stocking levels

[claudefan]

Hi all,

one of the tanks I am going to be using is 18x10x16 with an internal filter to provide good filtration, how many snails do you think I should keep in a tank this size. Would a 50w heater be ok for this size tank. Please give me your thoughts on this and any advice that you think may help.

thanks

[Darren Willis]

Hi

Well yes a 50w heater should be fine for a tank that size , in a tank that size you could do with giving good filtration as you say. We have a tank that size for our pea sized stock and we have an internal filter that is rated for 20 gallon tanks (best to double the size of your tank i.e 10 gallon use a 20 gallon filter , 20 gal use 40 gal filters etc etc) and we also have a corner filter that is filled with wool type filter media and operates off a small air pump .... that really helps alot. We have a coral sand substrate which helps keep the ph level stable at around 8.0 and it's also easier to vacum which will need doing once a week. Water changes on a tank that size need to be done twice a week at about 10-15% each time , we have to do ours 3 times a week but thats because we have many pea sized babies in there. Also in a tank that size to keep things easier and more confortable for the snails I would only recomend putting 4 apple snails in there , as adults they can get as big as a golf ball. Also a bubble curtain or large airstone would be nice as it will help airate the water and the snails also like to sometimes crawl into them and get shot off into the water ... must be like a fun fair ride for them lol. Yeah I think I've just about summed it up .... oh the internal filter media will need cleaning in old tank water probably once a fortnight and the wool media in the corner filter would probably get away with being cleaned in old tanl water after about a month and then you'd probably have to replace the wool media a month after that but it's not very expensive and a small box will probably do two replacements.

If you need any more information please feel free to ask.

Kind Regards

Darren