So i was installing a water filtration unit for a ice machine little while ago and i got to thinking...why not put some sort of live filter feeder in your sump. specifically i was thinking about putting freshwater clams directly in a filter sock. i read that if your tank is too clean the clams starve to death which leads to high ammonia spikes and stinky water. plus i heard they can be difficult to find in substrate. which made me think what better place to put them then directly in a filter sock. i think it could boost the life of your filter sock and easy to keep tabs on the clams. has any one done this?
freshwater clams in filter sock/sump prefilter
- Thread starter kingofthejungle
- Start date
I was thinking about buying some for my 55 gallon tank? Advice would be helpful or might just google it lol
What benefit are you hoping for from the clams? I don't think they do anything that could be beneficial in an aquarium but I could be mistaken.
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Get a grow light and add pothos to your sump. Will probably be more beneficial than clams at removing waste. Or water lettuce?
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from what i have read fw clams reduce nitrites and improve overall water clarity especially by removing deritus and other floating debris that they filter. i do agree that pothos in the sump is a plus. im planning on putting a few clams and some pothos in my sump. i think this setup would be most beneficial for a heavily stocked tank or a stock of messy fish.
clam waste breaks down to create ammonia and should have no effect on the nitrogen cycle except adding to the bioload. I'd like to know how they reduce nitrates if they do?
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Not sure how good an idea this is?
Normally, i've heard people who are able to keep them long term tend to be people with a lot of green water where the clams can filter feed from, and having had freshwater clams in my tank in the past, i can say its not always the best of ideas, only because if they die, you don't always know it, and when you come to pick them out of your tank (in your case sump) they can stink like no bodies business...
I remember the one time it happened to me, my living room stank for a good few hours of dead shellfish which wasn't very pleasant...
Normally, i've heard people who are able to keep them long term tend to be people with a lot of green water where the clams can filter feed from, and having had freshwater clams in my tank in the past, i can say its not always the best of ideas, only because if they die, you don't always know it, and when you come to pick them out of your tank (in your case sump) they can stink like no bodies business...
I remember the one time it happened to me, my living room stank for a good few hours of dead shellfish which wasn't very pleasant...
Yeah I read that about the smell when they die. But with them being in filter socks it should be fairly easy to check on them. Mostly thinking it would increase the effectiveness/life of the socks. I don't have any water parameter issues but if they do reduce nitrites that definitely a plus.
^ well i guess you could try it... But maybe start with just a couple to see how they go first?
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