

Hermit crabs are good critters except for the fact that they will attack your snails and steal their shells.

I dont know what a comet star is so I cant comments. However, Stars in general need a LOT to eat. 1 brittle star in a 70 is gallon tank is plenty. More than that and they will probably slowly wither away because of the lack of sufficient food.

A cuke would be ok if it was a small one. Once it gets large, it will need a larger tank so maybe you could trade it for something else when the time comes. They are great sand cleaners.

hope this helps,