I need a Clean-Up Crew

clown-lover

clown-lover

Member
my tank is being taken over by algae!!!!!:eek: and it's time that i shared this lusciousness with a clean up crew.....but now i'm all worried....my tang just died....and i caught my cleaner shrimp and hermit crab on top of him!!!! i'm looking for some nice snails, hermits, crabs....anything that isn't mean and will clean the algae off of my tank.
the algae is now all over my walls, rock and sand bed.....so crawlers, sifters, and algae pullers are needed
i also have a cyno problem.....do cerith snails clean that up?
what should i get???
 
dad

dad

Active Member
Before you buy a cleanuo crew; you need to get your tank in order. What are your readings? nitrate etc.
If anything dies, get it out.
We really need more info to help out. tank size, DSB?, LR?, Everything you can think of. How long has it been set up?
Even the lighting, filter system, water flow rate, and what all do you have in it now.
I know it sounds like alot to put down but it is really would help out.
Hate for you to waste money on a cleanup crew and lose them also, ;)
 
clown-lover

clown-lover

Member
well, it's been set up and stocked for a year....
my fish history....three damsels, two died because one of them was the bully and killed the other two....so i took him out of there -
two clown fish -
one hermit -
one fidler crab -
one cleaner shrimp -
i had a yellow tang die on me on thursday, she was with me for about a month....my mom saw a brown spot on her and called me up (i was out of town) i thought she mught have been seeing things, so she was worred but i wasn't....well, sure enough, it died
i don't think it was my water that was the problem, imo the shrimp would have gone too if that was the case
so now, after the clean up and water change, i need to stock my tank with clean up....
thanks
 
clown-lover

clown-lover

Member
just got back from my lfs....i didn't buy anything yet, i need more advice on what to get.....
they have two nassarius....and a fighting conch....they recomended some stuff, they said it's like 'red out' (not sure on name) but it's for that cyno problem i have....
would these be good in my tank?
how do you know when you have enough algae for these snails?
 
bigmac

bigmac

Member
Ultralife Red slime remover is good stuff but it will probably make a mess of your tank. You need to figure out the the problem first. Are you using RO water? RODI water? A LOT more flow might help with the slime. I'd use the slime remover as a last resort.
Don't bother with any critters until you get the alage under control. At this stage using critters to control alage probaby wont work.
BTW, I have used the red slimer remover.
 
clown-lover

clown-lover

Member
the lighting sucks.....just four regular strips of flourecent lights, i don't remember the wattage
bigmac....did the slime remover work for you?
i'm thinking that it's from using tap water....
 
bigmac

bigmac

Member

Originally posted by Clown-Lover
bigmac....did the slime remover work for you?

Let me see if I can put this another way....................FIND THE SOURCE and that should fix the problem:D
I have 10 grand in my sps tank, some of the corals are priceless (to me anyway) the last thing I want to do it dump chemicals in my tank. Their are lots of good alages and lots of bad ones, most of the time we manage to grow the bad ones. Your lights could be part of the problems but I doubt it. Switching to RO water, adding more powerheads would be a good start, maybe running some carbon.
I've been doing this for along time, last year was my first battle with slime. I tried everything first without success..I knew I had a bigger problem then most other reefers outbreaks. My water conditions were perfict and the cyno kept growing. I would suck it out during the day and at night it would grow back.
The Slime Remover worked very well with only one loss (large brittle star) This stuff isn't something you want to take lightly. About 6 hrs after I added it my tank looked like clear jello, you can't run the skimmer because it will just flood, you need lots of water made up to do water changes, you'll need to run carbon. If you don't remove the source it will probably just grow back.
Let me climb down now:rolleyes: (bet you thought that would never end) You don't have corals or a lot of inverts so it wont have too much effect on aything. It also wont take care of the other alages.
 
dad

dad

Active Member
I just wanted to bump this, ;)
I think you need to need to read alot more about reef tanks.
I am not trying to be harsh on you because most of us have made the same mistakes as you are now.
There is too much about reef tanks for us to comprehend (at least me).
That is why we are all here.
There are a few thing to get right in the first place: First the water. It should be R/O in my opinion. Then the filtration. I would ask more about what you need(I know very little). I do know that you need a DSB(deep sand bed) I recomend at least 4". Then you need LR(live rock). This also helps the filtration. Then there is the lighting. Too much to tell about it, ask around.
I am just touching the tip of what is to be learned and studied.
Test kits are there for us to learn what is going on inside the tank. Well my fingers just gave out from typing, ;)
 
clown-lover

clown-lover

Member
hmm, i already have all that....
i've been in this hobby for about 2 years, i know that's not enough to know everything, i really don't know much, i've got loads to learn....
i did loads of reasearch before starting, and that was mostly on how to get set up....equipment, al about the cycle, and so forth
my 55gal tank has been up and running with lights, live sand, live rock, hang on filter, remora skimmer, heater, and a powerhead.....all this for about a year now....i don't have a lot of money so it's taking me a while to stock my tank....and when something like this cyano happens, i can't run out and buy an ro/di system to fix the problem, that's why i'm asking if there is any kind of critter that will eat that stuff, if not, then i would like to clean it up somehow.....
i've never had a clean up 'crew' just a hermit here and a crab there....and like 4 snails that fell off the wall and never got back up again
i've been on the computer all day long, on the phone with people trying to find some good critters....and i think i know what i want now....
thanks for the help though:)
 
dad

dad

Active Member
My apologies for sounding harsh.
I know how it is for not having the money to spend.
So I would concentrate on the problem as a cure?
The tap water has to go. You can buy cheap water(maybe distilled) somewhere?
The lighting maybe on too long. How long is it on now? BTW is your tank by a window?
I would start small with a cleanup crew now. A few snails and a couple of hermits.
Sorry again if I sounded harsh or unreasonable.
 
clown-lover

clown-lover

Member
:D no, not harsh at all, i understand, everyone needs to know the basics first....thanks
i keep the lights on for 12 hours....from 11 to 11....if i woke up earlier, i would turn them on earlier, but i'm a late sleeper,:cool:
no, no window by it, there is one on the other side of the room, but even at that, i live in S.A., TX and it gets hot down here so i keep my window closed and covered year round
 
jonthefb

jonthefb

Active Member
as far as the tang gettign sick, the number one cause for problems i temp swings, especially in the transition form fall to winter...monitor your tep thoughout the day and see what it hovers around...you dont want it too jump too much!
the shrmip and crab on the dead tang, are just those guys doign what they do best....scavenging....they didnt kill the fish, they are just trying to eat it which is totally normal!
take the other advice on this thread and look to solve the source of the algae before tryiin to fix it quick.....chemicals should only be a last resort after all toher methods have been tried and have failed!
good luck
jon
 
clown-lover

clown-lover

Member
thank you for helping me try to figure out what happened to my yellow, i'll be watching my temp like a hawk
i'm almost sure now that the cyano is coming from two things....
one: tap water
two: not enough water flow.
i'm going to try distilled water and as soon as i can, i'll get another powerfhead.
hope that works, if not, i'll be back.:D
thanks so much for all the help
Candy
 
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