Clean up crew

[degbowl]

I am 9 days into a cycle of my 30 gal tank. I have 30 lbs of base rock with 15 lbs of LR. I am starting to get algae growth on the LR and sand bed. I know I will have to wait until the cycle is finished for a clean up crew. I just want to get an idea of what type to get. I have looked online and it seems I would get a much better deal than I would at my LFS. Can anyone give me a suggestion on what and where to get the clean up crew? I have seen saltwaterfish.com and liveaquaria.com with decent packages. I plan on having FOWLR for about a year then maybe get a few corals after the tank is really established. I would probably want a good variety of snails and crabs and shrimp. I could always buy a basic cleanup crew and add different things later. I would want something to clean the algae and something to sift the sand. TIA for your help!
Jim

 

[dskidmore]

I have heard good things about both of those websites. Just make sure that you're considering the shipping cost when comparing online places to your LFS.

Hermit Crabs and snails are the front line for your cleanup crew, they should make up the majority of the package.

You may want to avoid the sand sifting star if you're going to have corals later. The sand sifting star will reduce the number of pods your aquarium produces.

You may also want to avoid cucumbers, some varieties turn toxic when they die or are very frightened. Be sure to find out and research the exact species if you're getting a cucumber.

A Nudibranch can be useful to target a particular pest, but in general one species of Nudibranch will eat only one very specific food. It will eventually starve if you don't find out what it eats and find a regular supply of that. Don't pay extra for one.

Shrimp can be very interesting and useful additions to a cleaner package. If you want a "cleaner" shrimp though, you might want to wait to add him when you have fish. If he gets in the habit of eating fish food, he will spend less time cleaning the fish.

Emerald crabs can be invaluable if you develop bubble algae, they are one of the few critters that control it well.

Conches are interesting, but might get a bit cramped as they grow. A fighting conch will grow to 4". Pacific conches are slightly smaller.

 

[mp3z24]

check out etropicals.com ... they are associated with live aqauaria, and the prebuilt cleanup crew packages ususally have shipping included.

~mike