Cleaner Crew Advice

[dansemacabre]

Ok, well, I know I'm still over a month away from my cleaner crew, but I wanted to get an idea concerning what to get and how many, etc. Here's my preliminary plan for my 120(/125) FOWLR (to-be reef):

96 Small blue-legged hermits
60 Nassarius snails
48 Cerith snails
48 Astrea(Turbo) snails
5 Peppermint shrimp

Too many? Not enough? Wrong kinds? I can always add more later, but as there won't be a lot of stocking of fish really quickly, I don't want the little guys to go hungry. TIA for all the help!

 

[BBReef]

first off, ditch the blue leggs. i really find them good for nothing except fighting and killing each other and eating snails. not very good algea grazers. i like the red hermits they do a much better job. scarlets dont do well in my tank so i dont know much about them. i also have some zebra hermits that seem to work as well.

when adding a cleaning crew, you really want to look in the long run. when more established, chances are that you wont have enough algea to feed everything you have listed and some will starve to death. Get all the nassarius though, they are worth it.

this is all my oppinion and im sure that others will have different ones. HTH

 

[dansemacabre]

I quickly realized I don't want anything with claws in my tank. Well, no crabs anyways, so yes, scratch the blue-legs. I may toss in a fighting conch or two in their stead. I hear they're excellent for sand-sifting purposes. I wanted the nassarius for detritus removal and sand-sifting, and I figure 48 cerith and 48 turbo will do fine with the algae. Do you think I should only get 24 of each, or maybe drop one to 24 and keep one at 48? (They sell them in lots of 12, so any multiple of 12 works) Thanks for your opinions and advice!

 

[BBReef]

i would drop them both to 24 to start out with, and add more later if needed. the fighting conches are a good idea, especially for deeper sand beds. with 5 pepperment shrimp, you will most likely have to feed them, for they wont have enough natural food to feed them all. they are carniverous and wont feed at all on algae. if you are running a sump, you might want to also throw some ditritus eating snails down there as well.

 

[dansemacabre]

Very good then, and thanks for your quick replies! The sand bed is deep, to me anyways, it's 4-5" and I've still got some live sand coming with my live rock. I figure about 2 of those should be sufficient. How many peps do you think would be sufficient? 2 Would suit me fine.

I do have a 55gal sump, but here's my problem. Due to the way I had to build the compartments, and the shere enormity of my protein skimmer, I have no sand in the sump. After I get my tank cycled and running, I'm going to find a very small pump and setup my 20gal as a fuge, with nothing but some sand, LR, perhaps some caulerpa or mangroves. Anyways, my point is, don't the little buggers need sand? I'm afraid they'll get themselves sucked into the pumps as well :| . I'd much rather plant them in a fuge where they could pretty much stay in the sand and not get sucked up. If I get really bored enough and find the room for it, I'm going to get a huge rubbermaid and make a giant fuge out if it, because, it'd be like a whole other tank, and that's a fun idea to me. Anyways, thanks for all the help, and hopefully this post is readable.

 

[BBReef]

no they dont need sand. i have a bare bottom sump and kep bumble bee snails in there to keep it clean. too many times have i had to clean off the bottom of ditritus and other stuff. the snails do a pretty good job. i also have a bunch of elephant slugs that have bred in there. with a 55 gal you should have some room to put some more rock in there. the rock will supply infauna and pods that will help as well.

 

[dansemacabre]

Sounds good to me. I've shaved off some pvc going to the skimmer, removed some hosing, and stood the pumps up. I've got a nice area for rock now. I can do without lighting, as that's only needed for a fuge, yes? I can toss is some LR, some base with it, the rest of my sand (after I glue in these last 2 compartments) and I should be good to go, yes? Would you recommend nassarius as well, or just bumblebee? Oh yes, thanks for everything!

 

[jvennitti]

I'm in the position to add my clean up crew as well. I have been trying to read the posts related to that topic. This is one has been helpful. Are the numbers scalable from one size tank to another? For example, I have a 45 gal (let's say 1/3 of the 120 in this post). Is it reasonable to use 1/3 of the numbers discussed or is there another rule of thumb?

I recently got 60# of LR, which came with some snails, yet to be identified. I have gotten through my ammonia spikes (ammonia 0, nitrite 0, and nitrate 0) and am trying to get the PH back in line. However, I am starting to get the brown algae bloom on the LR and a fair amount of stuff on the sand. I am also getting some green algae (looks like grass) I am hoping that much of this can be taken care of by a clean up crew.

I know that I also have to upgrade my standard 20W lighting to about 135W or so. I am only planning on the FOWLR, so I was planning on normal fluorescents.

Thanks in advance for the help,

Jeff

 

[BBReef]

I can do without lighting, as that's only needed for a fuge, yes?

A little light isn't a bad idea so you can work in it and such. it doesnt have to be on all the time, but something that is easy to turn on and off. i have a little shop light to grow algae for my tang in mine.

I can toss is some LR, some base with it, the rest of my sand (after I glue in these last 2 compartments) and I should be good to go, yes?

Yup

Would you recommend nassarius as well, or just bumblebee? Oh yes, thanks for everything!

If you are adding sand in there, they couldn't hurt

Is it reasonable to use 1/3 of the numbers discussed or is there another rule of thumb?

sounds like a good start

However, I am starting to get the brown algae bloom on the LR and a fair amount of stuff on the sand. I am also getting some green algae (looks like grass) I am hoping that much of this can be taken care of by a clean up crew.

All new tanks go through this bloom, first diatoms (probably the brown algae you speak of), then other forms start to take. it sounds like your tank is ready to start adding a clean up crew. be careful though. if you intend to add any kind of puffer or trigger to your fowlr, stay clear of inverts, as they will get devoured quickly. instead get a blenny or some other small algae eating fish once your tank is ready. in the mean time you can manually remove the algae from your tank. With only 20w right now i dont think you'll have that big a problem. HTH[/quote]

 

[BBReef]

ooops double posted an admin can delete this one if desired

 

[dansemacabre]

From my understanding, you can roughly use a per-gallon rule for your cleaners, so you could go with 1/3 of the numbers, plus a snail or two.

Search the forums for "hair algae" as that's what the grass-like stuff is. I know a lettuce nudibranch will eat it, but once the hair algae is gone, it is the ONLY thing the nudibranch eats, so it will starve unless you feed it.

135W should be ok for just a 45g FOWLR. Hopefully this helps you some.