Clean up crew - When & how many?

jock · 01/22/2012, 11:08 AM

Hi folks! Great forum!

Got a 180litre tank (think thats just short of 50g) & added 20kg of live rock today (think thats around 44lbs). Can you tell am British

Going to stay clear of corals for time being. When i've 'mastered' fish I may consider it.
My first question: Is the level of sand important? I have a very thin layer at the bottom of tank but some people say its better to have a really deep layer. Was advised it doesnt matter but there is so many differing opinions :S

But main reason for post was, as title says, when do you add clean up crew & for a tank of my size how many do I add? This probably make me sound like a right idiot but do you need to feed them?? I get the impression they kinda look after themselves but in a new tank is there really enough to keep them from simply starving to death? Eventually I am going to add at least one cleaner shrimp, does this count as a 'cuc' member? Should i maybe just add the shrimps first before fish?

Believe me I have tried to research this before diving straight in but there is so much information & it all seems to contradict each other

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Jock

reefkeeper429 · 01/22/2012, 12:22 PM

i just got my tank started again after beeing down for 2 years. i put in some fresh live rock and re used about 70 lbs of old live rock that set out of water for 2 years. The tank has been running for 3 weeks. I had a brown diatom algae bloom in the tank. i went and bought 10 mexican turbos last night and today it seems as though they have eaten about a 1/3 of the algae. when they run out of algae to eat it says you should feed them dried seaweed to eat. over the years i have had alot of my clean up crews die off. i have never fed them after the algae was gone. from now on i am going to feed them. garf.org they have clean up crews for your size tank and for the type of algae you have you could use this for a referance of what to buy where your at. im not big on the sand in the tank i have had it 3 or 4 times and it always looks like crap for me over time and end up vacuming it out. i built a plenum in my sump with 4" of the special grade reef floor and seeded it. just did this for help with the nitrates.

tbanks · 05/25/2012, 10:49 AM

I just ordeRed a cuc from reefcleaners.org - John was very helpful and helped customize a crew for me. The drafh ceriths must have multiplied in transit....I order 20 and quit counting at 35.....

aleonn · 05/25/2012, 11:07 AM

The depth of the sand bed doesn't matter too much IMO, it's a matter of preference. Some people go with bare bottom tanks for ease of detritus control and clean look. Others go with a deep sand bed for denitrification. A thin layer like yours is fine, but if you intend to keep sand sifting gobies or sand-burrowing wrasses in the future, you may have to increase your sand bed to 1.5-2".

gweston · 05/25/2012, 12:54 PM

I keep a few inch deep sand bed in the display tank. I like the looks of it, plus some stuff for critters to burrow in. I like critters

I avoid a deep bed in the display.... I do that stuff in a refugium.

How many CuC? Hard to say. It seems to me that the CuC packages you can buy online are often far too large though. For example, I just ordered the 75gal cleaner package plus a few extra critters, and it is destined to be split between a 125gal and a 40gal tank.

Its better to start with too few a CuC, then add more later... than to add a huge CuC to have a lot of die off and pollute the tank.

01/22/2012, 11:08 AM	#1
jock Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Posts: 124	Clean up crew - When & how many? Hi folks! Great forum! Got a 180litre tank (think thats just short of 50g) & added 20kg of live rock today (think thats around 44lbs). Can you tell am British Going to stay clear of corals for time being. When i've 'mastered' fish I may consider it. My first question: Is the level of sand important? I have a very thin layer at the bottom of tank but some people say its better to have a really deep layer. Was advised it doesnt matter but there is so many differing opinions :S But main reason for post was, as title says, when do you add clean up crew & for a tank of my size how many do I add? This probably make me sound like a right idiot but do you need to feed them?? I get the impression they kinda look after themselves but in a new tank is there really enough to keep them from simply starving to death? Eventually I am going to add at least one cleaner shrimp, does this count as a 'cuc' member? Should i maybe just add the shrimps first before fish? Believe me I have tried to research this before diving straight in but there is so much information & it all seems to contradict each other Thanks in advance for any advice. Jock

01/22/2012, 12:22 PM	#2
reefkeeper429 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Lima,Ohio Posts: 59	i just got my tank started again after beeing down for 2 years. i put in some fresh live rock and re used about 70 lbs of old live rock that set out of water for 2 years. The tank has been running for 3 weeks. I had a brown diatom algae bloom in the tank. i went and bought 10 mexican turbos last night and today it seems as though they have eaten about a 1/3 of the algae. when they run out of algae to eat it says you should feed them dried seaweed to eat. over the years i have had alot of my clean up crews die off. i have never fed them after the algae was gone. from now on i am going to feed them. garf.org they have clean up crews for your size tank and for the type of algae you have you could use this for a referance of what to buy where your at. im not big on the sand in the tank i have had it 3 or 4 times and it always looks like crap for me over time and end up vacuming it out. i built a plenum in my sump with 4" of the special grade reef floor and seeded it. just did this for help with the nitrates.

05/25/2012, 10:49 AM	#3
tbanks Registered Member Join Date: May 2012 Posts: 53	I just ordeRed a cuc from reefcleaners.org - John was very helpful and helped customize a crew for me. The drafh ceriths must have multiplied in transit....I order 20 and quit counting at 35.....

05/25/2012, 11:07 AM	#4
aleonn Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 4,041	The depth of the sand bed doesn't matter too much IMO, it's a matter of preference. Some people go with bare bottom tanks for ease of detritus control and clean look. Others go with a deep sand bed for denitrification. A thin layer like yours is fine, but if you intend to keep sand sifting gobies or sand-burrowing wrasses in the future, you may have to increase your sand bed to 1.5-2".

05/25/2012, 12:54 PM	#5
gweston Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Gardner, MA Posts: 961	I keep a few inch deep sand bed in the display tank. I like the looks of it, plus some stuff for critters to burrow in. I like critters I avoid a deep bed in the display.... I do that stuff in a refugium. How many CuC? Hard to say. It seems to me that the CuC packages you can buy online are often far too large though. For example, I just ordered the 75gal cleaner package plus a few extra critters, and it is destined to be split between a 125gal and a 40gal tank. Its better to start with too few a CuC, then add more later... than to add a huge CuC to have a lot of die off and pollute the tank.