CUC Questions

[Guzzetta]

I visited reefcleaners.org as many of you recommended on this site, and gave them the information for my current tank. I was surprised with the large amount that they recommend.

120 dwarf ceriths
30+ Nassarius
9 Chitons
35 Florida Ceriths
32 Blue Leg Hermit
10 Large Nerites

This for my 100 gallon DT and 40 gallon sump/fuge.

Are CUC of this size what people are using? Any advise or recommendations? I currently have 3 Blue Legs Hermits / 3 Nassarius in there now. Tank has been cycling for 10 weeks with stable parameters for about the last 3 week. Current CUC 2 weeks old.

Thanks for all the help

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

IMHO it's somewhat a personal preference thing. The term "cleanup crew" is somewhat misleading, since all these critters do is (somewhat selectively) eat stuff and poop it back out. Granted, they use a small percentage for their own metabolic processes, but it's certainly not critical to have an abundance of these critters in your tank. Chances are, if you have that much stuff to be cleaned up, you've got bigger problems on your hands.

In addition, with the average reef tank of today typically having more/better circulation and better nutrient export than tanks of even 5 or 10 years ago, there's even less of a need - as less "gunk" settles out of the water (and therefore needs processing by critters.)

That said, they do play an important role, though as with many things in reefkeeping, it's hard to recommend a rule of thumb. Personally, I favor rather small cleanup crews. For reference, a 125 gallon reef I had a few years ago had maybe two dozen snails (a few of each of the popular ones), 4 or 5 dwarf blue legged hermits, a brittle star, and a strawberry conch.

As far as commenting on that particular list, it seems a bit hermit-heavy to me. Even the smallest and most timid hermits are opportunistic carnivores, and may eat beneficial life in your tank. And 120 dwarf ceriths is a LOT of snails! Granted they're small, but it's still a fair amount.

What are your goals for your tank? Are you using a substrate? Live rock?

 

[Guzzetta]

Currently have a 4 inch DSB with about 150 lbs LR. I want a softy / LPS tank.

 

[Michael]

thats a ridiculous amount of cuc, even with a 100 gallon tank id suggest as its new no more than 20 assorted at the moment, as the system ages and you introduce more livestock then yes add more cuc, imo, 10 turbos and 10 ceriths for now is easily enough

 

[Guzzetta]

Michael.... Thanks first for all the advise in the past.... so you like turbos, and have had no problems with them? I hear some people try to stay away from turbos...

 

[Michael]

well ime they do well with removing the brown crap (diatoms) off the rocks after the cycle, they are always on the glass as well an seem to constantly be working, yea i like them

 

[Fluid]

Can they flip themselves over? I'm pretty sure I had one and he kept ending up on his back everyday, was a total pain in the butt.

 

[reefworm]

I've noticed that when filling out the questionaire, if you select "aggressive" crew you get a big number like what you got. If you tone it down then they don't recommend as many critters. Of course, you can do what you like with the recommendation and order what you think you truly need. The prices aren't bad at all and they take care in shipping.

 

[Michael]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14824514#post14824514 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Fluid
Can they flip themselves over? I'm pretty sure I had one and he kept ending up on his back everyday, was a total pain in the butt.

ive had 1 or 2 that has flipped over yes, not really a problem, imo they are the best snails available, and thats quite a statement

 

[Guzzetta]

Wow... Best snails available... I'm going for 10 then!!!! Thanks

 

[mounts327]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14824475#post14824475 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Michael
well ime they do well with removing the brown crap (diatoms) off the rocks after the cycle, they are always on the glass as well an seem to constantly be working, yea i like them

Definitely agree with Michael here. Turbo's are great at removing diatoms. They can not turn them selves over, and I have about 12 in my 55 gal and have to turn one or two of them back over once a week. If you have bristle worms, Nassarius snails, or almost any species of crab you will be fine. The reason I say this is because if one gets turned over that you don't see and dies, thee creatures will eat them. Turbo's are work horses. I bought 4 labeled as "Cat's Eye" turbo snails from thatpetplace.com and they seem much hardier and harder worker on top of that compared to regular Mexican turbo's. I definitely recommend these types of turbo's over the others, but like any turbo as opposed to none at all!

 

[mounts327]

Oh and btw I think that is an absurd amount of clean up critters for your system. Save yourself some money and add cleaners as your system grows.

 

[Guzzetta]

So 10 Turbos & 10 Cerith for removing diatoms. Any advise for removing detritus / sand shifting? Nassarius? Crabs? Stars? Cucumber?

 

[IslandCrow]

Turbos are algae eating machines. For my taste, they get too big and tend to knock things (like coral frags) over, but I don't think there's much debate on their effectiveness. If you get the dwarf ceriths, realize they're really small and don't get much bigger, so although I think 120 is a bit much, it would probably take at least 50 to do the work of 10 turbos. As for the Nassarius, if they're the Super Tongans, 30 is way too many (I wouldn't do more than 10). If they're the vibex, that probably isn't ridiculous, but still a bit much.

In short, yeah, that's far too many in my opinion. I like Reefcleaners, but I've yet to see a reef cleaning package from one of these online retailers that I didn't find ridiculously large. I'd cut that suggestion at least in half. Better yet, get about 1/4 of what was suggested, and if you need more, you can get more later. I'm guessing that'll be plenty in a new tank, though.

They did suggest a nice variety, though, and I'm a fan of all of those snails/crabs. I'd throw in a few mithrax crabs as well.

 

[ryansweet]

I have a 150gal that is just about 2 months old. I also went to reefcleaners and was surprised at the amount they said to add. On my own I added 2 turbos(doing FOWLR so I don't have any coral for them to mow down), 15 nassarius, 5 ceriths, and 5 blue leg hermits. The hermits I just wanted they are fun to watch. My "CUC" has done a wonderful job so far. Cleaned up all the diatoms and I drop a little meaty food in for the nass. and hermits to munch on every once in a while, too.