Clean up crew

[skozzy]

At what time frame of a newly setup tank should I be looking at adding a
clean up crew ?

Also, what is a good starting creature to buy ?

Can someone give me a list of creatures to add to make a decent or complete
cleanup crew. ? From that I can start searching the local fish shops and
perhaps start placing orders.

My tank is now 3 1/2 months old but with rocks only being added 3 weeks ago
and some fish about 2 weeks ago, the tank is 4 foot high, 2 foot high and 18
inchs wide. Water circulation is around 10,000 litres an hour, 2 foot sump,
chiller set to 25deg'C, and so far 'perfect' water parameters (touch wood).

The glass on the tank is on a daily basis being covered with a brown alge
and I also noticed on some of the scratches on the glass some very fine
green alge is growing, one of the rocks has a fine green alge growing, all
the powerheads are being covered with brown alge quite fast. Corals are
growing slowly and getting thicker, some new things are showing themselves
once in a while, and new small plants or something are poping up all over
the place, tube worms are apearing all the time. In all it seem healthy.

I was told by someone to wait for quite a while before adding crustations
incase there is a big change in the tanks parameters in the first 6 months.
I have 1 Dragonet in the tank, but he seems more interested in sucking up
the substrate and spitting it out then scanning the rocks. There is one
snail which is moving around quite quickly, but him on his own can't keep up
with the alge growing on the glass. There is also two small "maybe hermit
crabs" getting around, but they are no biggers then your small fingernail.

I am eager to add more stuff to the tank, but also don't want to push the
tanks filter system either.

-Andrew

[Marc Levenson]

Andrew, get a clean up crew in there quickly, before it gets out of hand. That
advice about waiting 6 months is a *big* mistake.

Before you add any livestock, the clean up crew goes in. (When you buy a new
house, they build it and just before you move it the clean the heck out of it.
Can you imagine moving in while everything is covered with sheetrock dust or
worse, only to be told to wait 6 months and then they'll come clean everything
including the windows?! No way.)

From your measurements, it sounds like you have a 90 gallon tank. Get at least
25 snails. Astrea, Turbo, Margarita... getting a mix is just fine. It adds
diversity and each one likes certain things to eat.

You need at least 25 nassarius snails to keep your sand clean. Two Fighting
Conchs would be good the sand.

If you want to add a cucumber to the tank, *make sure* it can't get sucked up
into a powerhead.

25 hermit crabs would be good as well to clean up the bigger stuff. Emerald
crabs will eat valonia (bubble algae).

In the U.S. we have big reef packages that you can buy that include a ton of
stuff for $175, and smaller packages for less.

Marc


skozzy wrote:

> At what time frame of a newly setup tank should I be looking at adding a
> clean up crew ?
>
> Also, what is a good starting creature to buy ?
>
> Can someone give me a list of creatures to add to make a decent or complete
> cleanup crew. ? From that I can start searching the local fish shops and
> perhaps start placing orders.
>
> My tank is now 3 1/2 months old but with rocks only being added 3 weeks ago
> and some fish about 2 weeks ago, the tank is 4 foot high, 2 foot high and 18
> inchs wide. Water circulation is around 10,000 litres an hour, 2 foot sump,
> chiller set to 25deg'C, and so far 'perfect' water parameters (touch wood).
>
> The glass on the tank is on a daily basis being covered with a brown alge
> and I also noticed on some of the scratches on the glass some very fine
> green alge is growing, one of the rocks has a fine green alge growing, all
> the powerheads are being covered with brown alge quite fast. Corals are
> growing slowly and getting thicker, some new things are showing themselves
> once in a while, and new small plants or something are poping up all over
> the place, tube worms are apearing all the time. In all it seem healthy.
>
> I was told by someone to wait for quite a while before adding crustations
> incase there is a big change in the tanks parameters in the first 6 months.
> I have 1 Dragonet in the tank, but he seems more interested in sucking up
> the substrate and spitting it out then scanning the rocks. There is one
> snail which is moving around quite quickly, but him on his own can't keep up
> with the alge growing on the glass. There is also two small "maybe hermit
> crabs" getting around, but they are no biggers then your small fingernail.
>
> I am eager to add more stuff to the tank, but also don't want to push the
> tanks filter system either.
>
> -Andrew

--
Personal Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/oanda/index.html
Business Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com
Marine Hobbyist: http://www.melevsreef.com

[skozzy]

Wow, thats a lot of stuff, but thanks, i will print that reply out and take
it with me when I go shopping and see what I can get and what I can afford..

