Please help me choose my cuc

[JMorris271]

What I ended up with

1 Trocus
5 nerits
15 Florida cerith
10 dwarf cerith
1 fighting conch
2 blue leg hermit
1 emerald crap
5 pepperment shrimp
1 soft spine urchin

 

[scooter31707]

Be careful with the Emerald Crab, they are known to snap at smaller fish. If you want coralline to grow, then a Urchin is not for you, other than that is looks ok. In my 120, I have 8 hermit crabs(4 Blue/4 Red), 2 Turbo snails, 8 Ceriths, and 6 Nassarius Snails. I started out with a lot, but adventure they started going away after there was no more algae left.

 

[Sk8r]

I'd recommend ditching the whole list until your tank is more mature. Start with a good fistful of cerith snails and another of scarlet and other micro-hermits---with some spare shells, and a few bristleworms if your rock didn't come with them. After your tank has been going a few months, then consider the others. You should also begin checking your alkalinity weekly, keeping it somewhere between 7.9 and 8.3. Higher is ok, somewhat, but lower is not ok.

 

[JMorris271]

I'd recommend ditching the whole list until your tank is more mature. Start with a good fistful of cerith snails and another of scarlet and other micro-hermits---with some spare shells, and a few bristleworms if your rock didn't come with them. After your tank has been going a few months, then consider the others. You should also begin checking your alkalinity weekly, keeping it somewhere between 7.9 and 8.3. Higher is ok, somewhat, but lower is not ok.

I was thinking it would be ok to put cuc in once the tank has cycled. I have string algae starting to fly everywhere and the pix shows the diatoms. I wanted to order bristles but Reef Cleaners did not offer any at the time I placed my order. How can you tell when the tank is mature? I was hoping to start ordering some fish stock anytime now.

 

[JMorris271]

Be careful with the Emerald Crab, they are known to snap at smaller fish. If you want coralline to grow, then a Urchin is not for you, other than that is looks ok. In my 120, I have 8 hermit crabs(4 Blue/4 Red), 2 Turbo snails, 8 Ceriths, and 6 Nassarius Snails. I started out with a lot, but adventure they started going away after there was no more algae left.

Couldn't you have put in some nori?

 

[Sk8r]

They won't eat the long stringy stuff at all. They're not IN there to eat the algae, though they will eat some close-lying algae. They're in there to poo into the sandbed and increase the bacteria to a level it can sustain fish safely. If you want to be rid of the algae, get a GFO reactor, and change the media monthly until the algae leaves.

 

[JMorris271]

That is discouraging. I purchased the cuc based on what Reef Cleaners told me they would eat. So that was a mistake? I do have the BSR GFO reactor but not running.
Why should I want to kill the algae if the cuc eats it and produce the poo? So is GFO the only way to deal with algae? Aren't you just suppose to let the tank run through the aging process on it's own first before adding GFO?
How does one know when a tank is mature?
So sorry for these questions but I really do want to do it the right way.