Underestimating the power of.........CUC?

[mitch91175]

1. How important do you think a good clean up crew is to a saltwater reef aquarium?

I think after cycling a tank that a CUC is very critical in the early stages of the tank. You do need to have some algae for them to eat though. Once the tank has been established, feel it's not necessary to replenish if there are still CUC in the tank.

2. What are your favorite cleaners?

Red Banded Trochus Snails by a large margin. They right themselves and reproduce in the tank. They do not tip rock like Turbo Snails.

Also put Tangs high on the list.

3. How often do you "replenish" the cleaning crew in your tank?

Mature system so does not require any further CUC addidions. My tangs are part of my CUC.

 

[Evan28395950]

I’ll end up having to buy some more trochus and blue legged hermits. The trochus survive Usually 6 months or even a year, they end up falling and the puffer gets them before they flip themselves or I can help. Hermits just fight each other, started with 10+ now down to around 4.

 

[najer]

I don't replace cuc very often, get fish that do stuff!
I had to switch to money / ring cowries for snails as my tassle file fish is good at shelling snails.

 

[ReefBeta]

1. How important do you think a good clean up crew is to a saltwater reef aquarium?

2. What are your favorite cleaners?

3. How often do you "replenish" the cleaning crew in your tank?

1. Very important. Essential to keep the tank clean. Fish won't do nearly as well a job at cleaning algae, especially once they taste frozen food.

2. Trochus snail, because they eat algae very well, and reproduce in the system.

3. Never because of #2. Once established the snail will "replenish" themselves to the availability of food and space.

 

[NashobaTek]

Questions for you: I have a 14 gal biocube and only 1 female clown. Would she get along with a Tang? 1 turbo snail and 3 or 4 hermit crabs for a crew. Lots of brittle starfish-tiny ones. I do have a hell of an issue with hair algae and brown algae on the sand though. I change 5 gallons of water each week-and also add Vibrant. Advice about algae? (PS-Emerald crabs die too easily)

Pretty sure a 14 gallon aquarium is way to small for any Tang.

 

[Greybeard]

Questions for you: I have a 14 gal biocube and only 1 female clown. Would she get along with a Tang? 1 turbo snail and 3 or 4 hermit crabs for a crew. Lots of brittle starfish-tiny ones. I do have a hell of an issue with hair algae and brown algae on the sand though. I change 5 gallons of water each week-and also add Vibrant. Advice about algae? (PS-Emerald crabs die too easily)

14g tank isn't going to hold a tang. Way to small.

Algae blenny might help. A pincushion or pencil urchin might help. The Vibrant might eventually solve the issue for you, but it takes time to do so.

 

[vetteguy53081]

1. How important do you think a good clean up crew is to a saltwater reef aquarium?

It is vital opposed to word important for prevention of unsightly and undesired buildup of diatoms, cyano, GHA and Bryopsis

2. What are your favorite cleaners?

Snails: TURBO, ASTREA, TROCHUS, NASSARIUS AND FIGHTING CONCH

3. How often do you "replenish" the cleaning crew in your tank?

When things get out of hand (which is rare) or when i realize my crew has diminished.

 

[Leib]

Underestimating the power of........the CLEANUP CREW! Wait don't close this thread just yet! Hear me out. Yes most of us know the importance of a cleanup crew in our reef tank but I think sometimes we underestimate the work that they actually do that a lot of times go unnoticed.

What is a cleanup crew or CUC? We have a very good article here but basically it's the tank janitors of your tank like snails, crabs, starfish etc. that consume the uneaten, decaying food as well as fish waste and things like that. They also keep the glass, rock and sand clean among other things.

So what do I mean about "underestimating the power of a cleanup crew?" I think sometimes we underestimate the GOOD that having them in the tank does! We also underestimate the BAD that happens when the cleanup crew start to deplete. The thing about a cleanup crew is that they do eventually start to die off and they need to be replenished. Just recently my sand started getting covered in some green/brown type of algae and even after stirring it's the type that resettles and comes back. I realized that I hadn't replenished my cleaners recently so I made an order and got the new crew in place. Two days later the sand is noticeably cleaner and I can see the hermit crabs and snails eating away on the sand and doing their job!

Today let's talk about the clean up crew a little!

