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Kenpo guy
04/08/2015, 10:52 PM
So I'm seeing the first signs of life as my tank makes its way through the nitrogen cycle with a diatom bloom. My ammonia has dropped to .25 ppm, nitrites are between .5 and .25 ppm and nitrates are just over 5 ppm. I started the tank with some hitchhikers that are doing quite well, a snail and 5 small hermits. Once my levels drop to zero and I remove as many silicates as I can to address the ditom bloom I'll be loking to add to my cleanup crew as my next step before adding any fish. I'm looking for some do's and don'ts. Whats good what's not and what's best to start with in a newly established tank. I figure I'm still several weeks if not more away from my water finishing its cycle but I'd like to start getting some ideas for future inhabitants. Any suggestions?

nmotz
04/09/2015, 04:14 AM
I'll start with the don'ts:

-Don't feel like you have to buy one of those "CUC packages" because they often have way too much for a new tank. In fact, don't overdo it period. Add slowly and ensure that the CUC members aren't cannibalizing each other because they are starving.

-Don't start with a huge turbo snail. A lot of people do this and turbo snails really need a lot of algae or they'll just croak and foul up your tank water.

-Don't be surprised if your hermits eat some of your snails. Notice I didn't say not to get hermits, just don't be surprised if they get hungry for some snail meat every now and then. Many people disregard the contributions of hermit crabs entirely but I think it's a natural thing for hermits to take advantage of a bunch of snails lying around. Just make sure there are plenty of extra shells for the hermits.

Do's:

-Do buy conservatively based on your tank's specific needs. You mentioned you have diatoms so I'd start with some sand cleaners: nassarius, cerith, dwarf cerith snails are good for this type of work.

-Do remember that a CUC is not intended to solve major outbreaks of nuisance algae/cyano/diatoms, etc. Good husbandry is what will keep your tank clean in the long run. CUCs just clean up left over food, sift through your sand, and help clean nooks and crannies. They can't completely clear a tank full of algae just like that.

-Do review the descriptions of good CUC candidates here: http://www.reefcleaners.org/aquarium-store/tank-cleaners

Good luck!

GroktheCube
04/09/2015, 08:28 AM
I'm a fan of Trochus snails and Money Cowries. The Cowries eat most types of algae, IME. The Trochus are very active, and good at avoiding hermits.

Urchins are great, but I'd suggest waiting on them.

I think my best CUC invert ironically enough is my hitchhiking Actaeodes tomentosus. I affectionately call him my "Sanatic crab" because of his black carapace and red eyes. He's by far my most versatile CUC member. He'll eat any kind of algae, including GHA, uneaten food, even bacterial films. He's been absolutely non-aggressive. Unfortunately, he's too small on his own to do much of anything other than entertain :-P.

BigCountry74
04/09/2015, 08:36 AM
1 like the 1 snail per 5 gallon rule. Works good for me. With 1 or 2 large Mexicans on top ��

cloak
04/09/2015, 11:01 AM
I'm not sure how big your tank is, but I would just start off with a few Trochus snails and maybe a Scarlet hermit crab and go from there. I'm not really a big fan of these large CUC either. Most people tend to forget that they can keep the glass and the sand clean all by themselves. Save yourself some money and just do the work. JMO, GL.

CStrickland
04/09/2015, 11:18 AM
My turbo snails and nerites seem to eat the diatoms most. The nerites don't do anything for like a week and then they wake up and make all kinds of trails through the diatoms on the rocks, it's cute. They get at the hard to reach places and then poop it into the sand for me to clean up. The glass is all me though. Urchins are effective, but if you want coralline, or frags, be cautious.

If you are looking at the cleaner packs remember that diff cleaners have diff diets. So for example, if you get nassarius snails, you now have a carnivorous pet that needs to be fed.

Kenpo guy
04/09/2015, 12:41 PM
This is great stuff thanks! As some have mentioned cleaner packs I don't think will work for me. The tank is too new and I'm afraid that I will get something with a diet my tank isn't providing yet and it could die. That was the main reason for the thread. I will eventually be adding corals so I need to build a team that will be friendly to the corals. I'm just too new to this side of the aquarium to know what works and doesn't. Luckily there are many here who do! I should have given my tank info. So its a 37 gal column with base rock and crushed coral sand for the substrate about 2" in most places 1" in others. Base rock is sitting directly on the glass. Diatoms are really starting to pop so I am limiting the amount of time the lights are on until my cycle completes. I expected this since I used conditioned tap water to fill the tank. I plan on dealing with the silicates next. The cuc won't be able to handle all of it if I don't limit what's causing the bloom. I don't see any other signs of life other than diatoms and the 5 little guys I mentioned earlier.

Sk8r
04/09/2015, 01:38 PM
In a nutshell, small. Start with a couple of hermits and snails, and increase their numbers. And feed them, especially if your only choice is one of those premade CUCs. Sinking pellet is quite fine. They're not in there to 'clean up' your tank. No CUC could do that. They're in there to poo and strengthen the sandbed. So feed them. So they have more poo.

CStrickland
04/09/2015, 02:55 PM
One thing that tap water often has that isn't in rodi is silica. Afaik, the conditioner isn't going to do anything about that, so you are always going to be adding diatom food if you keep using it. Not as much as you have now with all the new crushed coral and rocks, but i dont think it will be like other tanks where it really goes away for good after a few months. Personally I don't mind diatoms that much, but if you do, it's a consideration. Might be a diff thread though.

They're in there to poo and strengthen the sandbed. So feed them. So they have more poo.
Idk much about sand for more than looks, I thought the biodiversity stuff was more for sandy dsb's. Would the poo benefit an inch or two of CC the same way?

fossil212
04/14/2015, 02:36 PM
Ok. New to all this. What is a CUC?

cloak
04/14/2015, 02:42 PM
CUC = Clean Up Crew (snails, hermit crabs etc)

http://successfulreefkeeping.com/resource/reefkeeping-acronyms/