First time clam keeping advice

[FindingNem0]

Hello everyone. I have been looking at small crocea clam for my 20g nano tank. It's under 4months old with about 50 corals that's growing at a decent rate. Running a pretty high tech tank, with ALL FOR REEF dosing and kalkwasser dosing at night to keep ph above 8.

Ph 8.2
Alk 8-8.5
Cal 420
Nirate 1ppm
Phosphate 0.05

I feed pretty heavy. Auto feeder pellets during the day and frozen mysis shrimp at night. Roids once a week and AB+ or Acropower daily. Plankton 3 times a week. I might be over doing it with such a young tank.

I do have a little diatom dust algae growing on glass every second day.
Rocks are covered with coraline algae.
Did have a little bubble algae that hitchhiked from a frag, which has been removed now. Also had a hydroid outbreak that lasted a week before a peppermint got added in and ate it all.

Any tips or advice before I pull the trigger on a crocea clam.

 

[Macbalacano]

Tank looks amazing. Couple of thoughts come to mind:

1) I'm surprised how low your nitrates are with how heavy you feed, Corals must be taking it all up. In my experience, clams like slightly more nutrients in the water, but I think this will be an easy tweak for you.

2) I think flow may be a little tricky as you've got a decent amount (I assume with the 2x Nero 3s?) - so placement may be slightly more challenging.

3) Once your clam settles in, it will definitely consume more alk - so definitely will need to keep an eye on dosing

Hope that helps! I've had several clams before when I had a larger tank. Looking to get one now for my 15G in a couple of months. Excited for you!

 

[FindingNem0]

Tank looks amazing. Couple of thoughts come to mind:

1) I'm surprised how low your nitrates are with how heavy you feed, Corals must be taking it all up. In my experience, clams like slightly more nutrients in the water, but I think this will be an easy tweak for you.

2) I think flow may be a little tricky as you've got a decent amount (I assume with the 2x Nero 3s?) - so placement may be slightly more challenging.

3) Once your clam settles in, it will definitely consume more alk - so definitely will need to keep an eye on dosing

Hope that helps! I've had several clams before when I had a larger tank. Looking to get one now for my 15G in a couple of months. Excited for you!

Yeah I am running a protein skimmer, that does a pretty good job of dry/wet skim. Also have a mini fleece roller that I bought from etsy, which I'll manually roll it once everyday. I think the tank is doing so well because I took some established live rock from a lfs refugiem which has been running for 10 years+.

 

[Doctorgori]

I like using some type of cradle or shell for clams…
In case you have to clean or move the clam this lowers stress and prevent cutting those basal threads holding the clam…

 

[FindingNem0]

I like using some type of cradle or shell for clams…
In case you have to clean or move the clam this lowers stress and prevent cutting those basal threads holding the clam…

Oh yeah. I'll have to get one of those.

Placement for the clam I was thinking more on the bottom, but with the cradle I can move it anywhere.

 

[Doctorgori]

crocea clams supposedly love light
I’d check par for sure on the bottom

 

[Waters]

I agree on the par....crocea clams are rock boring clams which like to be placed on rock and require the highest par among all of the giant clams.

 

[FindingNem0]

I agree on the par....crocea clams are rock boring clams which like to be placed on rock and require the highest par among all of the giant clams.

Maybe it won't work for my tank then, as I have no room left at the top. Where my sps are growing.

 

[Solo McReefer]

as I have no room left at the top

Just a couple months ago

You had an empty tank. If going by your Tank Build thread

 

[FindingNem0]

Just a couple months ago

You had an empty tank. If going by your Tank Build thread

Yeah almost 4months and it's fully stocked. There is a few corals on the frag rack which I'll give to my lfs.

I did stock the tank fairly quickly and tested almost every second day. Just to make sure everything was stable.

 

[FindingNem0]

Tank looks amazing. Couple of thoughts come to mind:

1) I'm surprised how low your nitrates are with how heavy you feed, Corals must be taking it all up. In my experience, clams like slightly more nutrients in the water, but I think this will be an easy tweak for you.

2) I think flow may be a little tricky as you've got a decent amount (I assume with the 2x Nero 3s?) - so placement may be slightly more challenging.

3) Once your clam settles in, it will definitely consume more alk - so definitely will need to keep an eye on dosing

Hope that helps! I've had several clams before when I had a larger tank. Looking to get one now for my 15G in a couple of months. Excited for you!

Yeah my nitrate is low, so I started dosing which is roughly about a 0.15 increase per day. Slow and steady raise.

I didn't think about the flow part but you're right. I don't have anywhere I can put the clam without it being blasted.
I might wait till the 6month mark and maybe give some of my corals to lfs before i get a clam so that way i got room to move it around.

Dosing isn't going to be a problem as it's all automated and I do weekly test and sometime in between the week I might do a random one to double check.

Thank you for the advice

 

[Aquariumaddictuk]

Yeah my nitrate is low, so I started dosing which is roughly about a 0.15 increase per day. Slow and steady raise.

I didn't think about the flow part but you're right. I don't have anywhere I can put the clam without it being blasted.
I might wait till the 6month mark and maybe give some of my corals to lfs before i get a clam so that way i got room to move it around.

Dosing isn't going to be a problem as it's all automated and I do weekly test and sometime in between the week I might do a random one to double check.

Thank you for the advice

Cradles are great but the clam with reposition itself on cradle or rock until it's happy.
Once acclimated, I find they can take a tonne of light.mines getting 300 par & I've no doubt it could take a lot more if acclimated slowly.
As others have said they really do soak up the alk once they hit the growth trajectory.