rough and tuff clean up crew

[newsaltyman]

hi...i havent done much research about "clean up crew" yet but i want to start right here in this message board. I have a 72 gallon tank....so what should my cleaning crew consists of? how many critters can i have? please list some critters that are part of the rough tough cleaning crew and a little discription of it. When can you add this Cleaning crew to your aquarium? im think 1 week into cycling....and are they gonna eat off the decaying live rocks or should i add something so they dont starve. Special Thanks from my future Cleaning crew and me.

 

[joe's reefer]

o and i forgot on ht elive sand ? get about 3 inches worth.for u get 20-25 turbo snails,25-30 hermits, 3 sand sifters,6 fighting conchs,10 peppermint shrimp,7 or less cleaner shrimp,a tang or Rainfordi goby for algea, and wait longer for inverts then fish.since u prob got uncycled rock wait at least 1 1/2 months

 

[newsaltyman]

THANKS FOR ALL UR ADVICE IN THIS ONE AND ALL THE REST..THANKS FOR TAKING THE TIME TO HELP ME. SO LET ME GET THIS STRAIGHT 1.5 MONTHS FOR THE SNAILS AND ALL THEM?..I THOUGHT THEY CAN GET RIGHT IN DURING THE CYCLE..

 

[hondo]

let your tank finish it's cycle before you add anything. Once your readings for Nitrite and Amonia are 0 then add your cleanup crew. Choices for the cleanup crew are as follows and I'm sure I will leave some out but these are my favorites and remember diversity is the key.
Trouchas snails - best snail there is, a little expensive but they clean hair algae and they don't die if they fall on their back. 10-15
Cerith snails - cleans glass really well and also will clean the area of the glass below the sand bed line. 10
Nassarius snail - will clean your sand bed as they bury themselves in the sand bed and come up when they smell food. 10 - 15
Astrea snail - hard working snail that will eat hair algae, but it dies if it falls over. 10
Turbo snail - not one of my favorites but an effective cleaner. I don't like it because it's a little bulldozer and will knock over corals or anything else in it's path. 2 - 5
Stometella snail - quickly becoming one of my favorites as they reproduce so fast and clean both rock and glass. 10
Scarlet hermits - they will clean both rocks and sand beds and are pretty safe for a hermit. 10
Fighting conch - great for hair algae and sand bed cleaning. 2 - 3
As for other more exotic types of cleaners: shrimps, bristle star, fish (don't get a tang if you think it will eat hair algae as they don't, but a nice fish to have just to look at). Wait until your tank is establish and the clean up crew has taken care of the diatom and algae blooms associated with new tanks. Add these items over a long period (if at all )of time and go slow