suggested clean up crew?

msuzuki126 · 03/06/2006, 06:40 PM

I have a 37 gallon tank thats been set up for a month. Recently, i have gotten quite a hair and brown algae outbreak. This week I will get a clean up crew. What cleaners would u suggest? ( also should i put any cleaners in my refugium becuase there is brown algae in there too) thanks alot

artful-dodger · 03/06/2006, 07:28 PM

the good news is that the algae and diatom bloom is about normal for this point in your tank's maturation. Even with cleanup crew, expect it to last a while longer. That said, you will probably get the most bang for the buck with some snails to get started. Mexican turbos do about the best on large algae growth but I'd recommend getting a variety of snails.

Emerald crabs will eat it (but especially good for bubble algae) and hermits are always good for cleaning up everything including (to some extent anyway) algae.

Stay up on water changes and measuring your water chemistry...high nitrates and/or phosphates or drifting pH can also promote algae growth.

I keep a couple of snails and a couple of peppermint shrimp in my refugium and they do fine. As long as they aren't eating whatever macro algae or 'pods you're trying to foster you should be golden.

Sk8r · 03/07/2006, 12:09 PM

Getting astraeas, turbos, and any other snails your lfs vets as reef-safe will assure they get on the various surfaces: turbos don't do sand well. Hermits will, and conchs will. Conchs won't do rocks. Turbos and hermits and astraeas will. Astraeas are too small to handle the glass. Turbos are better at that. Variety helps.

craymation · 03/07/2006, 12:43 PM

Perfect thread for me. I have a 10 gal tank i started at around the same time, and now i have a green hair algae bloom. Last friday i got 3 astrea and 2 cerinth snails. I've seen the astrea chomp down a few hair algae, but sometimes they ignore them. The cerinth snails mainly clean the sand i think, but i've seen them go on a run around the tank.

Today i decided to get a bigger army, and got 4 blue legged hermits, 2 more astrea, and a margarite (sp?). I have quite a bit of hair algae growing on my dry rock, but none on the live. I'm probably going to have to take the dry rock out of the tank and pull off the algae, so it doesn't spread more.

I didn't get any mexican turbo's because i heard they can sometimes knock over your coral.

amazingbobby · 03/07/2006, 02:16 PM

I bought 8 astraeas, 2 turbans, and 6 blue legged hermits for my recently cycled 29gal. There was an algae explosion ( I guess not as bad as some, but ugly enough) that required attention. After 5 days, the crew has managed to take care of probably 80% of the algae. They haven't done much in the sand, but the the turbans have really worked over the glass. They sure take a lot of dumps, though!

A side note.... I placed three fancy shells on the sand for the hermits. It only took 1 day for one them to "pimp his ride" and leave the old shell up on blocks. I'm sure he's feeling pretty good about the new look

If it gets stolen, is that considered a shell jacking?

03/06/2006, 06:40 PM	#1
msuzuki126 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Dutchess County, New York Posts: 1,377	suggested clean up crew? I have a 37 gallon tank thats been set up for a month. Recently, i have gotten quite a hair and brown algae outbreak. This week I will get a clean up crew. What cleaners would u suggest? ( also should i put any cleaners in my refugium becuase there is brown algae in there too) thanks alot

03/06/2006, 07:28 PM	#2
artful-dodger Registered Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Highlands Ranch, Colorado Posts: 3,011	the good news is that the algae and diatom bloom is about normal for this point in your tank's maturation. Even with cleanup crew, expect it to last a while longer. That said, you will probably get the most bang for the buck with some snails to get started. Mexican turbos do about the best on large algae growth but I'd recommend getting a variety of snails. Emerald crabs will eat it (but especially good for bubble algae) and hermits are always good for cleaning up everything including (to some extent anyway) algae. Stay up on water changes and measuring your water chemistry...high nitrates and/or phosphates or drifting pH can also promote algae growth. I keep a couple of snails and a couple of peppermint shrimp in my refugium and they do fine. As long as they aren't eating whatever macro algae or 'pods you're trying to foster you should be golden. __________________ "In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock." -- Thomas Jefferson Current Tank Info: 140g RR Oceanic "Ultimate" mixed reef, 37g softies, 40g RBTA tank, 65g FOWLR, 40g breeder frag, and (of course) a 29g QT! ...next up is a 240g! (Gotta go to K-Mart and buy a life...)

03/07/2006, 12:09 PM	#3
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	Getting astraeas, turbos, and any other snails your lfs vets as reef-safe will assure they get on the various surfaces: turbos don't do sand well. Hermits will, and conchs will. Conchs won't do rocks. Turbos and hermits and astraeas will. Astraeas are too small to handle the glass. Turbos are better at that. Variety helps. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

03/07/2006, 02:16 PM	#5
amazingbobby Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: N.California Posts: 227	pimp his ride I bought 8 astraeas, 2 turbans, and 6 blue legged hermits for my recently cycled 29gal. There was an algae explosion ( I guess not as bad as some, but ugly enough) that required attention. After 5 days, the crew has managed to take care of probably 80% of the algae. They haven't done much in the sand, but the the turbans have really worked over the glass. They sure take a lot of dumps, though! A side note.... I placed three fancy shells on the sand for the hermits. It only took 1 day for one them to "pimp his ride" and leave the old shell up on blocks. I'm sure he's feeling pretty good about the new look If it gets stolen, is that considered a shell jacking?

03/07/2006, 12:43 PM	#4
craymation Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: IN Posts: 7	Perfect thread for me. I have a 10 gal tank i started at around the same time, and now i have a green hair algae bloom. Last friday i got 3 astrea and 2 cerinth snails. I've seen the astrea chomp down a few hair algae, but sometimes they ignore them. The cerinth snails mainly clean the sand i think, but i've seen them go on a run around the tank. Today i decided to get a bigger army, and got 4 blue legged hermits, 2 more astrea, and a margarite (sp?). I have quite a bit of hair algae growing on my dry rock, but none on the live. I'm probably going to have to take the dry rock out of the tank and pull off the algae, so it doesn't spread more. I didn't get any mexican turbo's because i heard they can sometimes knock over your coral.