clean up crew

[patrickfox4@msn]

hI GUYS JUST WANTED TO KNOW A LITTLE ABOUT THE CLEAN UP CREW, I HAVE A 56 GALLON TANK WITH A BIO BALL FILTER SYSTEM PLUS A SMALL MAGNUM CANISTER FILTER A PROTIEN SKIMMER AND A U/V STERILIZER, ABOUT 40LB OF ROCK AND SINCE I BROUGHT THE TANK OFF SOMEONE AND THE SYSTEM WAS DOWN I DONT KNOW IF THE ROCK IS CONSIDER LIVE OR NOT NOW WHATS THE DIFFERNTS, BUT MY MAIN QUESTION IS WHAT SHOULD I START MY TANK WITH AS A CLEAN UP CREW I HAVE 8 FISH NOW 6 DAMPSELS AND 2 CLOWNS TANKS BEEN GOING FOR A MONTH BUT AMMONIA LEVELS HIGH , AROUND 8 PH GOOD AT 8.2 AND HELP WOULD BE GREAT THANKS FOR YOUR HELP

 

[nerdy]

First get those ammonia levels down. you might have to many fish! then I would put in some blue hermit crabs and turbo snails and then a lawnmower blenny!

 

[nacl-man]

If your ammonia is around 8 ppm I would get that down as soon as possible... your tank may not have cycled yet or something may have died recently and is hiding behind a rock. Since the tank is only a month old it is more likely however that the tank is not cycled. Have some patience, and when your ammonia and nitrites are at 0 and you have just a few nitrates (10-15ppm) your cycle is pretty much done and you can safely add some snails and hermits. Those guys are really sensitive to water conditions and if you put them in while your ammonia is 8 ppm they would most likely die.
HTH.
Cheers!