If I can get most of these guys will adding them an bulk affect the water
quality or is it mostly safe to just add them without a regular checkup on
the water ?


"Marc Levenson" > wrote in message
...
> Andrew, get a clean up crew in there quickly, before it gets out of hand.
That
> advice about waiting 6 months is a *big* mistake.
>
> Before you add any livestock, the clean up crew goes in. (When you buy a
new
> house, they build it and just before you move it the clean the heck out of
it.
> Can you imagine moving in while everything is covered with sheetrock dust
or
> worse, only to be told to wait 6 months and then they'll come clean
everything
> including the windows?! No way.)
>
> From your measurements, it sounds like you have a 90 gallon tank. Get at
least
> 25 snails. Astrea, Turbo, Margarita... getting a mix is just fine. It
adds
> diversity and each one likes certain things to eat.
>
> You need at least 25 nassarius snails to keep your sand clean. Two
Fighting
> Conchs would be good the sand.
>
> If you want to add a cucumber to the tank, *make sure* it can't get sucked
up
> into a powerhead.
>
> 25 hermit crabs would be good as well to clean up the bigger stuff.
Emerald
> crabs will eat valonia (bubble algae).
>
> In the U.S. we have big reef packages that you can buy that include a ton
of
> stuff for $175, and smaller packages for less.
>
> Marc
>
>
> skozzy wrote:
>
> > At what time frame of a newly setup tank should I be looking at adding a
> > clean up crew ?
> >
> > Also, what is a good starting creature to buy ?
> >
> > Can someone give me a list of creatures to add to make a decent or
complete
> > cleanup crew. ? From that I can start searching the local fish shops and
> > perhaps start placing orders.
> >
> > My tank is now 3 1/2 months old but with rocks only being added 3 weeks
ago
> > and some fish about 2 weeks ago, the tank is 4 foot high, 2 foot high
and 18
> > inchs wide. Water circulation is around 10,000 litres an hour, 2 foot
sump,
> > chiller set to 25deg'C, and so far 'perfect' water parameters (touch
wood).
> >
> > The glass on the tank is on a daily basis being covered with a brown
alge
> > and I also noticed on some of the scratches on the glass some very fine
> > green alge is growing, one of the rocks has a fine green alge growing,
all
> > the powerheads are being covered with brown alge quite fast. Corals are
> > growing slowly and getting thicker, some new things are showing
themselves
> > once in a while, and new small plants or something are poping up all
over
> > the place, tube worms are apearing all the time. In all it seem healthy.
> >
> > I was told by someone to wait for quite a while before adding
crustations
> > incase there is a big change in the tanks parameters in the first 6
months.
> > I have 1 Dragonet in the tank, but he seems more interested in sucking
up
> > the substrate and spitting it out then scanning the rocks. There is one
> > snail which is moving around quite quickly, but him on his own can't
keep up
> > with the alge growing on the glass. There is also two small "maybe
hermit
> > crabs" getting around, but they are no biggers then your small
fingernail.
> >
> > I am eager to add more stuff to the tank, but also don't want to push
the
> > tanks filter system either.
> >
> > -Andrew
>
> --
> Personal Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/oanda/index.html
> Business Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com
> Marine Hobbyist: http://www.melevsreef.com
>
>

[Marc Levenson]

It is a lot of stuff, but you have a big tank to clean.

I've read that you need one snail per gallon, but I think that is nuts. I've
got about 12 snails in my 29g, and probably at least that many in my 55g.

These little inverst won't affect your bio-load much, because they are simply
consuming the detritus and natural buildup of algae you don't want. You won't
have to feed these kritters.

Marc


skozzy wrote:

