clean up crew

[boozerell]

How big of a clean up crew do I need for a 55 gallon aquarium. I presently have 3 red-legged hermit crabs, 1 blue-legged hermit crab, 1 emerald green crab and 8 snails. I have a lot of green hair algae, I've been trying to get rid off. Also in the tank is 2 yellow-tail damsels, a small yellow tang, and a lawnmower blenny.
Eileen

[specopsteam]

o boy here it comes the tang patrol lol

[boozerell]

I know the tang will need a bigger tank and plan on upgrading down the road.

[phenom5]

as far as a cleanup crew goes, i would definiately add some more snails & hermits. you can look at a site like liveaquaria. they have cleaner packs for different sized tanks, that should give you an idea. those cleaner packs that they sell tend to be a little too much, so i'd look at the number of snails & hermits they have, and then reduce the number a bit. also, i'd try to get a mixture of snails that will do different things. for example, i used astraea snails for rock/ glass & nassarius snails for the sand bed. astrea's work well for me because they stay small. with a larger tank i would use a mix of turbos/ astraeas/ trochus snails for rock, and cerith/ nassarius/ conch for sand.

now, that said, adding more cleanup crew b/c you have algae is trying to fix the symptom, not the problem IMO. i assume your tank is fairly young, and different forms of algae will come and go as your system matures, but i would try to get a handle on the problem now rather than later.

are you 100% sure that your tank has completely cycled? if not, i would wait on adding more cleanup critters.

what are your water parameters?

what's your water source?

[boozerell]

My ph is 8.0, salinity 1.022, 0 nitrite and 0 ammonia. The first mistake I made was using regular water that I conditioned. I live rurally, so who knows what was in the water. Ended up having high phosphate, and added a phosphate remover. Phosphates now 0, have reduced my daylight lights to six hours and still use the actnic lights and moonlights. Have taken sample of water to the LFS who said things look good. Was cautioned to add a clean up crew slowly, so there would be plenty to eat....but may of moved too slowly. What I have, has made a dent in, but just were they are. I did notice after the phosphate remover was added, the algae got more of a brownish color. (Was pretty green before.)
Eileen

[phenom5]

My ph is 8.0, salinity 1.022, 0 nitrite and 0 ammonia.

i would slowly bring your SG up to 1.024-.025. not really an algae thing, just a general observation.

The first mistake I made was using regular water that I conditioned. I live rurally, so who knows what was in the water. Ended up having high phosphate, and added a phosphate remover. Phosphates now 0, have reduced my daylight lights to six hours and still use the actnic lights and moonlights

phosphates (po4) can be tricky, they get consumed very quickly, so you can have a reading of 0, and still have algae issues. not saying that this is the case, just something to be aware of.

Have taken sample of water to the LFS who said things look good.

do you have test kits? if not, i would invest in a decent test kit. Salifert's nice, but if that's not in the budget, you can get decent quality kits for a little cheaper. if you do have a test kit, and just took the water in to the LFS to verify your own finds...disregard this. :D

Was cautioned to add a clean up crew slowly, so there would be plenty to eat....but may of moved too slowly

good advice. better to move slowly rather than swiftly.

[95accord]

id add a couple turbo snails down the road.....

[boozerell]

Phenom5,
I do have test kits and just wanted to make sure they were getting the same results. Why would you increase the salinity to 1.025? At the LFS they sell saltwater with 1.022 and 1.025, not sure why you would want one or the other?
Thanks

[phenom5]

I do have test kits and just wanted to make sure they were getting the same results.

just making sure. :thumbsup:

Why would you increase the salinity to 1.025? At the LFS they sell saltwater with 1.022 and 1.025, not sure why you would want one or the other?

natural seawater averages about 1.025, so i shoot for 1.024 which gives me a little room for evaporation.

[cloak]

Need to figure out why you are getting the HA without the clean up crew first. Bad water, overfeeding, overstocking etc.

No use adding nassarius snails to a barebottom tank.