Cleaner Crew or No Cleaner Crew?

[JumboShrimp]

Great report from @damsels are not mean .

I especially love Sea Hares and Florida Fighting Conch.

 

[gbroadbridge]

I could put in more but mine cruises the sand bed constantly and burrrows in a spots all over so continuously stirring the sand so felt no need to add more! I don’t run a ULN, pretty much opposite as I have been battling to keep nutrients down. Kinda big population of fish. Now that you ask maybe I will put in more. Lol. Maybe my conch is just very active. Lol. I will get him a friend or spouse.

Mine spend half their time buried, so maybe I have too many. lol.

I have a pretty big pod population so maybe they bury themselves and snack all day. Who knows.
As long as I have no algae...

 

[Duncan62]

I'm torn between having a clean up crew or not to have a cleanup crew in my mixed reef tank that is about 2 years old now (80 gallon fijicube). I probably work on my tank too much and have gyres with a good amount of water movement, but spend a lot of time blowing algae off the rocks and substrate at times. My nitrates did get high above 20 ppm (3 weeks ago) and now around 5 ppm or just below. po4 consistently around .05-.10 ppm. Will a clean up crew make my life easier or will I have tiny snails crawling all over, getting in overflow etc causing more annoyance than assistance? I see so many tanks online that do not SEEM to have cleanup crews unless they just come out at night. Opinions/Thoughts on both sides of having a clean up crew or not having one is appreciated.

Do you have a diverse pod population? Urchins are the best just fasten corals down. A good cuc is vital imo.

 

[Duncan62]

Great report from @damsels are not mean .

I especially love Sea Hares and Florida Fighting Conch.

Gotta say Damsels are not mean is a great name.

 

[elcapitan1993]

I vote no clean up crew, I have wasted hundreds of dollars on stupid hermit crabs and snails that did absolutely jack **** for my tank

 

[DK450reef]

I'm torn between having a clean up crew or not to have a cleanup crew in my mixed reef tank that is about 2 years old now (80 gallon fijicube). I probably work on my tank too much and have gyres with a good amount of water movement, but spend a lot of time blowing algae off the rocks and substrate at times. My nitrates did get high above 20 ppm (3 weeks ago) and now around 5 ppm or just below. po4 consistently around .05-.10 ppm. Will a clean up crew make my life easier or will I have tiny snails crawling all over, getting in overflow etc causing more annoyance than assistance? I see so many tanks online that do not SEEM to have cleanup crews unless they just come out at night. Opinions/Thoughts on both sides of having a clean up crew or not having one is appreciated.

Definitely a cleaning crew. It’s part of the natural ecosystem

 

[Duncan62]

I vote no clean up crew, I have wasted hundreds of dollars on stupid hermit crabs and snails that did absolutely jack **** for my tank

All those things do some good.the best cuc in my opinion are the hitchhikers everyone doesn't want. Bristle worms. Stomatela. All kinds of pods. Worms of all sorts. You'll still have to clean your glass but your rocks and sand will benefit greatly.

 

[-XENOMORPH-]

A question. If I have a spotted valentine puffer that likes to nip at crabs... I assume he will kill shrimp from what I've read. I have snails but what else can co.exist with the puffer? Thnx maybe just an urchin? Blue tucedo or pencil. Conch?

 

[Duncan62]

A question. If I have a spotted valentine puffer that likes to nip at crabs... I assume he will kill shrimp from what I've read. I have snails but what else can co.exist with the puffer? Thnx maybe just an urchin? Blue tucedo or pencil. Conch?

He'll munch that shrimp for lunch. Blue tuxedo has been a favorite of mine for ever.

 

[Mppp]

Do you have a diverse pod population? Urchins are the best just fasten corals down. A good cuc is vital imo.

I believe it's only Tisbe pods and that's my only concern w/ an urchin is the bulldozing as I previously had Mexican turbo snails that even bulldozed a bit too much for my liking, but could deal w/ it.

 

[ZoWhat]

YOU ARE THE CLEANER CREW

 

[Mppp]

YOU ARE THE CLEANER CREW

Agreed, but blowing off algae with a coral feeder tube (long turkey baster basically) more times a week than I'd like to does get old and a cleanup crew will assist in the hard to reach places (I'm hoping).

 

[Duncan62]

Agreed, but blowing off algae with a coral feeder tube (long turkey baster basically) more times a week than I'd like to does get old and a cleanup crew will assist in the hard to reach places (I'm hoping).

It will make a huge difference. If you can find stomatella get all you can. Urchins. Pods. More live rock. Crabs. I haven't touched my rocks in a a year because of a huge diverse cuc. Spaghetti worms. Bristle worms. Lots of these things regarded as pests will clean your rocks. You do the glass. Lol. Good luck.