Too many algae grazers?

[anathema]

I am wondering as I see less and less algae in my tank:

How many snails etc. is too much?

For algae eaters in my 29+4.5 Refugium I have:

2 turbos
6 astrea
1 Keyhole Limpet (2")
6-8 ish hitchhiker snails, flat with stubby spikes on one edge of their shell.
a couple tiny snails shaped like astrea that came w/ live sand.
1 Small rock boring urchin

and tonight at the LFS in their rock bin they had a tiny (.5") lettuce nudibranch that they let me have with the rock it was on.

I still have algae, but when does it get to the point where things start starving? I'd rather remove some turbos than have things die. They seem to recommend 1 snail per gallon in stores, but isn't that a bit much?

I was also going to trade some of my snails for a couple small limpets that a friend had in his tank. Should I stop with what I have?

Also, will snails eat macro if they run out of film algae?

[Randy V]

I agree with you that the 1 snail per gallon recommendation will result in overstocking, though when you are having a really bad algae outbreak it doesn't seem like you could ever have too many. I well balanced reef tank doesn't require many herbivores. Your stocking levels seems about right to me but when the food is gone they definitely will stave. It's tough to tell if a snail is startving (maybe impossible) until it's too late so I would feed some algae pellets if you suspect they are starving and then prune accordingly. It's pretty much trial and error. It's easier to tell if you have too few than too many. And no, they generally won't eat macroalgae in place of film. Although some, such as turbos and ceriths will make use of larger algaes. My experience only.

[anathema]

maybe I should get rid of a turbo snail. Has anyone tried maybe a jar of tank water in the windowsill to grow algae that could double as snail storage? If you put a jar in sunlight with an airstone would you be able to put snails in it for a week or two?

[Randy V]

I would think that if you got a good amount of film algae growing before you added the snail, and the jar was big enough, and you could keep the temp and salinity fairly stable, and you kept the water well aerated, then the snail would do fine for a couple of weeks.

[anathema]

the temp would be the killer. Maybe this is an excuse to start a 10 gallon tank like I have been thinking. :D

[Randy V]

Now that's good solid reefer thinking. Some men see only problems. Reefers see every problem as an opportunity to set up another tank and make the world a better place.

[Nagel]

I would say you are pretty fine with your stocking levels. I also have a 29 g with a 10g refugium. I have close to a dozen types of snails in there: ceriths, turbos, astraeas, strombus immaculatus and gigas (only one gigas), nerites, nassarious, and a few others I'm sure I forgot to mention. Probably about 2 turbos left (out of 4), there's at least 6 astraeas in there, and an unknown count on the rest (most were added as 6 or 12, and between shipping die-off and some hermit crab murders, some were lost, but I still have the majority). I feed a little heavy, and there is usually a slight film of algea on the glass that the snails eat. Nobody seems to be starving (though the larger astraeas were ripping down the hair algea a few months ago when I put them in). I think the keypoint is to add a few at a time until you sense a balance in the tank. Eventually it will all balance out if you go slowly, if you add a ton at one time, they clean the tank, run out of food and starve to death, feeding another nitrate bloom which brings more algea, and starts another viscious cycle.

So far, you seem ok with the snails you have. IMO they are better then crabs, and much better behaved as well.

[anathema]

Well, I was starting to see less and less algae, but in the last few days it has been making a comeback. The hitchiker snails are breeding like crazy though, so maybe something will come of that.

Thanks for the input