whats a good clean up crew?

[dwinzent]

i have a 120g tank that i am adding my clean up crew slowly. right now i only have 5 dwarf hermit crabs, 1 turbo snail, and a fighting conch. i figured i would get something exotic. but what more can i get to clean the glass in the tank? also i have found that my crabs are climbing the walls of the tank! is there some way to keep them down? it is just in the corner where the silicone is. also i am going to buy a larger fuge tomorow that is 36x16x18 i would have to imagine that the fuge should hold about 30-40 gal so should i fill the fuge and let the water in it cycle before i hook it up? or would it be fine to add that much new water to the aquarium? One more thing i just got a new test kit finally so what should i regularly test for? i know nitrate,NITRATE,ammonia,ph is there anything else?(or am i wrong on any of those?)

 

[mblack]

those test kits are fine to start off with assuming one of the nitrate ones is meant to say nitrite ;)

If your fuge is only going to have water in it for now then I would add water to it gradually and connect it up straight away. If it has live rock in it you'll have to make sure it has cycled first. I have turbo snails and cerith snails that are supposed to clean the glass but they don't do a very good job. Get a good glass scraper and try to beat the problem at the source, i.e. no nitrate or phosphates.

 

[yote]

+1 Mblack
Just mix and match your snails.Also dont add to many at once.You want just enough to keep it cleaned up.Any more,and some will starve to death.

 

[dcantucson]

Clean up crew from petsolutions. Will give you some ideas.

Sand Bed Stirring Team, Cleaner Packages | Pet Solutions

 

[dwinzent]

do you guys usually keep like one or two snails or something in your fuge to keep it sorta clean? or would that defeat the purpose?

 

[yote]

IF,I was running a fuge,I'd keep crabs and stuff that would feed on detritus in it,and put the snails in the display.
But thats just me.

 

[dwinzent]

cool lthanks guys! hopefully i can add my fuge soon.turns out the guy i was going to buy the fuge from lived alot further away than i thought so i am just gonna build one.

 

[winyfrog]

you can also check out reeftopia they have great prices and will go over a list of good cleaners.

I like astrea snails, because they don't bulldoze as much as turbo's. as said earlier add them gradually so they won't starve. As far as your crabs climbing the sides of the tank they will do that, no real way to stop them that I know of.

I like to keep a few nassarius snails and 1 or 2 peppermint shrimp in my fuge.

 

[dwinzent]

one last question i have an archer fish in a brackish tank that i would love to tear down and i have heard that they are healthier in sw than eve brackish but can range from sw to fw, not sure if its true though and if it is would they be reef safe?

 

[yote]

Personally,I wouldnt add anykind of fish thats not native to the reefs.

 

[dwinzent]

the guy at my LFS told me that they like to hang out in the reefs but i was not sure if they were safe to have its like putting ciclids in a planted tank, Natural environment but they kill everything! oh well thanks yote! i think i might trade him for credit at my LFS.