clean up crew for a dsb

[gregvabch]

what kind of clean up crew would i need for a dsb? a guy at my lfs said that i would run into algae problems with anything more than 2 inches of sand.

 

[angelofdeath132]

questioned the same thing, so far i've gotten nassarius snails,and fighting conchs for the sandbed, and astrea snails for the glass and live rock.

 

[birdy]

The best clean up crew for the sand bed is the natural worms, and funa that you have in the bed. Why would a sandbed cause algae problems? It doesn't make sense to me, algae is fed by too many nutrients in your tank.

 

[slick]

Algae is not caused by mmore than 2 inches of sand. As Birdy said worms and fuma are good cleaners. In addition to that swf.com sells great clean up crews. I suggest you check them out. I got mine from them and have been very pleased.

 

[gregvabch]

just wanted some more opinions. seems that the lfs always has a different idea of how things should operate than the people i talk to on this message board.

 

[slick]

who are you going to listen to the lfs who makes money when you buy stuff from them or the people who in no way make a profit from your decision.

 

[gregvabch]

yeah you've got a point but at the same time when he told me that, he wasn't trying to sell me anything. he's one of the more knowledgable guys that work there, just wanted to see what some other experienced hobbyists thought of that theory.

 

[califishdude]

on swf.com clean up crew what would u recommedn for a 55 gal. i already have 2 emerald, 4 hermite and 3 snails. there are so many difernet groups and im not sure?

 

[waterwolf]

What about sand sifting stars and sea cucumbers?

 

[lutz493]

I have a 55 Gallon tank myself with a DSB. I have 90lb LR in the tank, I use 10 Nass Snails, 4 Large Ceriths, 20 Small Ceriths, 2 Peppermint Shrimp, 3 Emerald Crabs, 4 Scarlet Leg Hermits.
I'm happy with what I have, I may get a Conch and I will probably add another 6-11 Scarlet Leg Hermits.
For keeping circulation in the Sand - Fsh says you wanna use Nass Snails and Conchs so the top lair stays cirulated leaving the lower layers for the worms etc to grow.

 

[bradburycf]

I just put a large cleanup crew in place because I was have some hair algae problems (I never heard of a dsb causing algae problems either). Overnight the algae was gone. In my 50 gal tank I got 20 blue legged hermits, 20 scarlet hermits, 10 left-handed hermits, 20 margarita snails (awesome with rock and glass), and 20 astrea snails (careful, they can't get upright if they fall upside down) and a couple turbos. The snails are small enough to work around the rock without disturbing anything, and the hermits demolished any sign of algae in the sand.

 

[tim_russell]

If I might make a suggestion, if you are a beginner, I wouldn't advice a cucumber....you might piss it off and it could do not so good things for you tank...but, you can do what ya want
As for listening to lfs, DON"T!! lol. My lfs told me i couldn't put ls, or ds in a tank, and said that i could only put crush coral and I HAD to have an ugf...well, I didn't take ANY of their adv cause, they are just #()$*
Good luck on a clean up crew. SWF.COM has a good selection of kits, or, you can go on the U-build it and make it yourself. If you can't spend that much, get someone to go in with you. Its just a thought. swf actually has some great prices, good quality, and pretty much a no hassle policy.

 

[javatech]

take a look at this
http://www.simplifiedreefkeeping.com/faq/faq.htm

 

[fshhub]

snails, conchs and crabs as wel as pods and worms are the best thing for a dsb, you(as mentioned) only wat to disturb the top layer, the lower layer you want to remain unchurned, the worms will work it good enough. The idea is to have a stagnant oxyugen deprived area of the bed, this is where bacterias live that do more for reducing nitrates than many pieces of equipment can do effectively.
as for the stars and cukes, 1 was already mentioned, the cukes have been known to dameage tanks, if they get stressed. The stars sift the sand, while eating the pids and other fauna in your sand, whihc you want to keep.