> Wow, thats a lot of stuff, but thanks, i will print that reply out and take
> it with me when I go shopping and see what I can get and what I can afford..
>
> If I can get most of these guys will adding them an bulk affect the water
> quality or is it mostly safe to just add them without a regular checkup on
> the water ?
>
> "Marc Levenson" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Andrew, get a clean up crew in there quickly, before it gets out of hand.
> That
> > advice about waiting 6 months is a *big* mistake.
> >
> > Before you add any livestock, the clean up crew goes in. (When you buy a
> new
> > house, they build it and just before you move it the clean the heck out of
> it.
> > Can you imagine moving in while everything is covered with sheetrock dust
> or
> > worse, only to be told to wait 6 months and then they'll come clean
> everything
> > including the windows?! No way.)
> >
> > From your measurements, it sounds like you have a 90 gallon tank. Get at
> least
> > 25 snails. Astrea, Turbo, Margarita... getting a mix is just fine. It
> adds
> > diversity and each one likes certain things to eat.
> >
> > You need at least 25 nassarius snails to keep your sand clean. Two
> Fighting
> > Conchs would be good the sand.
> >
> > If you want to add a cucumber to the tank, *make sure* it can't get sucked
> up
> > into a powerhead.
> >
> > 25 hermit crabs would be good as well to clean up the bigger stuff.
> Emerald
> > crabs will eat valonia (bubble algae).
> >
> > In the U.S. we have big reef packages that you can buy that include a ton
> of
> > stuff for $175, and smaller packages for less.
> >
> > Marc
> >
> >
> > skozzy wrote:
> >
> > > At what time frame of a newly setup tank should I be looking at adding a
> > > clean up crew ?
> > >
> > > Also, what is a good starting creature to buy ?
> > >
> > > Can someone give me a list of creatures to add to make a decent or
> complete
> > > cleanup crew. ? From that I can start searching the local fish shops and
> > > perhaps start placing orders.
> > >
> > > My tank is now 3 1/2 months old but with rocks only being added 3 weeks
> ago
> > > and some fish about 2 weeks ago, the tank is 4 foot high, 2 foot high
> and 18
> > > inchs wide. Water circulation is around 10,000 litres an hour, 2 foot
> sump,
> > > chiller set to 25deg'C, and so far 'perfect' water parameters (touch
> wood).
> > >
> > > The glass on the tank is on a daily basis being covered with a brown
> alge
> > > and I also noticed on some of the scratches on the glass some very fine
> > > green alge is growing, one of the rocks has a fine green alge growing,
> all
> > > the powerheads are being covered with brown alge quite fast. Corals are
> > > growing slowly and getting thicker, some new things are showing
> themselves
> > > once in a while, and new small plants or something are poping up all
> over
> > > the place, tube worms are apearing all the time. In all it seem healthy.
> > >
> > > I was told by someone to wait for quite a while before adding
> crustations
> > > incase there is a big change in the tanks parameters in the first 6
> months.
> > > I have 1 Dragonet in the tank, but he seems more interested in sucking
> up
> > > the substrate and spitting it out then scanning the rocks. There is one
> > > snail which is moving around quite quickly, but him on his own can't
> keep up
> > > with the alge growing on the glass. There is also two small "maybe
> hermit
> > > crabs" getting around, but they are no biggers then your small
> fingernail.
> > >
> > > I am eager to add more stuff to the tank, but also don't want to push
> the
> > > tanks filter system either.
> > >
> > > -Andrew
> >
> > --
> > Personal Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/oanda/index.html
> > Business Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com
> > Marine Hobbyist: http://www.melevsreef.com
> >
> >

--
Personal Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/oanda/index.html
Business Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com
Marine Hobbyist: http://www.melevsreef.com

[skozzy]

Sounds good to me.. During the week I will be on the search.


