Urchin question

[rs2208]

My live rock is going to be sitting in a sump for a few months while I rebuild my system and take care of other things. Is there a good urchin that would clean the rock well. I have some bubble algae and a little macro that I would like removed. Basically looking for something that is not normally reef safe that will "strip" the rock. Any suggestions?

Thanks
Randy

 

[The steven liu]

I've witness long spin urchin chow down acro polyps after it's done eating all the hair algae in our store display tank, so yeah that's a starter. Bubble algae you can probably try emerald crab.

 

[smoney]

I have two urchins in my tank. One is a Rainbow Urchin (very similar to the Pincushion Urchin) and the other one is a Purple urchin. Well, anyways I have them in a 50 gallon reef tank and they eat coraline(which they also help spread it, so dont sweat it), macro algae, normal algae, some hair algae(when I had it), and glass algae. I believe urchins would do the job.

 

[The steven liu]

I have a purple urchin and it just stays in the back of the tank behind the rocks all the time so I am really not sure what's he up to but I think he's been chawing down some of the coraline algae on the back glass of my tank.

 

[mejiggery]

get a pencil urchin (Eucidaris tribuloides) they eat through absolutly everything or at least mine does, my long spine does'nt touch anything much other than coraline algea.

 

[JENnKerry]

Blue tuxedo urchin. An absolute algae eating machine. And they stay pretty small.

 

[wiley0717]

Second the pencil, I had two that stripped my rock in a couple days time of everything, down to the bone. Beware as mine fancied my Zenia as well.

 

[Brock Fluharty]

I have a purple urchin, and he eats cyano. It's awesome! usually off the rocks and glass, not the sandbed though.

 

[boomsticks]

I have had the best luck with tuxedo urchins they seem to eat cyano and problem algea (hair and bubble) What also seems to work is those turbo snails though they get quite large