150 Gallon Reef

[agunn6997]

Which inverts should I put in a new 150 gallon reef tank? I have several fish, so nothing that will attack them.
I have live rock and live sand (shallow bed). I had a couple of corals and they are already spreading.
I know that ***** has the starter packs, but am not sure how popular those really are, or if I should do something custom. Any thoughts?

 

[deton8it]

Are you talking about a clean up crew or just random inverts?
John

 

[agunn6997]

A clean up crew, but I didn't like the ***** packages. I want a starfish, but I do not like the serpent stars or brittle stars. I also do not want 80 snails in my tank. I have 6 blue legged hermit crabs, I have seen one snail. I want an attractive cleanup crew.

 

[deton8it]

I always go custom. No one should need that many snails and crabs in their tank. If you have too many then they eat all of the algae and then die off. Personally I like hermit crabs over snails. With hermit crabs there is always some activity in your tank. They are always moving. I find snails to be boring. That said, I do have a few snails (maybe 5). I also have 2 black brittle stars since the black ones are safer than the green ones.
John

 

[jay0705]

Shrimp are also nice. I have peppermint in mine. Besides eating left over fish food. They took care of a few apatasia I had.

 

[deton8it]

Last year I got 10 Peppermint shrimp and some SPS coral both from here. I noticed one of the corals (Purple Stylophora) was being consumed by something at night so I thought I had a pest in my tank. I waited until late at night after lights out and went and looked in the tank only to find one of the peppermint shrimp pulling the polyps off and eating them. I was able to stop it but it was too late. The damage was done. I got rid of all of my Peppermint shrimp I haven't put a one in the tank since.
Before anyone asks, yes I am sure it was a Peppermint Shrimp.
John

 

[agunn6997]

Thanks! I do like the hermit crabs, as well. I found a cool snail that had a snout like an elephant. i am not sure how else to describe it, really. I do have a few coral, so thanks for the tip about the shrimp. I will avoid them. I bought a pencil urchin, but it disappeared into the live rock. It could hide forever in there, but i was kind of hoping that it wouldn't. I thought my royal gramma might hide a lot, but it hides less than the firefish goby. He just kind of swims through all of the tunnels in the rock really quickly.
How many hermit crabs, starfish, etc. Should I put in my tank? I have 6 blue legged hermit crabs, one large, 2 medium and three tiny baby ones. Should I get a sand sifting starfish? How many can I have, etc.?
What is a good rule of thumb for a cleanup crew? I don't want anyone to die.

 

[deton8it]

I like 1 hermit crab per 10 gallons. Also, make sure you have extra shells for them to move into once they out grow their current home, You can buy 50 for a couple of bucks. I have a small pile of them on the right side of my tank. The hermit crabs swap houses right there.
I have 2 black brittle stars in my 90 gallon tank. I am against sand sifting starfish. They don't really stir the sand up that much and all they are really doing is eating your micro organisms out of your sand.
If you notice that you are starting to get more algae then bump up you clean up crew slowly. If you go too fast and buy a lot of things, they will clean your tank fast and then die of starvation. NOTHING good happens fast in a reef tank.
John

 

[agunn6997]

Thanks! I will only buy a couple at a time. I already have 6, so I will buy 9 more (over time), and a brittle starfish. What about the star serpents? Are they good cleaners? I like the harlequin one. Slow and steady, aye.

 

[deton8it]

I don't know anything about the harlequin serpent star. It looks cool but I don't know if it is a hunter. I prefer black brittle stars. The green brittle stars are notorious hunters. It is a matter of time before they catch and kill a fish. I have never had an issue with the black ones though. Their down side is that they aren't very active during the day. I have only seen mine out during the day about 5-10 times in 4 years.
John

 

[agunn6997]

Well I certainly don't want to lose any fish. I will go with the black brittle star. I am usually up late, so hopefully I would be able to see them to check on them. I hate it when I can't see everything in my tank even for a few days. I want to know everything is healthy and happy. Thanks!