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#1
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Cleanup Crew for SPS tank
Hi,
I was wondering what everybody would recommend for a cleanup crew for a 180g SPS tank. I currently have 20 astrea snails but looking to add some more? I think most people stick with astreas and ceriths for sps tanks? I've never had much luck with either. lol Also, do you guys use hermits at all? Any input would be appreciated. Thanks |
#2
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180 gallons??? you need around 200 more snails lol
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less is more |
#3
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For my 180, I did about 75 astreas, 15 ceriths, 15 nassarius, 2 serpent stars, 5 mexican turbos, 1 fighting conch.
Generally, the tank does good for about a year and then I stock up about half each year. I also have about 15 red legs but they never die. |
#4
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I usually stick with nassarius and astreas. I steer clear from BIG mexican turbos. They knock stuff around..like bulldozers..
Also sand sifting starts are HUGE help.. they do an amazing job keeping the sand bed clean..
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Shallow SPS Reef In The Works! *Click the Red House for build thread* |
#5
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Thanks for the suggestions.
My tank is bare bottom tank. Do you think ceriths would do well? Hermits bad for sps tank? |
#6
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I have a couple hundred blue legs, 20 mexican red legs,
5 emeralds, 2 serpents, 50 turbos 100 nass. snails. I think that is everything. It is in a 125 display. I am going to add a sand sifting cucumber soon.
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Click on the little red house to see my setup Don't keep track of how much money you spend on your system. You will enjoy it much more that way :-) |
#7
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Quote:
Rick |
#8
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Sand dollars if you can get a hold of them. I have one in my 135 and it kicks a#$!
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#9
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Sand sifting stars are bad! They kill your sand bed.
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GPH tank turn over numbers is about as accurate a method as watts per gallon. |
#10
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Quote:
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A bartender is just a pharmacist with limited inventory. If you drink don't park, accidents cause people. If only closed minds came with closed mouths. Have a great day. Kris |
#11
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WOW...so many opinions on the clean up crew...
I have a 120g SPS tank....5yrs old this Jan '08. Clean up crew i have had.... 100 + red legs 50+ blue legs 50 + astreas 2 sand sifting stars...(I have to DISAGREE with Blaze...ive had 2 for over 4yrs and i also have a 4in SB, not one problem.) 6 nassarius snails--great for the SB as well. Overall very good crew for my SPS tank... ROGER...skip on the cuke....i tried, did very well for about 6 months and then somehow died...killed about a 1/2 dozen SPS in the process, well that's an assumption as to why i had a few die...all happened within a month of the cuke dying....which i never knew did! HTH
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Home of the $15 FRAGS... |
#12
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Typically anything that "sifts" the sand is eating the very fauna that you need to break down waste. Your tank may be fine for months or even years but they will diminish your life in your sb. I prefer snails and conchs.
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Curt |
#13
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Quote:
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Click on the little red house to see my setup Don't keep track of how much money you spend on your system. You will enjoy it much more that way :-) |
#14
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I've had a tiger cucumber for well over a year and it has split at least once.
I like hermits I have 200 blue legs....they kick a lot of stuff up for the corals to eat. Tangs are good grazers. I have more snails than I can count but none that I've added. Most of them are smaller than a fingernail. 5 green emerald crabs. (bulldozers ) 1 monster 8 inch black spine urchin that was about 3 inches a few months ago when I bought it. It leaves a sparkling white path everywhere it goes. |
#15
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For a 180 I personally would get:
30 astrea 30 cerith 15 Scarlet Hermits 15 nassarius 2 or 3 urchins (rock-boring, pincushion, tuxedo, etc) cucumber if you have a sandbed Problem with nassarius IMO is that they eat leftover food, which shouldnt be settling out in your tank anyway.
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One day I'll be so rich I'll have a closed loop and Tunzes to mix my new saltwater! |
#16
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lobster, so you dont like them eating the stuff that shouldnt be there?
sounds kinda good to me.....
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~Mike An escalator can never break. It can only become stairs. There would never be an "Escalator Temporarily Out of Order" sign, only "Escalator Temporarily Stairs. Sorry for the Convenience." |
#17
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what he means is in a SPS tank the flow should be setup that you don't have any extra food left in the tank.
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Click on the little red house to see my setup Don't keep track of how much money you spend on your system. You will enjoy it much more that way :-) |
#18
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Yeah. In a properly setup tank there isnt a lot of food for them... otherwise, you either dont have enough flow or you are feeding too much. The other thing is... when they eat the food, it isnt just magically gone... they are producing waste as well. So they arent really doing much help. That said, I still reccomend (and have) a few... just not nearly as many as some others.
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One day I'll be so rich I'll have a closed loop and Tunzes to mix my new saltwater! |
#19
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Do you have any problems that warrant a cleanup crew at this point? If it's simply diatoms on the glass chalk that up to your routine maintenance and clean it yourself.
As for an algae problem that's entrenched, one that won't get fixed with anything short of removing everything living. I like trochus snails, sometimes turbos, and small hermits, usually the smaller ones can't mess with the larger snails.
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Mike |
#20
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Would a good clean-up crew clean my sand to the point that I might noitce lower P04 levels or is that a strech?
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#21
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I think that is a streach but that depth is your sand bed?
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Click on the little red house to see my setup Don't keep track of how much money you spend on your system. You will enjoy it much more that way :-) |
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