I want to improve on my cleaning crew!

[Royalty]

I noticed some unwanted algae and I want to get a better clean up crew here's what I have now!

Old Cleaning crew:
1 skunk Cleaner shrimp
3 Turbo snails
10 mini asterina starfish
3 mini brittle starfish
1 Brown brittle starfish
1 Sand swifting starfish
2 Emerald
8 Nasser snails
8 Star snails
12 Blue-legged dwarf hermits
1 Blue knuckle hermit
12 Red legged dwarf hermits
1 Purple/White pincushion Urchin

I want to improve this selection greatly but I don't know how much should I add or take out for a 72 bowfront? Also I plan on adding a few others within the next two months Like...

New members to the invert crew:
4 Pom Pom crabs
12 Peppermint shrimps (for my aptasia problem I hope there hungry!)
1 Maxima Clam
6 Sexy shrimp
1 Blue Scallop
1 Featherduster worm
20+ Mini brittle stars (I love these guys and my kids do to)
1 Boxing shrimp
4 Clown anemone shrimp
2 Fire cleaner shrimp
3 Porcelain crabs
1 Anemone crab
2 Emerald crabs
1 Spider decorator crab (maybe they tend to get big 8' plus my coral aren't going to be happy)

In case your wondering I have two other tanks 46 bow 40 frag tank for the extra's lol

P.S please use this information to give me some in sight on how you would build a cleaning crew for a tank my size's keep in I didn't add my Feathers, Koko worm, Scallop, and Amphipods I don't know if they count as a cleaning crew?

 

[BiGGiePauls33]

Why are you adding so many different species of shrimp, crabs, and snails. I've always had really good luck with nassarius snails, maybe some ceriths and margherita snails. Blue legs are good for getting in the crevices, and red legs are pretty good as well. I'd prefer to go with only snails, as hermits can be quite the hunter of the snails. Try CRA in seekonk, Jeremy or Ruth can guide you in the right direction! Good Luck

 

[Royalty]

Here's the algae problem.

 

[JohnK]

That's a cyano problem.

IME siphioning it out, and focusing on nutrient export are more effective than relying on herbivores to control cyano. I guess the stuff doesn't taste very good

 

[BiGGiePauls33]

I'd also skip these items: Boxing Shrimp; Clown Shrimp; Scallop as they don't last very long; Porcelain Crab; Anemone Crab; Sexy Shrimp, I believe these feed off of Starfish; Decorator; and the spider Decorator Crab. Your best bet is to stick with a couple inverts to take care or your algae outbreak.

 

[Royalty]

Why are you adding so many different species of shrimp, crabs, and snails. I've always had really good luck with nassarius snails, maybe some ceriths and margherita snails. Blue legs are good for getting in the crevices, and red legs are pretty good as well. I'd prefer to go with only snails, as hermits can be quite the hunter of the snails. Try CRA in seekonk, Jeremy or Ruth can guide you in the right direction! Good Luck

well thats a great question but like I've mention in the post not all new inverts are going into my 72 bow there's only three maybe four critters the rest with be mixed throught my other tanks. My question was if in fact the current clean up crew that I now have are good enough for my 72 bowfront DT? I wanted to know weather or not I should add something or remove and if I set up my clean up crew with the right critters? if notice the picture below show's my current problem I've been leaving my 6 bulb T-5 on for aliitle bit more then 7 hrs during the moring throw the after noon the I switch on my ATI blue plus at night why'll I'm home. I'm trying to have a dawn/day/night cycle at night my leds come on. which has start the algea growth!

 

[Royalty]

That's a cyano problem.

IME siphioning it out, and focusing on nutrient export are more effective than relying on herbivores to control cyano. I guess the stuff doesn't taste very good

lol I guess not ! I've tried scraping it off but it's building up on my front and side pannels. I removed some two day ago and it just keep's coming back I'm going to look into what cyano is I've been confusing this for something else. O and I tried the siphioning it just spreads it around like butter.

 

[BiGGiePauls33]

What size tubing/hose are you using to siphon it out? Cyanobacteria happens when there are too many nutrients and not enough flow. Don't feed the tank as heavily as you do. Try cutting back on your lighting a couple of hours a day, increase the flow in the tank and siphon, siphon, siphon until it disappears

 

[Royalty]

I'd also skip these items: Boxing Shrimp; Clown Shrimp; Scallop as they don't last very long; Porcelain Crab; Anemone Crab; Sexy Shrimp, I believe these feed off of Starfish; Decorator; and the spider Decorator Crab. Your best bet is to stick with a couple inverts to take care or your algae outbreak.

