Reef Central Online Community

Go Back   Reef Central Online Community > General Interest Forums > New to the Hobby
Blogs FAQ Calendar Mark Forums Read

Notices

User Tag List

Reply
Thread Tools
Unread 08/30/2013, 10:57 AM   #1
mcardenas
Registered Member
 
mcardenas's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Tucson
Posts: 91
Clean up crew !! Help

What is the difference between a PACIFIC AND CARIBBEAN CLEANERS? I am on www.liveaquaria.com and I am looking into getting a clean up crew. I have a 65 gallon fish tank. I am looking into getting 2 clownfish and a clean up crew to start of my tank.


mcardenas is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 08/30/2013, 11:05 AM   #2
Hzuiel
Registered Member
 
Hzuiel's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Louisville KY
Posts: 344
It kind of depends. Sometimes it doesn't mean much of anything more than maybe slightly different coloration. At times in the past when the ocean temperatures were warmer a lot of ocean life managed to take routes down around the southern tip of south america or africa where the water temp would normally be too cold for them to live, so you have pretty much the same species in similar longitudes around the globe, with slight variations. However some species may actually be very distinct depending on which region they are from, but liveaquaria.com usually notates if one has different characteristics or needs from the others. These would be rare though because usually if the populations have been separated long enough to have developed different traits, it's just a new species or subspecies. As it stands most of those geographic listings are mostly different color morphs is all, sort of like how there are 50 different colors of some parrots, but they're all the same species.

BTW, select your cleanup crew very carefully, some inverts frequently listed as cleanup crew aren't very good cleaners, some are destructive and predatory. A lot of people find hermits destructive. I personally like watching them scamper around but they have attacked snails, knocked over coral frags and all sorts of stuff. Emerald crabs can attack corals and try to pinch fish. Coral banded shrimp can attack and harm or kill fish.


Hzuiel is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 08/30/2013, 12:22 PM   #3
Nina51
biggliest cofveve champ
 
Nina51's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: 5th floor, Illinois, gewgaw expert
Posts: 3,506
Quote:
Originally Posted by mcardenas View Post
I am looking into getting 2 clownfish and a clean up crew to start of my tank.
you aren't planning to put these animals in your tank before it's cycled are you?


__________________
of all the things i've lost, i miss my gary the most.

Never hold your farts in. They travel up your spine into your brain, and that is where crappy ideas come from.

Current Tank Info: i gave my reef away and i feel like a bird out of a cage!!
Nina51 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 08/30/2013, 12:28 PM   #4
mcardenas
Registered Member
 
mcardenas's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Tucson
Posts: 91
I took a water sample to my LFS and they indicAted my tank is ready for fish.


mcardenas is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 08/30/2013, 02:09 PM   #5
Fizz71
FragSwapper
 
Fizz71's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: West Lawn, PA
Posts: 5,800
Just to add to Hzuiel's comment...some can also indicate a difference in size for certain species that exist in both regions. I had nassarius snails from two different regions and one was much darker and maxed out at almost twice the size as the other.


__________________
--Fizz

Current Tank Info: Current system is 8x2x2 240g peninsula setup with a single "chamber" 100g sump in the basement with an RDSB. All corals are 100% home grown from frags of fellow reefers (low natural reef impact).
Fizz71 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 08/30/2013, 02:10 PM   #6
mcardenas
Registered Member
 
mcardenas's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Tucson
Posts: 91
FIZZ...

Got it ... So it doesn't really matter which group I end up getting?


mcardenas is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 08/30/2013, 02:32 PM   #7
Fizz71
FragSwapper
 
Fizz71's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: West Lawn, PA
Posts: 5,800
I'd say it's personal preference. You could also "build your own", but then you need to know who eats what and from where...which is part of the fun IMO.


