Lights

[Rmckoy]

It's a 70 gal
Funny you ask .
At the LFS they suggested 1 crab , snail or shrimp per gallon .
The water changes were not working as good .
My nitrates are only at 15 ppm but think that is still too high when 0 is the suggested level .
Are all my parameters ok as I posted in previous message ?

 

[Rmckoy]

Why do you think you need to dose vinegar? I would just get on a weekly water change regimen and enjoy your tank.
What algae is growing already? Brown diatoms? This is a natural occurrence and will come and go, goby or not.
You know, with just a FOWLR, you don't need to run the lights much. Fish only need to see to eat. You can limit the algae growth by limiting the light it's getting.

If you want to add 3 fish, I would add the 2 clowns, and then wait a couple weeks on the third fish. As far as the crabs, you can add them all at once. They don't bring much of a bio load.
Are you sure you have enough food to sustain 20 crabs? What size tank is this?

I also, would suggest waiting on the anemone for a while.

Taken Monday

 

[Rmckoy]

Why do you think you need to dose vinegar? I would just get on a weekly water change regimen and enjoy your tank.
What algae is growing already? Brown diatoms? This is a natural occurrence and will come and go, goby or not.
You know, with just a FOWLR, you don't need to run the lights much. Fish only need to see to eat. You can limit the algae growth by limiting the light it's getting.

If you want to add 3 fish, I would add the 2 clowns, and then wait a couple weeks on the third fish. As far as the crabs, you can add them all at once. They don't bring much of a bio load.
Are you sure you have enough food to sustain 20 crabs? What size tank is this?

I also, would suggest waiting on the anemone for a while.

With lights on

 

[mr_X]

You definitely don't need 70 crabs...lol. You definitely don't have enough food for them. They will probably kill each other and/or starve to death.
15ppm isn't terrible. I would start a weekly water change regimen, feed reasonably, and enjoy your tank.

 

[Rmckoy]

You definitely don't need 70 crabs...lol. You definitely don't have enough food for them. They will probably kill each other and/or starve to death.
15ppm isn't terrible. I would start a weekly water change regimen, feed reasonably, and enjoy your tank.

When you say enough food what do they eat ?
I did notice them fighting and found 1 of the 10 dead .
How many combined pieces of a CUC do you recommend ?
How much water is acceptable to change every week without harming anything ?

 

[SaltwaterNuB]

I'd change about 15g every 7 days or so. You could have some red and blue legged together. If throw in a fighting conch, maybe a handful of snail. I also like sea urchins.

 

[mr_X]

You can change as much water as you want without hurting anything, providing it's the same temp and ph as the water coming out.
20% a week would be plenty IMO.
Crabs are omnivores. They will eat some detritus, uneaten food, algae, possibly some fish poop, BUT, they will always choose meaty foods over the others. anything with claws is a potential predator.
I don't recommend any CUC actually. I tell people that if they like snails and crabs then add a few for looks/diversity, but don't count on them to keep your tank clean. No crab or snail will do the job better than water changes and algae scrapers.
They are not a substitute for good husbandry.

Most people add too many crabs and snails and they kill each other and starve to death. This is why those online stores that sell "clean up crews" say you need to recharge your clean up crew from time to time.

 

[Rmckoy]

I have decided to stick with the 10 crabs I have .
They are already fighting and 2 died .
I bought a sand sifting goby and IMO the best fish and worker when it comes to cleaning everything .
He doesn't clean the glass or the rocks but the crabs seam to be doing a good job with the rocks and I don't mind cleaning the glass .