Clean-up Crew; to be proactive or reactive?

[TL44]

hey everyone, when it comes to purchasing your clean-up crew, should you ultimately wait for the algae buildup or can you purchase them during a “target” time?

 

[Dcal]

I would say both have benefits and drawbacks but I would say proactive. Using it reactive could risk starvation after the initial algae teardown post addition. You can generally predict when youll have algae boom aka large new addition, new tank uglies, and purchase proactively (but conservatively). Introduction slowly as the bioload increases is my motto. I do warn against dumping in CUC during the uglies as there should never be more food for the CUC than during that phase, so after it ends your CUC is in trouble.

However, the big problem i see with new reefers is thinking a clean-up crew is a cure-all. If algae is growing, I'm inclined to believe there is a nutrient issue or some sort of instability. Slow fixes will produce long-term stability and as you figure out the way you want to deal with algae, you will hone in on the method that keeps your tank the way you want it to look 24/7 without large intervention.

definitely overdid the response but too late lol

 

[LateStageReefer]

Well you need algae to begin with to feed the CUC anyways. If you have none but you still feed once a day a few crabs or snails wont hurt scraping the bottom of the bed for scraps. That would be proactive and you can add slowly if need be.

 

[TL44]

Awesome replies ! Thank you

 

[mdb_talon]

If algae is growing, I'm inclined to believe there is a nutrient issue or some sort of instability

Haha i see it the exact opposite. If I see no algae I see it as a nutrient issue.

 

[TL44]

Really ? Let me ask this ; is algae only present to the naked eye ?

 

[LateStageReefer]

Really ? Let me ask this ; is algae only present to the naked eye ?

No, World war scale battles are fought every second of every day in your tank on a bacterial level. You want to help the good stuff win and the bad stuff lose.