Clean up Crew...

[Diesel84]

Have a 75 gallon, started 3rd week of cycle. I have brown cover on my live sand, I'm assuming its the diatoms. Levels are .5-1.0 on ammo, 0nitrites, 10 ppm nitrates. And 8.2 for PH. I have seen set ups on line but it seems like a lot of creatures. Any suggestions as I want a goby as well.

 

[mr_X]

Don't add anything till there is no ammonia or nitrite, and you've done a large water change to remove nitrate.
Meanwhile, you really do not need a "clean up crew". diatoms will go away as fast as they came, and nuisance algae comes with excess nutrients. keep your feeding reasonable and your bio load reasonable as well, and you'll be fine. Add crabs, snails, and shrimp as you want then, and not as you need them. Remember, everything you add will need to be fed.

 

[Diesel84]

Can you mix and match crab breeds? Or use just one? Was thinking about pom poms, emeralds, and maybe some shrimp. Not sure about snails, when I had freshwater they mated like crazy and had a hard time keeping the population down. Any recommendations?

 

[mr_X]

You aren't going to see the snails mating so much in salt water. You'll see eggs from time to time, but they get devoured before they reach maturity.

Yes, you can mix crabs, but anything with claws is a potential predator. I have sally light foot crabs in my tank, along with a coral banded shrimp. Every week one has a claw missing. One week the CB shrimp loses, the next week the SLF loses...

 

[Diesel84]

OK. I just don't want a tank full of snails again.