Clean up crew

[CluelessInNY]

Sorry I'm jumping into this thread...newbie here. I hear a lot abotu "cleaning crews". What are they and what do they eat? I have a lot of algae I am trying get rid of as I cycle some live rock in my 20 gallon. Should I buy some snails and stuff to get rid of it all? I've no idea what I'm talking about

 

[roka64]

Most clean up crews won't eat cyano bacteria (which I think is what is in your tank). Generally a good clean up crew will eat fish waste, some algaes, dead critters and regular food. Others will "till" your sand bed like nassis, sand sifting stars and conshes, to name a few.

 

[melosu58]

I`m going to break this off and start a new thread Clueless. I`ll title it Clean up crew.

 

[CluelessInNY]

So more questions:
1) do they count toward the bio-load of my tank?
2) how many would I need for my 20 gallon tank?
3) what kind of critters would you recommend for a novice like myself?

 

[melosu58]

1. No
2. You wont need that many at the beginning since there wont be that much waste in the tank.
3. a few dwarf hermits, narsirrus snails, some astrea snails.

 

[cmor1701d]

You want about 1 snail per gallon, or at least that's the general rule. I prefer not to have any hermit crabs in my tank. They always went after snails for their shells. Mike and others disagree.

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

But don't add any until your ammonia and nitrites drop to zero. Done those water tests yet?

 

[melosu58]

I prefer not to have any hermit crabs in my tank. They always went after snails for their shells. Mike and others disagree.

I`m not disagreeing. Any time crabs are involved anything is possible. I dont ever disagree with someone elses experience. I have found in my experience that the dwarf hermits are less likely. But that is JME.

 

[CluelessInNY]

I checked the chemicals on the night I dropped in the rocks and I got a funny reading on my NitrAtes. That is, I got NO reading. The sample turned pale purple! Which isn't on my testing chart LOL! The pH was 8.2, the nitrItes were 0.0, and the ammonia was .25. Temp 80 and spec gravity fine.
I'll test it again tonight. I won't do anything else for at least two weeks anyway, so no worries. I want to drop in a clownfish when my tank is ready, but not until then. Then add a clean up crew once my tank balances again.

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

I want to drop in a clownfish when my tank is ready, but not until then. Then add a clean up crew once my tank balances again.

Once your tank cycles, adding a single clown shouldn't throw anything out of balance. You shouldn't see a cycle at all - assuming the tank is cycled. If you add more than one fish at a time then you *may* see a little blip of ammonia, but that's it.

Guess I'm just saying I wouldn't hold off too long for a cleanup crew. They were the absolute first thing into my tank. For a 20g tank, I'd probably put 10-15 nassarius snails in for the sandbed, then put in maybe 4-6 astreas and 6-8 trochus. You don't have much rockwork to keep clean, and the tank is not heavily stocked, so I'd stay on the low side for cleanup crew quantity. You can always add more later.

 

[CluelessInNY]

So clean up crew first? That is fine, I just want to do it right. I'm also going to add more rock as budget allows. I am bleeding my wallet slowly here
I plan to add at least 10 more lbs of LR. I might ditch that funny looking hut I put in as a decoration. It looks more like a snail killer than a nice thiing to have.
Why so large a cleaner crew? It seems like 20 lil guys will be all over my tank

 

[cmor1701d]

They'll be on the rock, under the sand, on the glass. It really won't look like there's that many.

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

Yup... you'll never see the nassarius until you put food in the tank. Then they'll pop up out of the sand bed. The others will be on the glass and rock, and when they're on the rock they'll just blend in. Many folks say "ewwww... I hate snails, I don't want them in my tank", but they really are a necessary part of keeping things tidy. Without them, you will pretty much be guaranteed an algae problem.

There's no right or wrong regarding whether or not to put them in first or later. There's just no reason though to put them in later. In my opinion, the sooner the better. If you go too long without them, you'll be playing catch up with the algae.

If you're adding live rock in stages, just remember that unless you add FULLY CURED live rock (or completely dried out base rock), you'll most likely see a mini cycle with each new addition of rock, fueled from the die off from that rock.

 

[CluelessInNY]

I have to say again and again how great you guys are for helping the novice on this board. I can imagine that most of my questions make your eyes roll when you read them! LOL
I'm not turned off to having snails in my tank at all. If they help keep the tank clean, I'll add as many as I need
The rock I'm buying from my LFS is fully cured and went in that way. There is reddish hairy looking stuff starting to grow on them. Should I vacuum that out?
I'll be adding at least another ten lbs. in the next week or so. I'm anxious to add my clownfish, but I also want to be certin he/she gets a fair shot at a happy life in my tank.
Do you guys recommend the freshwater dip method for everything that goes into your tank? Even the cleaning crew?

 

[roka64]

Don't sweat the questions, we all had the same ones at one point.
No, FW dips are not recommended. You want to drip acclimate you new critters. Of course a QT would be the ideal way of watching for health issues, parasites or injuries and can be easily treated. Most folks don't QT inverts, but some do. Personally I drip my inverts about 2 hours, they are less tolerant to swings in water parameters.