Am I Crazy? NPS and Clams?

[Sean Clark]

So, I am very excited to build a side by side NPS / Clam tank using the @Innovative Marine Concept Pro 20 AIO Encore Aquarium w/ APS Stand - White found here:

Shop | Innovative Marine Products

Shop Now | Innovative Marine's Official Store | Free Shipping on all orders* | NUVO aquariums and saltwater reef supplies.

www.innovative-marine.com

Is this nuts?
Am I crazy to even attempt this?
How would you do it?
What clams would you add?
What NPS would you add to the other side?
Has anyone attempted something like this before that would share their experience?

I am thinking a single @Kessil A500x over the clam side for lighting.

Let me know that this is a crazy idea and save me a ton of time and money. Otherwise please share your thoughts and ideas.

 

[Miami Reef]

Following.

 

[Lemons]

Not crazy but might have a masochistic idea! The water volume seems pretty low for NPS stuff but that’s just IMO, but if you wanna go for it! I’d try to find a way to route the water from the NPS side to the clam side so they can act as a nutrient sink!
But for live stock I’m a sucker for suncorals and Blue berry seafans, maybe some sort of sponges too, those are always neat but super hard to keep alive sometimes. And for clams I’d maybe go for some squamy’s… maybe golden rimmed or see what kinda neat maxima’s you can find!
The ocean is your oyster!

 

[damsels are not mean]

chili coral is a pretty easy NPS coral. Filter feeder but seems to do well in most systems unlike the holy grails like dendronepthya.

 

[A Young Reefer]

I wouldn’t attempt it myself in that volume of water.
NPS need to get fed regularly which as a result It would be difficult to manage nutrients.
Clams have a high alkalinity and calcium demand so you would need to make sure that you are able to supplement the tank and keep up with the demand. I don’t think water changes alone will do it.
It is doable but I don’t know to what extent.

 

[damsels are not mean]

I wouldn’t attempt it myself in that volume of water.
NPS need to get fed regularly which as a result It would be difficult to manage nutrients.
Clams have a high alkalinity and calcium demand so you would need to make sure that you are able to supplement the tank and keep up with the demand. I don’t think water changes alone will do it.
It is doable but I don’t know to what extent.

Well you've got 2x the water volume for only one half consuming much calcium and alkalinity. I think it would be fine. Nutrients are only an issue if you are overfeeding lots of already dead stuff. Target feeding or feeding live does not create much waste...

 

[A Young Reefer]

Well you've got 2x the water volume for only one half consuming much calcium and alkalinity. I think it would be fine. Nutrients are only an issue if you are overfeeding lots of already dead stuff. Target feeding or feeding live does not create much waste...

I am very aware however the tank is 2x 10 gallon tanks.
Not sure if you can keep multiple clams in a 10 gallon for a long period of Time.

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

I'd do it in a 40B 1st before I tried an aio 20g but no I don't think your crazy. A kool biotope I think it would create.
Do venomous fish too like the Cali coral ig girl.
D

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

Get a nice black sun coral...I have one and love it! I feed mysis every day or two with tweezers!

 

[chipchipbro]

@J1a might be able to help

 

[Sean Clark]

Great ideas.
Ok, so I forgot to mention that I will have this tied into my existing 200 gallon system as an auxiliary tank all sharing the same water. The idea being that I would move the clams into the larger tank as they grow larger.

 

[damsels are not mean]

Great ideas.
Ok, so I forgot to mention that I will have this tied into my existing 200 gallon system as an auxiliary tank all sharing the same water. The idea being that I would move the clams into the larger tank as they grow larger.

that makes it a lot easier

 

[Little c big D]

I'll be the first to tell you that you are crazy.

That being said... I'd like to see you try, we are all a little crazy. The concept is awesome!

 

[A Young Reefer]

Great ideas.
Ok, so I forgot to mention that I will have this tied into my existing 200 gallon system as an auxiliary tank all sharing the same water. The idea being that I would move the clams into the larger tank as they grow larger.

this changes everything. It’s totally doable in that case.