__________________
--Fizz

Current Tank Info: Current system is 8x2x2 240g peninsula setup with a single "chamber" 100g sump in the basement with an RDSB. All corals are 100% home grown from frags of fellow reefers (low natural reef impact).
Fizz71 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 08/30/2013, 02:54 PM   #8
wesside
Registered Member
 
wesside's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Westlake Village, CA
Posts: 176
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fizz71 View Post
I'd say it's personal preference. You could also "build your own", but then you need to know who eats what and from where...which is part of the fun IMO.
I'm assuming one should slowly build up a cleanup crew proportionate to your bioload, right? If so, how do you know when you need to add more to your CUC? Will there be an obvious visual change in the tank appearance, a change in water parameters or a combination of both?


__________________
Current Tank Info: On hold until kids are old enough to help out.
wesside is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 08/30/2013, 02:55 PM   #9
mcardenas
Registered Member
 
mcardenas's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Tucson
Posts: 91
FIZZ...

Yes, i will look into both options.

Lol ... When I read IMO lol I'm going back to my bookmarked page for the link u sent me lol ha ha


mcardenas is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 09/03/2013, 07:37 AM   #10
Fizz71
FragSwapper
 
Fizz71's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: West Lawn, PA
Posts: 5,800
FWIW IMO your CUC is dependent on your LR and DT size. ...couldn't resist.

The only thing you'll see tank-wise with an insufficient CUC is more algae than you care to look at and maybe some detritus hanging around on the bottom of your tank someplace. It is a balancing act, but I don't go the "proportionate" route...I just make sure everybody's doing their job and is well fed.

I recently had a cucumber wander into a powerhead....poisoned the tank and I lost all but 4 fish in under 3 hours. But the CUC and the corals didn't even blink. I still haven't bought any new fish so for now I have a CUC that is way overpowered for the 4 fish I have in there...I'm basically feeding the tank for the CUC as much as the fish at this point.


__________________
--Fizz

Current Tank Info: Current system is 8x2x2 240g peninsula setup with a single "chamber" 100g sump in the basement with an RDSB. All corals are 100% home grown from frags of fellow reefers (low natural reef impact).
Fizz71 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 09/03/2013, 08:58 AM   #11
mcardenas
Registered Member
 
mcardenas's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Tucson
Posts: 91
Lol ... Ha ha ... That link is coming in handy, I keep going back to it lol. Ha ha

I just purchase my CUC and those suckers are doing the job. Lol I did not get a large cuc becuse I don't have any fish. I will get my fish this coming up weekend. Yay FINALLY LOL

Wow...! Sorry to hear ! Devastating ...I am noticing that things like that can happen .

Question ? I am looking into purchasing a power head . I don't have a lot of water movement. What product would you recommends for my 65 gallon tank?


mcardenas is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 09/03/2013, 09:24 AM   #12
mluntz
Registered Member
 
mluntz's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Millersville, Md.
Posts: 727
When I started my CUC, I got 8 hermit crabs, 4 nassarius snails, 2 emerald crabs, and a coral banded shrimp. So far, so good. I only have 2 clowns and a blue/green chromis. I can actually see where the hermits have cleaned the rocks. Pretty neat!


__________________
46 Gallon Bowfront, (1)Ocellaris Clownfish, (1)Carpenter wrasse, (1)Coral Beauty, (1)Kole Tang
mluntz is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 09/03/2013, 11:52 AM   #13
Fizz71
FragSwapper
 
Fizz71's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: West Lawn, PA
Posts: 5,800
Quote:
Originally Posted by mcardenas View Post
Question ? I am looking into purchasing a power head . I don't have a lot of water movement. What product would you recommends for my 65 gallon tank?
Depends how much money you have.

I love the Vortech, but have never owned one because they are too pricey for me. I love the idea of the external hardware and being able to add wave controllers and battery backups are awesome. But for the amount of water I needed to move it go too pricey.

I love the Koralia's too. I have a magnum 8 for major movement. The only issues there is some of them (the magnums) do not work on a controller, the evolutions (evos) do. When my first 8 died and I needed to redo my circulation I was going to do another 8 and a bunch of evos on a controller, but they didn't have the models I wanted when I needed them. I bought some Aqueons instead. I love the koralias for the dead silent mount (the current models are better then the ones from 2 or 3 years ago) and VERY low wattage.

