Anyone out there? I REALLY Need help!....

[Mustafa]

Sorry about your algae balls and the macroalgae. Try to remove as much of the hair algae as possible before putting in the new macroalgae. If you ever see part of the macroalgae infested with hair algae, just try to pinch that part off and throw the whole thing away. Under the right conditions the macroalgae will outcompete the hair algae that way.

[Carolina]

Sorry about your algae balls and the macroalgae. Try to remove as much of the hair algae as possible before putting in the new macroalgae. If you ever see part of the macroalgae infested with hair algae, just try to pinch that part off and throw the whole thing away. Under the right conditions the macroalgae will outcompete the hair algae that way.

Will do - the macroalgae in the new tank is definitely contaminated..... Not surprising since it came from the original tank. I am not overly concerned as it's not spreading anywhere - it's well contained within itself. When the new arrives, I will just toss the entire thing out and replace it.

[Mustafa]

Alright..let us know how it goes.

[Carolina]

Just got home from a trip, and loved what I saw on the new tank!
The macro algae had already been replaced, and there were only a few strands of hair algae in the filter, which I removed with a tweezer. I don't want to clean the filter just yet because of all the good bacteria on it.
The coral is completely covered in algae! The rocks are getting covered too. I can see a quite bit of algae on the glass, and biofilm on the substrate.
I ran a quick amonia strip test and there is still amonia in the tank.... I will run the proper tests tomorrow.
I added a dose of sl aqua purify to the tank, the recommended dose to be used during cycling to bring those numbers down to get the tank ready for the shrimp.
I have to say, these snails did a beautiful job helping on the process!
The tank looks nice, clean and ready. Now on to controlling the amonia. I will keep working on it until the shrimpies get here. If push comes to shove, I will do a big water change before adding the shrimp in it, and add bacteria back in the tank. Hopefully that's not necessary.... If algae and biofilm are an indication of the tank being ready, this tank is as ready as it will ever be!

[Mustafa]

Don't worry about water changes. Just leave the tank be and everything will be fine. Trust me.

[Carolina]

Don't worry about water changes. Just leave the tank be and everything will be fine. Trust me.

Pinky promise - following your advice to the "T" - won't do water changes then

I tell you, I have never seen a coral turn from white to green so fast - that tank was beautifully cycled - those snails rock!

[Carolina]

Ok, I tested the water today on the new tank with my API test kit and my digital refractometer.
Amonia, nitrite, nitrate: 0ppm
pH: 7.8
Salinity: 1.014
I think we are ready

[Mustafa]

Yep. You appear to be.

[Carolina]

So I decided to have all my snails adopted out to Petco. I already called them and will take them in tomorrow, most likely. The guy who takes care of the adoption tank was not there today.
I don't want to feed this tank, and these big snails definitely require feeding.
I am on the fence about my Nerite Snails. I think I am taking them in as well. They served their purpose, my tank is clean, but I do have a nice scraper I can use in case I need. At this point I rather have some good algae in my tank and not feed than worry about hungry shrimp.

Anyways..... A Bit bittersweet..... Kind of silly.... But you do get attached to these guys

[Carolina]

I got 30 shrimp from petshrimp today, and 30 more are on the way..... Also got 10 Snails.
Drip acclimated them for a few hours and in the tank they went.
They seem to be doing fine..... Swimming a little erratically, but that's to be expected I guess.

As for the giant Black devil snails..... They are gone
I didn't take them to Petco - I found them a better home - I took them to the Reef Supply Store where I buy my brackish water.... They now have a fresh water tank for snails and are currently acclimating them back to fresh water. They are far more careful and serious about their inverts and fish than petco.
I also took one Zebra Nerite Snail, so now I only have one Nerite snail per tank, giving more chance for algae growth.

I do have a few pipipi snails on the original tank but as far as algae control goes, they are really good for nothing.... So they stay.

From the 10 snails I got today, I placed 5 in each tank. I am sure they will reproduce.....

[Mustafa]

Yep...30 more on the way. I'm glad the snails found a good home. Make sure to post some pictures once everything is set up and settled.

[Carolina]

Yep...30 more on the way. I'm glad the snails found a good home. Make sure to post some pictures once everything is set up and settled.

Will do! The tank looks really good... It's very simple and clean... But that's the look I was going for. The good thing is, there is plenty of algae for the shrimp. They are now pretty calm and settled. Once I get the other 30, I will post a picture. Thanks for everything!

[Carolina]

The 24 hr test - All Shrimp are red and happy now, picking all over the tank, specially on the walls and rocks, where there is plenty of algae.
No casualties, no problems at all.
Success!!

[Mustafa]

Awesome! And you're welcome.