Cleaner Pack Help ????

pnavarro170

pnavarro170

S.T.A.R.S PRESIDENT
I had that same problem, my sand was extremely dirty I wish I had taken some pics so you could see how bad it was, but I decided to get a sand sifting star and in about 2 days the sand was pretty clean, and in a week it looked brand new just as it came on the bag.
 
I went with liveaquaria's build your own package. it is free shipping if you buy over $60. Try not getting alot of hermits they tend to kill snails. Nassarius are good for stirring up the sand a bit but they dont get the whole job done. You can also never go wrong with a diamond goby but you got to make sure your rock is seated all the way at the bottom of the tank.
 
k good suggestions, keep em coming. hermits i like, they need either extra food and extra shells to hopefully not kill snails.
 
just go to the LFS, buy a handful of hermits and a diamond goby. You do not want an overstocked cleanup crew. They are producing nitrates. I suggust u just buy what you need for a particular issue. The diamond goby will make your sand look brand new and will keep it that way.
 
ryan_paskadi said:
just go to the LFS, buy a handful of hermits and a diamond goby. You do not want an overstocked cleanup crew. They are producing nitrates. I suggust u just buy what you need for a particular issue. way.
Click to expand...

+1

However, by still purchasing a Diamond Goby, you are still adding another fish to the bioload. The bacteria and beneficial animals will not be able to catch up in the de-nitrification process. The root cause is the fact that copious amount of fish and corals were introduced very rapidly to a very brand new system. The algae and cyano is a sign that the system is not healthy. Thus the inherent adverse affect is to the animals--fish, corals.and bacteria

This is just a suggestion: 1)purchase a few blue leg hermit crabs. 2) reduce feedings. 3) Do not introduce anymore fish or corals for upto 2 months minimum (let your systems bacteria catch up and the fuge to setup). 4) UV light has little to do with NH3, NO2, NO3 or PO4 reduction. 5) Possibly cut down on lighting to few hours a day. These are all suggestions to manage nitrates and phosphates down. We all get caught up in the "looks" of our tanks versus the health of our pets when we start in this hobby. Majority of the times, it is the pets that suffer and eventually parish, and well so do our wallets......
 
i over thought my own simple system, always went with my readings. but with fully cured rock and the best water available it sped things up. i follow my water readings religiously. problems were that damn low flow uv was doing more bad than good, and my refugium has been obsolete untill now. not to mention who knows how hindered my skimmer was with a pump that blew up and was never right untill today. but there are 11 sps frags 8 types. 3 large brains, 13 fish EVERYTHING DOING AWESOME AND GROWING and Thriving. oh and xenia and tyree trees zoas, GSPs and 2 head blasto. so health is not the issue, im trying not to cut down feeding and lighting to much because everyone is doing so great, call it whatever you want, new tank syndrome, diatom outbreak, or just (my tank getting used to so much light with no uv for first time, really to me), this is a bit of algae that i can see turning into red slime (its only on sand on a few parts) so without panicking im gonna take all your suggestions and pick up some cleaners which would be a natural and good addition anyways.
 
Last edited:
i guess what im getting at is yes i am concerned with the look, yes im cutting back on light and feeding and additions obviously. just want additions that will nip the small amount of algae on the sand NOW that will also be natural and benificial in the long run.

so im thinking sand shifting star, some crabs and things.
 
Cyano if not controlled or erradicted, will take over your tank rapidly. It will destroy your corals and soon, your fish. This can happen over night. A protein skimmer is that, removes proteins. That's it. THIS IS A SIGN OF AN UN-HEALTHY TANK. You just can't "see it" or unwilling too.

Well, good luck to you. Obviously, my and those who lent advice is useless and or pointless. I guess we don't know what we are doing collectively to maintain a healthy, symbiotic, and happy ecosystem in our homes. Thanks......
 
Last edited:
ok ok.... no squabling....

pnavarro: Your system is showing signs of distress what ever the cause.

Dheez: our tanks are like our babies and we all have different views on how to raise them. If you attack somones parenting expect a defensive response.

I recommend against a sand shifting star. You never see them, they devastate the biological community of the sand, and once they eat everything they slowly starve.
 
well i responded with stating facts based on feeling a bit attacked, haha, anyways, if you know the facts then whatever the problem is i feel i still could use some natural beneficial cleaner crew help now. i dont know what im arguing about with deehz at all about. were trying to get to the same result. i didnt dissagree with him or shoot his ideas down. anyways, k so no sand shifting star. but definately some crabs? and when i say i am concerned with the look, well yeah i dont want to see algae so i want a natural and beneficial thing to help now.
 
really reading that again, where did i not take suggestions or advice, deehz even advised me on a cleaner crew on my build thread, strange ??? anywho im going to a 5 hr period on lighting starting tomorrow. also switched the vortech to the side the skimmer is on to move things around even more for the night.
 
pnavarro170 said:
this is a bit of algae that i can see turning into red slime
Click to expand...

i hope you typed this out wrong. Algae does not turn into red slime. red slime is a cyanobacteria. two different "animals" all together. some of the same causes, excess nutrients, poor flow blah blah blah....but definately not the same.

some suggestions on clean up. Garf.org has some and reefjanitors has some for very reasonable prices. garf usually sends you a freebee frag too. call them up and talk to that guy and tell him what you want.
 
Cool thanks, their site is terrible but they got all the right stuff and info, ill probably give them a call.
 
yeah i can't figure their site out either, but i have ordered a few things from them. calling is by far the easiest with them.
 
haha will do, i bumped up the flow to constant and the skimmer seems to be working a bit more efficient but its too early to tell. 5hr lighting starts today. and less feeding also for the past week. i did change foods to flake cuz i havent been able to get any rods food lately. i heard that can cause issues somewhere??? im carefull not to stir up the sand to hide whatever is on it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

banthonyb71
need to make an emergency build purchase for own personal health
2
Replies
24
Views
525
dochoot
D
C
DIY Stand for Flatback Hexagon Tank
Replies
2
Views
129
Drummer98
Drummer98
ralph82396
Best way to treat this algae
2
Replies
26
Views
880
David MC Lee
David MC Lee
S
Sick Clown - Need Help
Replies
3
Views
368
HumbleFish
HumbleFish
J
Losing fish possible tank crash
Replies
18
Views
328
leebca
L
Back
Top