1. How important do you think a good clean up crew is to a saltwater reef aquarium?

2. What are your favorite cleaners?

3. How often do you "replenish" the cleaning crew in your tank?

I have a couple of snails that's all. they lasted over a year I have snails that bury themselves in the sand and have lasted over 2 years and still going strong though I never understood if your clean up crew dies dont they just release everything they just cleaned and pollute the water? That would make them worthless. My tank is way to big to notice when A little snail passes away to remove it lol

 

[Scottanne]

Thanks for everyone’s input! So I’d like to tap into your knowledge. I have a 32 gal. BioCube and have a GHA problem that my CUC can’t seem to eradicate. I have 10 hermit crabs, 2 turbos, 2 nassarius, 2 margarita snails, lawnmower blenny. My parameters are all within acceptable range, temp is 78 degrees. Any suggestions?

 

[FinnyGyrrl]

Ha! You must be reading my mind... again!!!
Cuc costs $$, and so gets replaced too infrequently in our tanks, because it is difficult to "chemically" justify, unlike salt and media.
However, I recently added some "pairs" of emerald crabs and the craziest mini-decorator crab, just for kicks, and... you would not believe how all the coral responded!!! They absolutely fell in love with their Fun New Friends!! Haha! Nothing else was changed.
So, I feel, like Brandon says, we not the Tiny Dudes have to do the big chemistry work. But at the same time, the beloved life in our tanks may have developed "expectations" of what species a healthy biospace hosts. Like, a human expecting balloons at a graduation party?It was eye-opening, what 7 reef safe crabs (biological diversity) added to the psychological health of 2 tanks of coral.
So, I agree that we humans should be the extraordinary intervention providers in our biomes. But each additional creature we carefully add, impacts the biome very powerfully!
My favorite are those huge sand-moving conches (including gigas and fighting conches.). They provide the same sandbed look as a Japanese gardener artistically raking a gravel bed.
Snails come in so many fascinating shapes and colors! Like red foots, giant astrea, ninja stars.
I feel like the clean up crew are little friends, without which my tanks seen somehow lifeless. My stocking aims are to imitate "as sensibly as possible" the same space of a natural rock outcrop on the sea floor. The other living things in the tanks usually respond with incredible excitement to cuc, perhaps because they help to attempt to recreate an Amazing ecosystem which humans can not really experience.

 

[Ippyroy]

I chose other since my tank is still an infant. I am in the midst of building my CUC now. I have a lot of algae growing and I am hoping they will help.

 

[Charles Zinn]

Underestimating the power of........the CLEANUP CREW! Wait don't close this thread just yet! Hear me out. Yes most of us know the importance of a cleanup crew in our reef tank but I think sometimes we underestimate the work that they actually do that a lot of times go unnoticed.

What is a cleanup crew or CUC? We have a very good article here but basically it's the tank janitors of your tank like snails, crabs, starfish etc. that consume the uneaten, decaying food as well as fish waste and things like that. They also keep the glass, rock and sand clean among other things.

So what do I mean about "underestimating the power of a cleanup crew?" I think sometimes we underestimate the GOOD that having them in the tank does! We also underestimate the BAD that happens when the cleanup crew start to deplete. The thing about a cleanup crew is that they do eventually start to die off and they need to be replenished. Just recently my sand started getting covered in some green/brown type of algae and even after stirring it's the type that resettles and comes back. I realized that I hadn't replenished my cleaners recently so I made an order and got the new crew in place. Two days later the sand is noticeably cleaner and I can see the hermit crabs and snails eating away on the sand and doing their job!

Today let's talk about the clean up crew a little!

1. How important do you think a good clean up crew is to a saltwater reef aquarium?

2. What are your favorite cleaners?

3. How often do you "replenish" the cleaning crew in your tank?

I have Elegance corals which are hazardous to snail so shell need to be cleaned out from time to time and then replaced. Usually coordinated with water change

 

[laverda]

Thanks for everyone’s input! So I’d like to tap into your knowledge. I have a 32 gal. BioCube and have a GHA problem that my CUC can’t seem to eradicate. I have 10 hermit crabs, 2 turbos, 2 nassarius, 2 margarita snails, lawnmower blenny. My parameters are all within acceptable range, temp is 78 degrees. Any suggestions?

You ask for help but say your parameters are in range with out posting them. I would start by posting your parameters especially nitrate and phosphates. One reason these may be in range is due to the algae growth. I find the easiest way to control nitrate and phosphate and algae growth in the tank is via an ATS. You can build a simple effective one for $30 in very little space. See my DIY thread on under $30 ATS. Mine got a algae bloom under control quickly in my 300 gallon.

