Urchins

[Rmckoy]

I went into the lfs not too long ago looking for algae eating livestock .
I can’t add anymore tangs .
I was advised to add urchins ( even though I hate them . They bulldoze everything )

I was convinced urchins of any type
Are all reef safe and will eat algae .
For my 230 I was advised that min 3 urchins would be needed
Knowing I could add them to my sump if needed I bought 3

they are pencil urchins . And it seams like they are almost eating every bit of algae but taking some of the rock with them . Was I a victim of lfs sales scams ?

 

[T-J]

They are eating the coralline algae off the rocks. It's what they do. In a healthy tank, you're likely replacing coralline algae faster than they can eat it.

 

[Tired]

Pencil urchins are excellent algae-eaters, and do remove some coraline along the way. This is arguably a good thing, as coraline can reduce the porosity of your rock by covering all the little holes over, and having that peeled off now and then may be beneficial.

 

[Rmckoy]

Pencil urchins are excellent algae-eaters, and do remove some coraline along the way. This is arguably a good thing, as coraline can reduce the porosity of your rock by covering all the little holes over, and having that peeled off now and then may be beneficial.

This is the best answer and exactly what I was wanting to hear .
There was posts recently about urchins being reef safe and not reef safe . Which was new news to me .
Now for the other part of the initial post .
I have only ever had one at a time .
is 3 too many ?

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

This is the best answer and exactly what I was wanting to hear .
There was posts recently about urchins being reef safe and not reef safe . Which was new news to me .
Now for the other part of the initial post .
I have only ever had one at a time .
is 3 too many ?

That'll Pretty much be determined by how much algae you are growing. Urchins graze constantly, but rather slowly. I would say watch them for a month and see how they are doing on the system. I have a tuxedo in a 54g display that runs low nutrients, and it doesn't quite keep with algae growth so I could definitely see 3 in a tank of that size working.

 

[Rmckoy]

That'll Pretty much be determined by how much algae you are growing. Urchins graze constantly, but rather slowly. I would say watch them for a month and see how they are doing on the system. I have a tuxedo in a 54g display that runs low nutrients, and it doesn't quite keep with algae growth so I could definitely see 3 in a tank of that size working.

They have been in there for roughly a month and all 3 are in the same general area From when they were first added .
There was a term used before as “ rock boring urchins “
Are they a different species ?

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

They have been in there for roughly a month and all 3 are in the same general area From when they were first added .
There was a term used before as “ rock boring urchins “
Are they a different species ?

Pencil and rock boring urchins are not the same.

So in a month they've never strolled across the tank and hit the rest of your structure? Mine makes at least one lap around the tank a day.