"Marc Levenson" > wrote in message
...
> It is a lot of stuff, but you have a big tank to clean.
>
> I've read that you need one snail per gallon, but I think that is nuts.
I've
> got about 12 snails in my 29g, and probably at least that many in my 55g.
>
> These little inverst won't affect your bio-load much, because they are
simply
> consuming the detritus and natural buildup of algae you don't want. You
won't
> have to feed these kritters.
>
> Marc
>
>
> skozzy wrote:
>
> > Wow, thats a lot of stuff, but thanks, i will print that reply out and
take
> > it with me when I go shopping and see what I can get and what I can
afford..
> >
> > If I can get most of these guys will adding them an bulk affect the
water
> > quality or is it mostly safe to just add them without a regular checkup
on
> > the water ?
> >
> > "Marc Levenson" > wrote in message
> > ...
> > > Andrew, get a clean up crew in there quickly, before it gets out of
hand.
> > That
> > > advice about waiting 6 months is a *big* mistake.
> > >
> > > Before you add any livestock, the clean up crew goes in. (When you
buy a
> > new
> > > house, they build it and just before you move it the clean the heck
out of
> > it.
> > > Can you imagine moving in while everything is covered with sheetrock
dust
> > or
> > > worse, only to be told to wait 6 months and then they'll come clean
> > everything
> > > including the windows?! No way.)
> > >
> > > From your measurements, it sounds like you have a 90 gallon tank. Get
at
> > least
> > > 25 snails. Astrea, Turbo, Margarita... getting a mix is just fine.
It
> > adds
> > > diversity and each one likes certain things to eat.
> > >
> > > You need at least 25 nassarius snails to keep your sand clean. Two
> > Fighting
> > > Conchs would be good the sand.
> > >
> > > If you want to add a cucumber to the tank, *make sure* it can't get
sucked
> > up
> > > into a powerhead.
> > >
> > > 25 hermit crabs would be good as well to clean up the bigger stuff.
> > Emerald
> > > crabs will eat valonia (bubble algae).
> > >
> > > In the U.S. we have big reef packages that you can buy that include a
ton
> > of
> > > stuff for $175, and smaller packages for less.
> > >
> > > Marc
> > >
> > >
> > > skozzy wrote:
> > >
> > > > At what time frame of a newly setup tank should I be looking at
adding a
> > > > clean up crew ?
> > > >
> > > > Also, what is a good starting creature to buy ?
> > > >
> > > > Can someone give me a list of creatures to add to make a decent or
> > complete
> > > > cleanup crew. ? From that I can start searching the local fish shops
and
> > > > perhaps start placing orders.
> > > >
> > > > My tank is now 3 1/2 months old but with rocks only being added 3
weeks
> > ago
> > > > and some fish about 2 weeks ago, the tank is 4 foot high, 2 foot
high
> > and 18
> > > > inchs wide. Water circulation is around 10,000 litres an hour, 2
foot
> > sump,
> > > > chiller set to 25deg'C, and so far 'perfect' water parameters (touch
> > wood).
> > > >
> > > > The glass on the tank is on a daily basis being covered with a brown
> > alge
> > > > and I also noticed on some of the scratches on the glass some very
fine
> > > > green alge is growing, one of the rocks has a fine green alge
growing,
> > all
> > > > the powerheads are being covered with brown alge quite fast. Corals
are
> > > > growing slowly and getting thicker, some new things are showing
> > themselves
> > > > once in a while, and new small plants or something are poping up all
> > over
> > > > the place, tube worms are apearing all the time. In all it seem
healthy.
> > > >
> > > > I was told by someone to wait for quite a while before adding
> > crustations
> > > > incase there is a big change in the tanks parameters in the first 6
> > months.
> > > > I have 1 Dragonet in the tank, but he seems more interested in
sucking
> > up
> > > > the substrate and spitting it out then scanning the rocks. There is
one
> > > > snail which is moving around quite quickly, but him on his own can't
> > keep up
> > > > with the alge growing on the glass. There is also two small "maybe
> > hermit
> > > > crabs" getting around, but they are no biggers then your small
> > fingernail.
> > > >
> > > > I am eager to add more stuff to the tank, but also don't want to
push
> > the
> > > > tanks filter system either.
> > > >
> > > > -Andrew
> > >
> > > --
> > > Personal Page:
http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/oanda/index.html
> > > Business Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com
> > > Marine Hobbyist: http://www.melevsreef.com
> > >
> > >
>
> --
> Personal Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/oanda/index.html
> Business Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com
> Marine Hobbyist: http://www.melevsreef.com
>
>

[Greg Hewitt-Long]

Marc Levenson > wrote in message >...
> It is a lot of stuff, but you have a big tank to clean.
>
> I've read that you need one snail per gallon, but I think that is nuts. I've
> got about 12 snails in my 29g, and probably at least that many in my 55g.
>
> These little inverst won't affect your bio-load much, because they are simply
> consuming the detritus and natural buildup of algae you don't want. You won't
> have to feed these kritters.

These inverts are essential - they clean up any excess food, detritus,
algae, and many other things.

I was buying my cleanup crew piece-meal from the local fish store - it
was REALLY expensive, as I'd spend $20 here, $40 there and I'd spent
about $150 without getting much at all. When individual red legged
crabs are $3 and scarlet hermits run $4 here, plus tax, it's really
easy to spend a ton of money over time.

I finally succumbed to purchasing a large (ish) shipment online. I
settled on a seller on Ebay I found from Florida, and this is what I
bought:

2 Emerald Crabs
2 Peppermint Shrimp
35 MEXICAN RED LEG REEF HERMITS: (Sea Of Cortez)
20 HAWAIIAN ZEBRA HERMITS: (Hawaiian Islands)
60 BLUE LEG HERMITS: (Caribbean)
35 MARGARITA SNAILS: (Sea Of Cortez)
25 ASTREA SNAIL: (Caribbean)
15 CERITH SNAIL: (Sea Of Cortez)

this was two lots - his 25-30 gallon cleanup crew, and his 150 item
mix and match cleanup crew.

I paid a total of $168.99 including fedex priority next day delivery.

