Am I ready for shrimp/snails yet?

[sea15823]

Hello all and happy Thanksgiving. More time has gone by with my little 1 gallon tank. The macroalgae I ordered from here has definitely become lighter green even though I have a lamp on the tank 12 hours a day. I'm also looking for green algae growing but seem to see these tiny microscopic spores of black, especially on the crushed coral I put in the tank over a month ago. I'm afraid to order living animals because I already tried the snails and they all died. What do I do?

[Varanus]

Have you tested the water? If there isn't a dangerous amount of ammonia I would try the snails again. It may have just been bad luck last time.

[Mustafa]

If your light is very strong the macroalgae become very light green. Is there any surface algae growth on the sides of the tank and the substrate/decoration?