when to add clean up crew

[petere1989]

i'm redoing my 90 gallon, and am putting water in in the next day or two, and going to be starting the cycle. I was wondering when I can put a large clean up crew in there to help with the diatoms? I was going to get something from reef cleaners.org. should i wait a while or is it ok to go ahead and order a clean up crew?

[scubaprashant]

Wait a few months. Prematurely adding a clean-up crew is a bad idea as there is not going to be enough natural or unnatural food for them to consume, which will cause them to die off. Let the diatoms go away on their own. If you are using good h20 for your build, you shouldn't have too long until hair algae and diatoms go bye bye.

[petere1989]

Originally Posted by scubaprashant

Wait a few months. Prematurely adding a clean-up crew is a bad idea as there is not going to be enough natural or unnatural food for them to consume, which will cause them to die off. Let the diatoms go away on their own. If you are using good h20 for your build, you shouldn't have too long until hair algae and diatoms go bye bye.

ya its 000TDS RO/DI water. I just changed the filters too so its like, clean clean. But ok, so i'll wait until it all goes away on its own. Also, should I be running phosphate media/carbon during the cycle or wait until its cycled?

[mannysmusic]

Once the tank is cycled

[ca1ore]

Tank must be fully cycled, and there must be some algae for them to 'clean up'. Personally I wait until there is some green algae growth on the front glass and then add the crew.