24x24x24 cube clean up crew
- Thread starter matmos
- Start date
cloak
New member
For that size tank you might want to go with 5-7 Banded Trochus snails and maybe a couple Scarlet Hermit crabs. Use something like a Mag-Float to clean the glass and either stir up or vacuum your sand bed on a regular basis. Hopefully if everything goes right you won't have to add any more janitors to the tank later on. GL.
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=497+526+564&pcatid=564
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=497+501+620&pcatid=620
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=497+526+564&pcatid=564
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=497+501+620&pcatid=620
Dogshowgrl
New member
Only buy things that will help solve problems you currently have as you tank matures, otherwise you are buying things you have to feed. Most things have a specialized diet, but as a base crew I would start with trocus x4 ( these guys do well with snail eating wrasses due to schell shape), no nerites due to the rimless tank, a chiton if you can find one once you have some deep algae in the rocks. Nassarius x4 and a gold stripe or pink brittle star, both after you start feeding meaty foods. Mini Caribbean conchs are awesome and often over looked, I love their personalities!!! Ooo and a chestnut cowrie is great for algae too!! For the crevice work I like the Florida cerith snail. I avoid hermit because even the little ones I lose snails too, so I learned to live without them. I do work at a LFS that cultures lots of things and keeps nothing "normal," so I do have the advantage. But your CUC should be something you love not just workers. If you don't love it, don't add it! Shrimp are nice, but not hard working like a ton of other things, I love mine but I don't consider them CUC, just friends of my tank. Bubble bee snails are nice detritus eaters too.
Dogshowgrl
New member
Oh and I forgot, WELCOME!!!! sorry about they other post i was typing on my phone and I didn't realize how long it was. But welcome welcome welcome!!!!
Dogshowgrl
New member
Oh and a Tunze scrapper you can get into the top edge of the sandbed without scratching your glass unlike the magfloat. Ooo and keyhole limpets are great too!!! Start small.
moatdaddy
New member
I started reef keeping back when i was 13 in 1996. Back then i kept a small healthy tank, siphoned the sand and was very successful. In the next tank builds, i had read in some of the books and websites that a large clean up crew was necessary. I stuck ardently to the professionals opinions and continued to buy more snails and hermits as they died.
Funny thing was they never solved my problems. Sure i would have a bit of my glass cleaned, but i still had to scrape it. Sure they ate a bit of algae but they didn't lower my nitrates or phosphates. They actually had the opposite effect.
Right now i am going back to how I did it back than in 1996, with NO clean up crew. I have a 400g system and not having any snails, hermits, or shrimp does not bother me one bit. It actually in my opinion eliminates a variable in the ecosystem. I did try some cheap bay shrimp right after cycle but they hated the temp, 80 was too high.
My simple thought is, 'If a snail eats algae or detritus, then poos a few hours later, have i really solved anything?'
Sure some of unwanted nutrients will be consumed and removed from the system, IME i have found these darn things die too often to be worth the money, hassle, or perceived benefits.
Funny thing was they never solved my problems. Sure i would have a bit of my glass cleaned, but i still had to scrape it. Sure they ate a bit of algae but they didn't lower my nitrates or phosphates. They actually had the opposite effect.
Right now i am going back to how I did it back than in 1996, with NO clean up crew. I have a 400g system and not having any snails, hermits, or shrimp does not bother me one bit. It actually in my opinion eliminates a variable in the ecosystem. I did try some cheap bay shrimp right after cycle but they hated the temp, 80 was too high.
My simple thought is, 'If a snail eats algae or detritus, then poos a few hours later, have i really solved anything?'
Sure some of unwanted nutrients will be consumed and removed from the system, IME i have found these darn things die too often to be worth the money, hassle, or perceived benefits.
juniorrocketdad
New member
Just don't get an emerald crab, you will thank me later
borderreef
New member
I agree. Back in the early 90's (I won't say how old I was), there were no rules about clean up crews. I did not use them in my first tank, or my second for that matter. I did use them in my 135g, but I was not seeing any results so I did not pay attention to them. I'm now running my 40b with only a conch, and she is more like my fish than a cleaner. I'm also not running gfo or gac, or a skimmer, but that's another story.
