critters for alage removal

[kwirky]

long winded reply:

Here's some of the stuff I find works well for controlling algae that's WAY better than any clean up crew. it's more like correcting the cause of the problem:

Number one: get the detritus out of the tank. Lots of ways to do it. Increasing your flow and having more random flow sweeps detritus off the bottom of the tank so it can make it into the sump where your skimmer has a chance of removing it. I even run a wavemaker in my sump to make sure nothing settles. Siphon out detritus at least weekly from the bottom of the tank and the sump. Blow off your rock with a turkey baster to prevent detritus from accumulating on the rockwork. Blowing your rock off really helps with hair algae.

Number two: Manage the nutrients that manage to dissolve from unremoved detritus. You can't remove all the detritus and some will dissolve. You can cut it off before it turns into algae by running a good phosphate media or a biological system (vodka dosing, zeovit, prodibio, reef fresh, etc). Water changes work well too. The more natural way is using the clean up crew to eat any algae growing from your unremoved detritus. The idea is that the nutrients are turned into energy. It's nutrient export. But remember that snails and crabs poop too and that's going to dissolve into some detritus as well. Cleanup crew nutrient export is probably 5% as effective as water changes and phosphate media for instance.

I think snails are more for decoration and a little bit of algae cleanup but if you prevent the algae in the first place than you'll see less of it on the glass. And besides they clean it up all random like and just leave lines in the film making it even more noticeable. Hermit crabs however are awesome. I love left handed hermits and fairy hermits. They work like little lawn mowers in large numbers and will completely clean a tank of hair algae if you have enough. Just remember to siphon out the little pile of hermit poop that will develop quickly on the bottom of the tank or else it'll dissolve and turn into algae again. I have 30+ in my 45g sps tank and I think they're great at keeping the rock looking nice.

All in all the poop has to leave the tank. Whether you have a cleanup crew or not siphoning out detritus really helps. This long winded reply could be summed up in: "No clean up crew will replace manual labour." hehe

[Oscar]

Kwirky: Thanks for your thoughts.

I have had a recent hair algae bloom (and macro algae) since adding my first 2 clowns 3 weeks ago. Since they do not capture more than 50% of the food I feed them (it flows away too fast for them) I am getting a build up of phosphates. My current CUC is underpowered.

My current 4 hermits and ~10 snails worked well before I added my first fish.

So I want to beef up my CUC, a combination of hermits and snails, but I am also open to adding a phosban reactor.

What is a suitable sequence of CUC/reactor without starving the CUC after they are established?

[Marlin65]

I only have about 3 snails and 5 blue legs in my tank and am wondering if they are going to starve as I don't have much algae. I think they should be added if you need them. Every tank is different so what works for one might not work for someone else. I know that if I had that many snails in my tank they would definitely starve. As it is they are already climbing across my sand to get to the small rocks and frag plugs to eat.

[Marlin65]

Originally Posted by Oscar

Kwirky: Thanks for your thoughts.

I have had a recent hair algae bloom (and macro algae) since adding my first 2 clowns 3 weeks ago. Since they do not capture more than 50% of the food I feed them (it flows away too fast for them) I am getting a build up of phosphates. My current CUC is underpowered.

My current 4 hermits and ~10 snails worked well before I added my first fish.

So I want to beef up my CUC, a combination of hermits and snails, but I am also open to adding a phosban reactor.

What is a suitable sequence of CUC/reactor without starving the CUC after they are established?

I would test your PO4 before adding a reactor. I don't run one as my PO4 is at 0.04 Maybe you don't need one.
Turn your pumps off when you feed that will help them get more food, and you will be able to feed less.

[kwirky]

Originally Posted by Marlin65

I would test your PO4 before adding a reactor. I don't run one as my PO4 is at 0.04 Maybe you don't need one.
Turn your pumps off when you feed that will help them get more food, and you will be able to feed less.

feeding flake foods contributes to algae too because half of it gets dissolved uneaten. Plus rinsing your mysis shrimp under the tap with a brine shrimp net helps too compared to just thawing it and dumping it in.

As for testing phosphates it's a moot point unless you have an organic phosphate kit. Our hobby kits test inorganic phosphates. You could have zero inorganic phosphate on your hobby grade kit, but sky high organic and never know it. Organic kits usually run $250, such as the Hanna kit, which makes them out of reach of most hobbyists.

As for deciding on your clean up crew, snails are more likely to starve than crabs and shrimp. Go light on your snails (like 1 trochus or turbo per 10-15 gallons). Go for younger (smaller) snails too because most molluscs have a 2 year lifespan. Those giant trochus snails in the store might croak in a couple months. Crabs and shrimp you can just toss in food for them if there's not much else for them to eat.

Shimek's 500 aquarium invertebrates book has great info on snails and other CUC animals (including what might end up munching on coral heh). An addition to the library for only $20.

[Marlin65]

I had my water tested at my LFS store they have a Hanna Tester.
You can ask your LFS to run a test to see what they are.