cuc additions

Ice9Kills · 05/19/2014, 12:10 PM

so about a a month and a half maybe closer to two months I added a cuc to my new 29g tank they consisted of
5 Astraea ninja star snails
10 reg astrea snails
and 5 emerald crabs.
and a skunk cleaner shrimp.
cleaned this whole tank top to bottom from a massive algae bloom down to nothing. now the tank is back covered in algae should I add more to the tank?
For awhile I was worried there wasn't enough for them to eat but now I don't think they can keep up. any ideas?

MacWilliams · 05/19/2014, 12:15 PM

Have you checked your phosphate levels? That may be the reason for the algae bloom. You may also be experiencing what is called new tank syndrom. May just need to let it run its course and it will level off eventually. You may need to add more snails and also consider taking the emerald crabs back for snails. The crabs may kill snails and I had 1 emerald crab in my 60 cube and once it knocked out my hair algae issue it perished. IME Skunk Cleaner Shrimp are primarily fish cleaners and not algae / rock cleaners.

thegrun · 05/19/2014, 01:21 PM

What size tank do you have?

Ice9Kills · 05/19/2014, 01:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ice9Kills

so about a a month and a half maybe closer to two months I added a cuc to my new 29g tank

its a 29g biocube.

the whole thing has been running 3 months about. ill check my phosphates tonight when im home. it could very well be that.

ive been keeping an eye on my crabs and they have been model citizens so far and fun to watch as they climb about but ill ditch em if see them acting up.

im really just curious as to if this is just gonna be part of the life cycle or if i dont have enough of a cuc in there.

Ice9Kills · 05/19/2014, 07:14 PM

well just checked my water.
Ammonia is at .001 undetectable
Nitrite is a 0 or undetectable
Nitrate is between 20-40 so im gonna do a water change tomorrow instead of Friday.
Alkalinity is between 180 and 300
ph is at 8.05 after the day cycle of lights.
calcium is at 410
phosphate is between 0.25 and 0.5 so im thinking that its a little high.
temp is at 77 today but can get to 78/79 most midday
and salinity is at 1.026.
so any thoughts or is it just part of the life cycle of the tank. it just seemed weird cuz it showed up in like 48 hrs after the tank was spotless again.

Reef Frog · 05/19/2014, 08:53 PM

Virtually every new tank will have one or more algae blooms before the stable period is reached. Nutrients & sunlight feed all algae. The nutrients usually come from added food or is residual material leaching from the live rock. Sometimes in can be introduced from contaminated fresh water or salt.

The CUC has its place and can indeed keep things tidy but they are never the sole long term solution to an algae "outbreak". But in the end it's always the nutrients to blame.

The OP's CUC looks about right but has way too many crabs. They can go cannibal when packed tight and do other damage. .25 phosphate is MORE than enough to fuel all kinds of algae BTW.

Ice9Kills · 05/19/2014, 09:56 PM

ok like i said the orignal cuc did a great job. then suddenly there was tons of algae. i was really just courious as to if something was going wrong quickly. im gonna ditch 2 of the 5 crabs. and banish one to the sump area of the tank and keep the two smallest as one is funny and trys to climb the side of the tank idk i like him. thanks Reef Frog

05/19/2014, 12:10 PM	#1
Ice9Kills Registered Member Join Date: May 2014 Posts: 34	cuc additions so about a a month and a half maybe closer to two months I added a cuc to my new 29g tank they consisted of 5 Astraea ninja star snails 10 reg astrea snails and 5 emerald crabs. and a skunk cleaner shrimp. cleaned this whole tank top to bottom from a massive algae bloom down to nothing. now the tank is back covered in algae should I add more to the tank? For awhile I was worried there wasn't enough for them to eat but now I don't think they can keep up. any ideas?

05/19/2014, 09:56 PM	#7
Ice9Kills Registered Member Join Date: May 2014 Posts: 34	ok like i said the orignal cuc did a great job. then suddenly there was tons of algae. i was really just courious as to if something was going wrong quickly. im gonna ditch 2 of the 5 crabs. and banish one to the sump area of the tank and keep the two smallest as one is funny and trys to climb the side of the tank idk i like him. thanks Reef Frog __________________ 29g BioCube Koralla 425------Actinic Blue 1-36 Watt Straight Pin ------Lunar Blue 1-.75 Watt LED 264 Gph pump---10,000k Daylight 1-36 Watt Straight Pin

05/19/2014, 12:15 PM	#2
MacWilliams Registered Member Join Date: May 2013 Posts: 410	Have you checked your phosphate levels? That may be the reason for the algae bloom. You may also be experiencing what is called new tank syndrom. May just need to let it run its course and it will level off eventually. You may need to add more snails and also consider taking the emerald crabs back for snails. The crabs may kill snails and I had 1 emerald crab in my 60 cube and once it knocked out my hair algae issue it perished. IME Skunk Cleaner Shrimp are primarily fish cleaners and not algae / rock cleaners.

05/19/2014, 01:21 PM	#3
thegrun Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Garden Grove, Ca Posts: 17,023	What size tank do you have?

05/19/2014, 07:14 PM	#5
Ice9Kills Registered Member Join Date: May 2014 Posts: 34	well just checked my water. Ammonia is at .001 undetectable Nitrite is a 0 or undetectable Nitrate is between 20-40 so im gonna do a water change tomorrow instead of Friday. Alkalinity is between 180 and 300 ph is at 8.05 after the day cycle of lights. calcium is at 410 phosphate is between 0.25 and 0.5 so im thinking that its a little high. temp is at 77 today but can get to 78/79 most midday and salinity is at 1.026. so any thoughts or is it just part of the life cycle of the tank. it just seemed weird cuz it showed up in like 48 hrs after the tank was spotless again.

05/19/2014, 08:53 PM	#6
Reef Frog Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Maryland Posts: 3,121	Virtually every new tank will have one or more algae blooms before the stable period is reached. Nutrients & sunlight feed all algae. The nutrients usually come from added food or is residual material leaching from the live rock. Sometimes in can be introduced from contaminated fresh water or salt. The CUC has its place and can indeed keep things tidy but they are never the sole long term solution to an algae "outbreak". But in the end it's always the nutrients to blame. The OP's CUC looks about right but has way too many crabs. They can go cannibal when packed tight and do other damage. .25 phosphate is MORE than enough to fuel all kinds of algae BTW.