how many cleaners?

[funkejj]

Fist off thanks for the forum. I have done some searching on this and I am even further lost than before. Some say one snail one crab per gallon and others say no. I have a 30 gallon tank, 30lbs of sand and 40 lbs of rock. How many cleaners of what type do I need?

And my second question is how much livestock can we put in here? Am I looking at a couple of fish and a couple of corals or that is the typical for the size of tank?

Thanks so much in advance.

Jason

[IPisces]

Have you checked any of the sponsors websites. A lot of them will have cleaner crew packages for specific size tanks. That will give you an idea as to what type of cleaners and how many you will need. You also want to make sure if you are going to keep any coral that anything you get is reef safe. I had a large blue legged crab that was really cool, but he knocked over everything. Some crabs will eat coral. Emerald crabs, scarlet reef crabs are all really cool.

[AaronM]

Hey dude,
No idea of proper formula, but can tell you whats working in my 55g. Re. cleanup crew, i have about 6 snails and 6 hermits. I think i could add 1 or 2 more of both (wouldn't wanna add many more than that), but cleanup crews seem scarce atm in Aus.

Re. coral, I have 8 bought LPS, 4 small hitchiker LPS, 2 anemone (one of which i think just split tonight...interested eye on that one).

Re. fish i have 6, all 3" or under.

Seems to be a good balance.

HTH!

[Levito]

I never bought the whole one CUC member per gallon. It doesn't make much sense. Different snails & crabs & shrimp are all different sizes and eat all different things. I'd go based off of what you currently need the CUC to do in your tank, and if it's a new tank, I'd pick up a couple of new CUC members every time you add more livestock to your tank. If you go adding 30 snails/crabs to a new tank, they won't have anything to eat, and they'll die off.
To give you an idea, in my 65 gallon, I have 12 turbo snails, 2 super tonga nassarius snails, a dozen or so stomatella snails (hard to tell, I rarely see them...there's probably a lot more), a few random other nassarius snails, an emerald crab, a cleaner shrimp, and a bunch of random hitchhikers like asternia stars and brittle stars. That's plenty big of a CUC for that size tank.

[Jormungandr]

As for the questions of the fish and coral, the general rule of thumb for fish is 1 inch of fish per 3 gallons of water. However, there are plenty of people (especially those with nanos) who lightly stock their tanks bc in a smaller tank, nitrate can build up quickly. As for the corals, go for it, you can keep lots of 'em. They add to your biofiltration so theres not really a limit, the real limit is what type of corals they are and where they have to be placed. For example, if you get corals that tend to be more aggressive, you'll have to keep them farther apart so they wont sting your other corals, but also depending on what your lighting situation is, it will also limit what type of corals you can keep and dictate where they will be placed in your tank. Do your research, see what fish will be a good fit for your tank, visit the nano section too, as I'm sure that'll help you. Good Luck!

[scubasteve06]

As for the questions of the fish and coral, the general rule of thumb for fish is 1 inch of fish per 3 gallons of water. However, there are plenty of people (especially those with nanos) who lightly stock their tanks bc in a smaller tank, nitrate can build up quickly. As for the corals, go for it, you can keep lots of 'em. They add to your biofiltration so theres not really a limit, the real limit is what type of corals they are and where they have to be placed. For example, if you get corals that tend to be more aggressive, you'll have to keep them farther apart so they wont sting your other corals, but also depending on what your lighting situation is, it will also limit what type of corals you can keep and dictate where they will be placed in your tank. Do your research, see what fish will be a good fit for your tank, visit the nano section too, as I'm sure that'll help you. Good Luck!

First of all a 12" fish cannot live in a 36 gallon tank that would be ridiculous. Have you ever seen a Sohal/Clown/Sailfin etc. tang in a 40 gallon breeder NO! I'd say if there is ANY kind of rule it should be 10 gallons for every inch. That way a 12" fish would have enough for FOR LIFE in a 120 I think we can all agree on that and that a 90 is the bare minimum. Second of all I have a 125 with about 30 Red Legs, 6 Turbo's, 10 Ceriths, 10 Blue Legs, and a big neon blue. I kept adding CUC members until I was satisfied with the cleanliness of the sand. Different feeding habits, food, and fish will determine the size of the CUC you will need.:bum:

[KafudaFish]

I have always seen the 1:1 but honestly that has always seemed high though stocking rates and feeding can influence this.

It is easy to add of course.

For you why not start with a smaller crew such as 3 mexican turbos, 5 ceriths and 5 blue legs since you have a 30. That should get you started without spending too much.

If you have an algae breakout it is one thing yet another for standard cleaning.

[funkejj]

I appreciate all of the help guys. I kept looking at cleaner packages and just thought that would be way to many cleaners for my tank. Thanks for shedding light on this for me.

[TellyFish]

Not a fan of these "number per gallon" rules. They work out great for people selling live-rock and clean-up-crew, but honestly, it encourages crowded tanks. There is no need for so much density. Now, if you want you glass to stay clean by snail-power alone, that's another story.

[Jormungandr]

First of all a 12" fish cannot live in a 36 gallon tank that would be ridiculous. Have you ever seen a Sohal/Clown/Sailfin etc. tang in a 40 gallon breeder NO! I'd say if there is ANY kind of rule it should be 10 gallons for every inch. That way a 12" fish would have enough for FOR LIFE in a 120 I think we can all agree on that and that a 90 is the bare minimum. Second of all I have a 125 with about 30 Red Legs, 6 Turbo's, 10 Ceriths, 10 Blue Legs, and a big neon blue. I kept adding CUC members until I was satisfied with the cleanliness of the sand. Different feeding habits, food, and fish will determine the size of the CUC you will need.:bum:

I think you're blowing what I said out of proportion, you should not be keeping a 12" fish in a 36 gallon, Of course not, that's absolutely horrible and inhumane, however it would be completely reasonable to keep a pair of clowns, a firefish and a royal gramma in a 36 gallon tank.