I haven't had my Aqueons long enough to give an opinion. They are very quite, move a lot of water, and low wattage, but they use suction cups. It's been my experience that over time the rubber gets brittle and suction cups eventually fail. I do like that I can maintenance the pump without removing the suction cup so maybe that will be its saving grace.

There's a knock-off vortech out there too which is growing in popularity (because of the price) but I've never even seen one let alone plug one in.

You need to decide how much flow you're going for, how you're achieving randomness, and how much you're willing to spend....then you can start picking out which one. I was leaning on the evos soley because I already own a RKL (controller) so any pump that supports switching would be good for me once I buy a new module for the RKL.


__________________
--Fizz

Current Tank Info: Current system is 8x2x2 240g peninsula setup with a single "chamber" 100g sump in the basement with an RDSB. All corals are 100% home grown from frags of fellow reefers (low natural reef impact).
Fizz71 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 09/03/2013, 12:45 PM   #14
mcardenas
Registered Member
 
mcardenas's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Tucson
Posts: 91
Well ... I don't wanT to spend too much money. I want something that will get the job done. Lol
Vortech...I have seen those and I was recommended by the sales guy. I was lol dammmm!! Expensive lol..

I will do some searching see if I can find something . I mean I just want enough movement, specially since I want to get corral In the future


mcardenas is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 09/03/2013, 12:53 PM   #15
Fizz71
FragSwapper
 
Fizz71's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: West Lawn, PA
Posts: 5,800
You can have anywhere from 20x to 100x turnover on people's tanks in here. I ran at only 16x for a while because my tank is a peninsula so the water just spins....like when you run around a round pool in a circle, eventually there is a current. So my 16x was probably more like a 40x equivalent. The problem is the lack of randomness made the corals grow at an angle. I tried running a second Mag 8 and I couldn't keep the (very fine) sand down!

I'm at about 26x now with a koralia magnum 8, two aqueons and my sump return. I plan on adding more. I still have the current going, but more agitation over the tops of the corals.


__________________
--Fizz

Current Tank Info: Current system is 8x2x2 240g peninsula setup with a single "chamber" 100g sump in the basement with an RDSB. All corals are 100% home grown from frags of fellow reefers (low natural reef impact).
Fizz71 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 09/03/2013, 12:57 PM   #16
mcardenas
Registered Member
 
mcardenas's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Tucson
Posts: 91
Okay .. I am going to look Into a vortech. I will most likely get it . It seemed like the best product that I have came across to. Yes , it's a little on the expensive. But I want something that will last for a long time. I haven't added fish get and already fell in love with my tank. This hobby is something I am looking to hve around for long long .. Lonnnggg time



mcardenas is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 09/03/2013, 01:01 PM   #17
mcardenas
Registered Member
 
mcardenas's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Tucson
Posts: 91
Or probably once I start gettig corrals


mcardenas is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 09/03/2013, 01:09 PM   #18
Fizz71
FragSwapper
 
Fizz71's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: West Lawn, PA
Posts: 5,800
I wouldn't recommend the single pump layout I have to anybody. It wasn't even my original intention...I had up to 4 koralia mag 8s in my initial design strategy. I just couldn't keep the sand down with more than one running.

A single point of flow does not make for good randomness..which was my problem. It also might not reach the whole tank on your 65 unless you get something that blows so hard it will make a mess of your substrate (if you have any).

I would figure out what flow you want and then get either 2 or 3 powerheads that measure up to that total. Now you see why the vortechs get REAL pricey.

If you figure 50x for a nice SPS layout that's 3250gph. I don't know what your sump return is, but I'd figure maybe two MP10s? If you go all out on one MP40 on a controller it might not be random enough.

Or maybe 3 Evo 1150s? Or 2 Evo 1500's?

Again...it all depends on your goal. Research flow rates on here and you'll get a lot of varied opinions. 50x is in the middle.