 

[wolfthefallen]

Clean up Crews are worth every penny and are the work horses in a tank.

My clean up crew for my 40 gallon cube

1-3 Mexican Turbo Snails
3-5 Blue legged hermit crabs
2-5 Astrea Snails
30-50 dwarf Cerith snails
10-20 Florida Cerith Snails

 

[brandon429]

Scottanne

excellence there above, dont change a thing. You don’t want to starve that algae for a litany of reasons

if your tank was two hundred gallons you might have to

but that nano, lift out rock set on counter debride the algae off precision

like reef dentistry and thats a plaque target, dislodge the attachments leaving perfect rock, perfect corals, balanced sandbed. Set rock back in, clean in the area you want


Be targeting, your cuc probably helped suppress a lot. That many cuc inputs mass waste pellets. You will have to disassembly clean that nano one day to fix up the sandbed and clean it out, we have a thirty five page thread of disassembly cleaning nanos all at once as handy info if wanted


*if your algae comes back faster than cuc tends in the worked spot, common, we have a booster you put on the spot next time. I’d make that reef live twenty years in perfect condition never testing for another param other than salt and temp, if it were in my home. Nice job on balanced aging, if it had zero algae that’d be less natural. We want some algae growth potential, not zero


you have the right ratios across the board, we can see by pics not your posted Red Sea approximations (every reefer)


be the grazer you cant get them to be, targeting. Deliberate. Even though I cannot see any bad algae, by this time tomorrow have none that you can see, this works 100% on all reefs in 24 hours by the way, raw will.

if you are unwilling to access the rock stack, disregard above

murphys law always puts the sprout invader at the lowest possible spot, it’s not random. It’s merely a test of will.

 

[Mastiffsrule]

Evening all,

My crew is one of my favorite. I know some of my snails and crabs are at least 7 to 8 years old. I have only replenished blue legs a few years ago, and that was not many. They are my favorite. I admit every member of the crew has irritated coral at some point. The only killer is my urchin but I love him too.

look what a great job he is doing on my overflow today.

 

[brandon429]

He’s literally doing rasping reef dentistry and in this case it will eventually serve to keep open outflow channels.

 

[Calm Blue Ocean]

I think CUC are another layer in a healthy ecosystem. From the smallest creatures to the biggest I think it's all important.

I like inverts, though. They can be really interesting to watch so the goal is to find guys that will eat the bad stuff and add to the interest of the tank.

I currently have one Mexican Turbo Snail, one Tiger Sand Conch, three Blue Leg Hermits, two Trochus Snails, four Nerite Snails, 9 Nassarius Snails, countless Dwarf Cerith Snails, a Blue Tuxedo Urchin, and two Peppermint Shrimps in 46 gallons.

A lot of these guys are important enough that they earned names but of all these members of the CUC, the real MVP is the conch. He eats the algae nobody else will touch, even sometimes climbing the rocks to reach it! The nastier the better. He is the ultimate eater. Love that guy! The urchin gets an honorable mention for being pure entertainment. I'm not sure what he eats but he wears great hats.

The Nerites are the only ones I wouldn't buy again. Even with a lid they've found their way out and I've rescued too many from the floor. A few days ago I found one in the skimmer. No idea how he did that. But the point is that they seem to avoid their algae eating duty and go on adventures regularly outside the tank. I've had astraeas and seem to have a hard time keeping them alive so they are also unfortunately out.

Last time I bought a package of cleaners it was because I had some sort of algae explosion and hoped to deal with it naturally. Unfortunately they weren't into whatever I had going on. Prior to that I just bought a snail here or there to replace one that became CUC food themselves.

 

[Hausser]

I bought 100 snails pack on line and that was when I had bad green hair algae issue. A lot have died off as food starts to run out, I still have a bunch but if they are dying that is because a lack of food so why replenish until needed.

 

[Erick Armanii]

Cuc in my opinion starts at the microscopic level. A healthy and diverse population of microphona and copepods really helps keep things in check.. To keep the population strong I’ve restocked twice since February and never noticed any real algae issues.

My most recent batch of fish (4 lyretail anthais) with now 2 a day feedings of frozen mysis I’ve noticed some algae growth.

time to order some more copepods!

since this is my first bare bottom tank what other suggestions do you guys have?