 

[Sgchick]

Love the idea!! That tank is really cool too...I'll be following along!!

 

[J1a]

Imo NPS and clams are really a good fit to each other. Let me explain.

1. Most of the NPS can thrive on nano- or pico-plankton. These food are good for clams as well.

2. As the food breakdown into inorganic nutrients, clams will devour all those nitrate and phosphates, keeping your water quality up.

3. Both clams and most NPS look the best under neutral light, so will the fishes.

4. From my experience, many NPS do open up even during day time. So no issue with bare branches.


I'd say go for it!

 

[J1a]

So, I am very excited to build a side by side NPS / Clam tank using the @Innovative Marine Concept Pro 20 AIO Encore Aquarium w/ APS Stand - White found here:

Shop | Innovative Marine Products

Shop Now | Innovative Marine's Official Store | Free Shipping on all orders* | NUVO aquariums and saltwater reef supplies.

www.innovative-marine.com

Is this nuts?
Am I crazy to even attempt this?
How would you do it?
What clams would you add?
What NPS would you add to the other side?
Has anyone attempted something like this before that would share their experience?

I am thinking a single @Kessil A500x over the clam side for lighting.

Let me know that this is a crazy idea and save me a ton of time and money. Otherwise please share your thoughts and ideas.

Oh. I would suggest getting sand dwelling clams such as derasa and gigas clams those are awesome when grow larger. Then you can top up with a few flame scallops and oysters.

In terms of NPS, a few large sea fans for the backdrop, provide some motion and small details. You can then intersperse some larger polyp NPS such as sun, black sun or rhizo, among the clams.

And don't stop there, feather star, tunicates, sponges will round off a huge diversity, all with more or less similar care needs.

 

[rmorris_14]

The only term I knew was “clam”

Seriously though….. If there is anyone who I think can pull something off, even if it is somewhat of a “crazy” idea, it’s you.

edit: I do also know what a Kessil light is

 

[Sean Clark]

suncorals and Blue berry seafans, maybe some sort of sponges too, I’d maybe go for some squamy’s… maybe golden rimmed or see what kinda neat maxima’s you can find!
The ocean is your oyster!

chili coral is a pretty easy NPS coral. Filter feeder but seems to do well in most systems unlike the holy grails like dendronepthya .

Get a nice black sun coral...I have one and love it! I feed mysis every day or two with tweezers!

Imo NPS and clams are really a good fit to each other. Let me explain.

1. Most of the NPS can thrive on nano- or pico-plankton. These food are good for clams as well.

2. As the food breakdown into inorganic nutrients, clams will devour all those nitrate and phosphates, keeping your water quality up.

3. Both clams and most NPS look the best under neutral light, so will the fishes.

4. From my experience, many NPS do open up even during day time. So no issue with bare branches.


I'd say go for it!

So you are saying there is a chance?

I'll be the first to tell you that you are crazy.

That being said... I'd like to see you try, we are all a little crazy. The concept is awesome!

I am glad someone is trying to restrain me

Oh. I would suggest getting sand dwelling clams such as derasa and gigas clams those are awesome when grow larger. Then you can top up with a few flame scallops and oysters.

In terms of NPS, a few large sea fans for the backdrop, provide some motion and small details. You can then intersperse some larger polyp NPS such as sun, black sun or rhizo , among the clams.

And don't stop there, feather star, tunicates, sponges will round off a huge diversity, all with more or less similar care needs.

These livestock suggestions are looking amazing so far. What about inverts and fish?

 

[J1a]

So you are saying there is a chance?

I would say definately doable. I keep clams side by side with NPS corals with no issues.

These livestock suggestions are looking amazing so far. What about inverts and fish?

You would need some herbivores to keep algae in check. Cerith snails and conches are good. Scavengers such as nassaurius snails are helpful as well. Also, I suggested tunicates to go with the nps theme.

As for fishes, it's really up to your preference. As long as they are clam safe, and can fit into the tank, it should be alright.