__________________
--Fizz

Current Tank Info: Current system is 8x2x2 240g peninsula setup with a single "chamber" 100g sump in the basement with an RDSB. All corals are 100% home grown from frags of fellow reefers (low natural reef impact).
Fizz71 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 09/03/2013, 01:14 PM   #19
mcardenas
Registered Member
 
mcardenas's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Tucson
Posts: 91
I see what you are saying .then I will wait and do some more research . I hve a hexagon shape tank . So it probably be like a hurricane like lol.. So ill do more research and keep what u said in mind . my goal is to eventually have a 150+ tank


mcardenas is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 09/03/2013, 01:28 PM   #20
Fizz71
FragSwapper
 
Fizz71's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: West Lawn, PA
Posts: 5,800
Quote:
Originally Posted by mcardenas View Post
I hve a hexagon shape tank . So it probably be like a hurricane like lol.. So ill do more research and keep what u said in mind.
For sure...Hex tanks have an added challenge of no "long" line especially if they are a "hex tall" layout. A lot of people have put their vortechs on opposite ends of their tank pointing towards each other, but that's 3' apart on a regular 65g.

On a hex I definitely would NOT try one pump.

What size is the hex? ...my source for tank specs. doesn't sell hex anymore for me to look it up.

You have to watch tall reef tanks...they're a pain to light too.


__________________
--Fizz

Current Tank Info: Current system is 8x2x2 240g peninsula setup with a single "chamber" 100g sump in the basement with an RDSB. All corals are 100% home grown from frags of fellow reefers (low natural reef impact).
Fizz71 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 09/03/2013, 01:36 PM   #21
mcardenas
Registered Member
 
mcardenas's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Tucson
Posts: 91
Yes, it is "hex tall" lol
So 2 heads facing eachother ?
You are right I will look Into tall tanks .. The lighting so far has not been an issue for me.

I will keep this tank for about a year and half before I get a new one .


mcardenas is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 09/03/2013, 01:42 PM   #22
Fizz71
FragSwapper
 
Fizz71's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: West Lawn, PA
Posts: 5,800
On a hex I'd probably use the shape and put one on each panel off the back (not the back, but the one to the left and right) and at different heights.

Are you running a sump? If you're not I'd run 3 PHs.


__________________
--Fizz

Current Tank Info: Current system is 8x2x2 240g peninsula setup with a single "chamber" 100g sump in the basement with an RDSB. All corals are 100% home grown from frags of fellow reefers (low natural reef impact).
Fizz71 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 09/03/2013, 02:04 PM   #23
mcardenas
Registered Member
 
mcardenas's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Tucson
Posts: 91
I see so the ones on each side of the back panel ? So put one up at high level and one in the bottom of the tank .so I would want to get a circular flow

Yes, I do have a sump.


mcardenas is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 09/03/2013, 02:56 PM   #24
Fizz71
FragSwapper
 
Fizz71's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: West Lawn, PA
Posts: 5,800
It really depends on the rock structure because you want to avoid dead spots, but with a sump return presumably at the top I'd put the others lower. It will take some playing around.


__________________
--Fizz

Current Tank Info: Current system is 8x2x2 240g peninsula setup with a single "chamber" 100g sump in the basement with an RDSB. All corals are 100% home grown from frags of fellow reefers (low natural reef impact).
Fizz71 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 09/03/2013, 02:59 PM   #25
mcardenas
Registered Member
 
mcardenas's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Tucson
Posts: 91
That's true .. Well once I get the power heads ill try out different directions to get the best water movement


mcardenas is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
caribbean, clean-up crew, pacific

Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On



All times are GMT -6. The time now is 12:36 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Powered by Searchlight © 2024 Axivo Inc.
Use of this web site is subject to the terms and conditions described in the user agreement.
Reef CentralTM Reef Central, LLC. Copyright ©1999-2022
User Alert System provided by Advanced User Tagging v3.3.0 (Pro) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2024 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.