I'll have to look into the feed off of my starfish thing? but I wanted the boxing crab to control my brittle worms growth rates I'm seeing more every week they're getting big. I have a scallop already I just wanted to see how it will do in my system I'm crossing my figure's that nothing bad happends and It live to see another day but It been great in my tank thus far! and the porcelain/anemone crab/sexy shrimp are for my 46 bow I'm going to try and get another bta I didn't have the right light before but now I got a 250 watt MH with 2 pc actinic I'm excited to get this tank cycling I wont have to worry about the starfish issue's because mini asterina starfish reproduce like rabbits no big there.

 

[Royalty]

What size tubing/hose are you using to siphon it out? Cyanobacteria happens when there are too many nutrients and not enough flow. Don't feed the tank as heavily as you do. Try cutting back on your lighting a couple of hours a day, increase the flow in the tank and siphon, siphon, siphon until it disappears

Will do! the siphon is 3/8 and I've been posting for some k3's and k4's but either there sold or no one has one to sell. I currently have a Maxxi jet 1200 MOD and a no name pump it's about 1100. not sure but it does have just about the same flow as my Maxxi Jet there facing opposites to cause a mini vortex in the middle of the DT. I feed once every other day usually mid-day but with a mix of mis/brim/coral food all at once and I damaged my coralife timer/surge protector so I've been switching the lights one myself

 

[orionduck]

isn't that alot of cleaning crew for that size tank? maybe I should buy tons of cleaning crew.. i don't have much .. like 10 snail ..

 

[Royalty]

isn't that alot of cleaning crew for that size tank? maybe I should buy tons of cleaning crew.. i don't have much .. like 10 snail ..

That's why I started this post I wanted to know if I have the right amount of cleaning crew or should I start thinking about relocating some of my crew I want my DT to be as balanced as possible so these little guy's can maintain my tank along with regular maintenance. I'm just trying to find ways to allow my DT to run on auto pilot if I ever deiced to take a vacation for a couple day's. At the moment I'm having this cyano problem. And I want to resolve it a.s.a.p. I have quite a bit of fish already there all mostly 2' the biggest fish will probably be 6'' which I've conceder so I notice there's more fishy waste throughout the tank, And my clean up crew just isn't cutting it for me plus I was told that inverts don't really produce much waste
so It wouldn't matter how many I add to my system just as long as it's balanced out

My DT has the fallowing Livestock:
130 Lbs. of live rock
80 lbs. of live sand
2 Blue-Green chromis
2 Fire Goby
2 Reg Clowns
2 Banggai Cardinal
1 Mandarin
1 Scooter blenny
1 Six line wrasse
1 Four strip damsel

 

[BiGGiePauls33]

What's your parameters and hopefully your using RO/Di for water changes?

 

[Royalty]

What's your parameters and hopefully your using RO/Di for water changes?

I did a 10% water change using Reef Crystals I always get high Cal readings with this stuff I change the water on Friday and I just tested my DT here's what I got.

KH 8 or 125.3 ppm
Phosphate 2.0
Nitrate 10
Cal 620 a bit high
Sal 1.027

I don't have a Mag test kit unfortunately, And I gave away my RO/DI I was going to replace it with a 6 stage system but I'm low on funds for new equipment. So I'm suck using Tap water and prime to try and remove the metals and stuff from tap. I know I gotta get a RO/DI I'm working on it.

 

[7IHd]

I'm hoping you just mistyped the pH haha. Otherwise you're going to just find the skeletons of your animals.

 

[Royalty]

O I didn't even noticed that I mistyped that lol

 

[7IHd]

Yeah, that could get pretty dicey with a pH around that of stomach acid, haha.

 

[BiGGiePauls33]

Try using distilled water if you can't use ro/di. I'm sure there's someone on here in your area that could hook you up with some ro/di. Try feeding less, get some timers for your lights. Are you skimming? If so, Try skimming a little wet! Again, if there isn't anyone on here selling powerheads, you can always go support the sponsors of this club. Definately, try to increase your flow, and stop using tap water.

 

[Royalty]

I would still like to no weather I'm over doing the clean up crew or not?

 

[mnavick]

You've seen my new tank, there's maybe 15 hermits, 3 Astrea, 1 Mexican, 1 Urchin, 2 Cucumbers and 3 Brittle Starfish for a 150g.
Like others have mentioned more flow in the problem areas and most importantly RODI RODI RODI did I mention RODI water. If you have some large conatiners I have no problems making you some until you can buy a unit. IMO the 1st thing any reefer should buy as soon as the tank is bought. I made this mistake when I started and had all the common problems. Since RODI, bi-weekly water changes, 8hr light cycle, feed every other day, skim, proper flow, decent sump/fuge along with a few other researched modern practices have been issue free for over 2yrs (now I'm jinxed,lol).
Any questions you have my number, more than happy to shoot the sh^t about tanks.