As an aside, there was a SMALL mis-hap, and the box ended up getting
cold, like it was 55 degrees inside, which results in a SMALL amount
of death - I lost:

1 emerald crab
6 cerith snails
2 zebra hermits

in all 9 critters from a shipment of 194. I got the shipment on
Friday - it was and is a pleasure to see all of these animals cleaning
and finding homes for themselves. These critters would have cost me
about $471 + $31 tax if bought from the LFS - over $500.

I'm currently working out the DOA portion with the seller, and expect
a response on Monday.

In case you're interested, the seller was exotic-corals and they have
a feedback rating of about 650 on ebay.

hope this helps

regards

Greg

>
> Marc
>
>
> skozzy wrote:
>
> > Wow, thats a lot of stuff, but thanks, i will print that reply out and take
> > it with me when I go shopping and see what I can get and what I can afford..
> >
> > If I can get most of these guys will adding them an bulk affect the water
> > quality or is it mostly safe to just add them without a regular checkup on
> > the water ?
> >
> > "Marc Levenson" > wrote in message
> > ...
> > > Andrew, get a clean up crew in there quickly, before it gets out of hand.
> That
> > > advice about waiting 6 months is a *big* mistake.
> > >
> > > Before you add any livestock, the clean up crew goes in. (When you buy a
> new
> > > house, they build it and just before you move it the clean the heck out of
> it.
> > > Can you imagine moving in while everything is covered with sheetrock dust
> or
> > > worse, only to be told to wait 6 months and then they'll come clean
> everything
> > > including the windows?! No way.)
> > >
> > > From your measurements, it sounds like you have a 90 gallon tank. Get at
> least
> > > 25 snails. Astrea, Turbo, Margarita... getting a mix is just fine. It
> adds
> > > diversity and each one likes certain things to eat.
> > >
> > > You need at least 25 nassarius snails to keep your sand clean. Two
> Fighting
> > > Conchs would be good the sand.
> > >
> > > If you want to add a cucumber to the tank, *make sure* it can't get sucked
> up
> > > into a powerhead.
> > >
> > > 25 hermit crabs would be good as well to clean up the bigger stuff.
> Emerald
> > > crabs will eat valonia (bubble algae).
> > >
> > > In the U.S. we have big reef packages that you can buy that include a ton
> of
> > > stuff for $175, and smaller packages for less.
> > >
> > > Marc
> > >
> > >
> > > skozzy wrote:
> > >
> > > > At what time frame of a newly setup tank should I be looking at adding a
> > > > clean up crew ?
> > > >
> > > > Also, what is a good starting creature to buy ?
> > > >
> > > > Can someone give me a list of creatures to add to make a decent or
> complete
> > > > cleanup crew. ? From that I can start searching the local fish shops and
> > > > perhaps start placing orders.
> > > >
> > > > My tank is now 3 1/2 months old but with rocks only being added 3 weeks
> ago
> > > > and some fish about 2 weeks ago, the tank is 4 foot high, 2 foot high
> and 18
> > > > inchs wide. Water circulation is around 10,000 litres an hour, 2 foot
> sump,
> > > > chiller set to 25deg'C, and so far 'perfect' water parameters (touch
> wood).
> > > >
> > > > The glass on the tank is on a daily basis being covered with a brown
> alge
> > > > and I also noticed on some of the scratches on the glass some very fine
> > > > green alge is growing, one of the rocks has a fine green alge growing,
> all
> > > > the powerheads are being covered with brown alge quite fast. Corals are
> > > > growing slowly and getting thicker, some new things are showing
> themselves
> > > > once in a while, and new small plants or something are poping up all
> over
> > > > the place, tube worms are apearing all the time. In all it seem healthy.
> > > >
> > > > I was told by someone to wait for quite a while before adding
> crustations
> > > > incase there is a big change in the tanks parameters in the first 6
> months.
> > > > I have 1 Dragonet in the tank, but he seems more interested in sucking
> up
> > > > the substrate and spitting it out then scanning the rocks. There is one
> > > > snail which is moving around quite quickly, but him on his own can't
> keep up
> > > > with the alge growing on the glass. There is also two small "maybe
> hermit
> > > > crabs" getting around, but they are no biggers then your small
> fingernail.
> > > >
> > > > I am eager to add more stuff to the tank, but also don't want to push
> the
> > > > tanks filter system either.
> > > >
> > > > -Andrew
> > >
> > > --
> > > Personal Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/oanda/index.html
> > > Business Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com
> > > Marine Hobbyist: http://www.melevsreef.com
> > >
> > >