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Unread 01/18/2021, 11:50 PM   #1
Zpmada
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Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: Phillipsburg, NJ
Posts: 95
75 Gallon tank - How is my clean up crew?

Hello All,

I have a 75 gallon tank with mostly LPS. I may want to try a Bird's Nest or Setosa SPS in the future.

I have 3 blue/green Chromis, 1 Royal Gramma, 3 clownfish, and bicolor blenny. I hope to get a Mandarin Dragonet in the future. Tank running about 2 years (moved it 6 months ago). 110lbs of live rock. 1" of sand. Lighting is a Kessil AP 700 (set to deep blue with 40% max intensity)

The problem is my live rock. I am noticing what looks like either brown hair algae or Calothrix.

I think my Chaeto died (turned white) because I didn't have enough Nitrate/phosphate. This could be why whatever hairy stuff growing on my rock is brown and not green - not enough nutrients? I'm trying to increase feeding and testing the water every 3-4 days.

I have the following cleanup crew:

6 Scarlet Red Hermits
4 Trochus Snails (1 baby that is 1cm)
4-5 Super Tongan Nassarius Snails
40-60 Dwarf Cerith snails (tiny 1cm-2cm)
1 cleaner shrimp
10-20 Gray Keyhole Limpets (1cm)
Tiny white feather duster worms throughout the rock

My sandbed seems to be doing well. I think those dwarf cerith snails are taking care of that.

Should I pickup some Astraea Snails for hair algae on the rock? (how many?) Maybe more Trochus if it's Calothrix on the rock? Anything else to consider? Oddly, the bicolor blenny isn't eating whatever hairy stuff is on the rock. Maybe it isn't eating it because it's not GHA and it's Calothrix? Or, it could be GHA that is brown instead of green because there aren't enough nutrients which is why I think the chaeto died.

I want to avoid urchins, and turbo snails or anything else that will knock over my coral.

Thanks



Last edited by Zpmada; 01/19/2021 at 12:15 AM.
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Unread 01/19/2021, 12:57 PM   #2
Sk8r
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Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Spokane WA
Posts: 34,628
Blog Entries: 55
You're good as you are, probably over-equipped depending on age of tank. As a general rule, don't get something to eat an algae pest---he just poos the nutrients back into the system so more pest grows, endlessly. Far better to focus next on getting the water into excellent parameters and keeping it steady, and if you have too much phosphate, use a phosphate remover/binder and water changes to improve the pest algae situation in your tank. Meanwhile let your crew focus on natural dieoff and other waste cleanup. And feed enough to let them have some too.


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Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low.

Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.
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