would just like a down to earth answer.

[MDChurch]

Hi all. I am new to the forum and need some advice. I have kept freshwater tanks for over 40 years and just recently got into the salt. I had a 55gal. fowlr a couple of years ago that I later found out was set up completely wrong. As of Nov. last year I have been working on a 20gal. long to be reef. I have 25lbs. of live rock that has purpled up beautifully, about a 2-3 inch sandbed, an eshopps hob sk-100 skimmer and 10gal. sump/ats in progress. My question is what is a reasonable and useful clean up crew for a tank this size. I keep getting answers like 50 of this and 30 of that and some really rediculous numbers from online vendors. Also a crew with no hermits would be great. I had a couple of dozen extra shells in the tank for the hermits and they still went after every snail in the tank so I've had it with hermits. Please give me a ballpark figure for a decent and workable clean up crew. The only bioload in the tank at present is a royal gramma and 2 tank raised false percs. Oh and my lighting is a t5ho quad. 2x10000k white and 2x 420 actinc at 31watts per for a total of 124 watts over a tank that is 12' deep. Thanks inadvance for any suggestions.:wave:

[Cloudburst2000]

I would think about 15 or so dwarf ceriths (really tiny), 5-6 Nassarius, and maybe 4 Nerites. Something along those lines would be good. I have always found that reefcleaners.org gave fairly good numbers for CUCs. You might want to check with them, and John there is great. Excellent customer service.

[Fish_King_25]

I would say a good clean up crew fora 20g in a realistic sense would be...

5 nassarius snails (will take great are of your sandbed)
2-4 turbos/astreas (good rock/glass cleaners, could do more if you are a big invert fan)
1-2 shrimp. (I woul definitely make at least one apeppermint, if not both, or one peppermint and one cleaner)

Thats a good basic cuc to start with...if you like inverts you could do a cucumber, a conch,a star or something different if you like them. Im not a hermit fan either lol

[sponger0]

1 critter per gallon to start off with is usually a good number. Scarlet hermits are non evasive as opposed to all others.

You will have some die off as the food dies of but in time they will equal food to number of critters for your CUC.

Nassarius and tonga are good for keeping the sand clean and the are mostly nocturnal.

Astrea and margaritas are good for the rocks but you have to turn them over if they are on their backs.

Turbos I dont recommend cause they die quickly and can move things you dont want moved.

IMO there isnt much that is cut and dry when it come to critters in saltwater tanks.

[Tmoriarty]

I agree with sponger, 1 or so critter per gallon should be fine, spread that out among the snails you want. Mexican turbos are insanely good at cleaning glass but as stated they do have a tendency to move things in the tank. Nassarius are great for cleaning the sand bed but you could exchange them for a Watchmen goby, they are also excellent sand cleaners.

I would stay away from sponges in a tank that small because they are toxic if they die and can crash the tank. You could also do 1 Fighting/queen conch if you like them.

I have had blue leg and scarlet hermits strip snails for shells but find the scarlets least likely to do it. I agree with staying away from hermits if you do not like them, they are 50/50 at best.

[Blayz77]

i would use 10-15 dwarf cerith they are one of my favorite snails. Use like 5 banded trochus snails those are another i like to use. and put like 3 nassarius to stir up the sand a little. that will give you a good starting point.

ive read many great things about reefcleaners around here on the forums. ive also read they tend to send you more then you order which is not a bad thing. but you could end up with more then what you ordered, this might also depend on your order size though.

[MDChurch]

I like the idea of the fighting conch, have been looking at that. Unfortunately reefcleaners was the first I ordered from and that clean up crew did'nt last at all. That is where all of the hermits I have now came from and they just murdered all of the snails for the shells with a couple of dozen extra shells laying around empty. Guess they were just picky and did'nt like any of the extra shells. I have thought of shrimp but heard they are very sensitive to change i.e. shipping, etc. Looking local maybe to find a shrimp or two. Turbos don't work. They are great while they are alive but can't seem to keep them more than a couple of months before they die off. I've heard they can't handle warmer waters and my tank stays about 80F without a heater. The one critter per gallon sounds quite sensible to me. I'll have to try that and see how it works out.

[Blayz77]

i dunno about a fighting conch i think the ratio is 1 per 50g. having said that i have a 50g tank and added 2 fighting conch and after about 5 months or so 1 died off and my remaining one has been going strong for about a year.

skunk cleaner shrimp is always a nice add. for cleaning crews i tend to just shop locally unless there is something specific i want. i did order my fighting conch and banded trochus from bluezoo aquatics but i can pick up locally from them as i live close. you can consider ordering from them or live aquaria, when it comes to online purchases i tend to keep with them.

not a big fan of hermits myself either.

[nynick]

Love Scarlet Hermits, never had a problem with them. Blue and especially red have killed some snails in my tanks. In my new tank I am housing scarlets with ceriths and astreas and, knock on wood, no problems.

I love getting 2 of everything in the store though :) Critters are very underrated as tank inhabitants and the more varied the better even if all they do is look cool :) Couldn't imagine having a tank without crabs, starfish, hermits and shrimps. Not sure why they would tell you to get 50, or even 30 of something though. 20 to 30 total of a wide variety should do the trick.

[jrsydevi1]

Not sure why they would tell you to get 50, or even 30 of something though. 20 to 30 total of a wide variety should do the trick.


I know why... :cool:

[sponger0]

I know why... :cool:

I do too. Its called business economics.

[jrsydevi1]

I do too. Its called business economics.

You got that right... I am convinced that most LFS give you bad advice just so they can Eff-up your tank and keep you coming back for 'solutions'....

[sucker_fish]

Just remember you can always start with a smaller number of cleaners and add more later if needed. If you start off with a large number and some die then that's money and life wasted, no matter how insignificant either may seem. In the military we have a saying that slow is smooth and smooth is fast, take it slow and smooth and your tank will come along a lot faster...

[jrsydevi1]

In the military we have a saying that slow is smooth and smooth is fast, take it slow and smooth and your tank will come along a lot faster...

Gotta love that!

[Sleepyhead]

I only have one hermit and one emerald in my 55g. I only have them because I think they are cool. I think CUCs are overrated.