Perfect clean up crew?

javondi · Sep 24, 2014

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[TD="class: alt1, bgcolor: #EBEBEB"]I would like to get somewhat of the best clean-up crew I could possibly get. Some of the things I would prefer the clean up crew to take care of is the sand bed, algae (detritus is the main algae I deal with), and the live rock of course. Any suggestions of snails, crabs, shrimp I should get and how many?

I have a 120 gallon tank thats been setup for about a year and a half, with a few frags of zoas, mushrooms, clown fish and a diamond gobie.
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LetItReef · Sep 24, 2014

try this, reefcleaners

DaveMorris · Sep 24, 2014

I like ordering clean up crews from IPSF.com. Great critters and great folks to deal with. In fact I have an order showing up tomorrow for my newish 130g tank. Wherever you get the critters, I would make sure that you have as diverse of a variety that you can get. Mix it up and you'll have better overall results.

NanaReefer · Sep 24, 2014

Strawberry Conch's or Fighting Conch's are wonderful for turning over small patches of your SB at a time, great algae eaters.
Scarlet Hermits are the less aggressive of the hermits. Great algae/detritus eaters.
Nasarrius Snails love to eat left overs. No rotting foods with them around. Great for stirring up your SB also.
Bristle Worms, no rotting foods around with them either.
Glass/rock cleaners would be, Nerite Snails, Trochus Snails and Bumblebee Snails come to mind.

IMO these that I have mentioned help keep your tank clean of detritus build up, in turn preventing algae out breaks.
Most people don't consider keeping these creatures long term. Which is sad. So they get an over abundance of them, thinking more is better. Well it's not! More often then not they wind up starving to death.
Don't let someone else build your CUC for you. Take control and build it yourself. Get only what you need. You don't have to get everything at once. If you have very little algae, just a few algae eaters will suffice. If you have a lot of detritus, get those that consume it.