Tuxedo urchin - Should I add to my 20G?

Kongar

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Looking for a discussion / advice on whether or not I should add a tuxedo urchin to my 20G nano.

Reasons for:
  1. They are cool
  2. My tank is over a year old
  3. My tank grows coraline algae quite fast
  4. I can and do keep my parameters stable - nitrates around 2, phosphates around .06
  5. Despite (or because of) those parameters, I seem to have fairly massive algae growth (better than the dinos I used to have!). Tons of bubble algae and bryopsis which I seem to have picked up from frags recently. I pluck out huge chunks every week. (probably about a 1/4 cup of algae every week.
  6. My rocks and corals are glued down - I'm not worried about things getting knocked over
  7. I'm under the impression they will eat coraline first, but also bubble algae, bryopsis, and hair algae and this will save me some weekly maintenance.
  8. There are some reports that 20G is ok for them, but I might need to supplement with some nori sheets.
  9. I do weekly 50% water changes, so I think I'm able to stay on top of the bioload
  10. I currently have no utilitarian fish in my tank because it's a nano (I'd kill for a tang). Just snails and an emerald crab that eats nothing but fishfood =\
Reasons against:
  1. Bioload. Currently 2 clowns and a royal gramma. Am I pushing it with an urchin? They way I see it, the only extra load would be any supplemental nori I have to feed it. You'd think there's plenty of stuff for the urchin to eat in my tank - but maybe I'm underestimating how much they eat...
  2. ?
I've always assumed this wasn't an option for me - but I'm seeing people have added the smaller tuxedos to their nanos. What do you think? Doable? Or is this irresponsible pet ownership?

Thanks!
 

TriggersAmuck

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I have a purple pincushion urchin in my tank and love it. Yes, it has a tendency to mow over anything in its path, but if your corals are glued down they should be ok. It is easy to feed a small piece of Nori when it is at the top of the tank attempting to "escape", and it is cool to watch it pull the piece in to the center of its mouth. Does a fantastic job of clearing paths of GHA on rock and smooth surfaces alike.

And just as an FYI, my tank is a 20g cube as well.
 

atlantean

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I have two in my 20 at the moment to work on some red turf algae. They eat everything to the rock but aren’t that voracious that they’re going to run out of food unless your tank is pretty bare.

Actually got two turbos for the moment because I was getting impatient with the urchins. They’re a fun addition and don’t pick up anything unless it’s pretty loose already.
 

Nick Steele

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I think you’d be fine. You could get a smaller one if you want but they don’t eat as much obviously.

And there’s a few utilitarian fish for nano tanks.
tailspot blenny
Rainford goby
I’m sure I’m missing one or two also
 

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