Ever run a tank without a cleanup crew?

[kinetic]

Has anyone successfully kept a tank without a cleanup crew?

Are they *really* needed for non-specialized pest control?

I like them because of the diversity of animals in the tank, but I still have to manually clean the tank either way.

 

[Kensington Reefer]

Fish are far faster than inverts at algae control.
And in most cases the “clean up crew” dies off within the first year.
IMHO
I would throw a few CUC inverts in but be more specific about the individual and species

 

[JVU]

Has anyone successfully kept a tank without a cleanup crew?

No- assuming you mean all living creatures that eat stuff other than the food you add.

Are they *really* needed for non-specialized pest control?

Yes- assuming you mean common algae and cyanobacteria when say pest (based on your other posts)

I like them because of the diversity of animals in the tank, but I still have to manually clean the tank either way.

I recall last time you tried to keep algae in check and your rock/sand surfaces pristine with manual cleaning only (or mostly?) and it resulted in an unstable system that was very frustrating for you.

The goal is to get tolerable benign algae/bacteria/coral covering all the surfaces ASAP so the pathogenic variety that’s harder to control can’t take hold. In order to do this, you can’t be aiming for a perfectly pristine tank with manual cleaning.

 

[H2OPlayar]

Herbivores!

 

[kinetic]

No- assuming you mean all living creatures that eat stuff other than the food you add.

Yes- assuming you mean common algae and cyanobacteria when say pest (based on your other posts)

I recall last time you tried to keep algae in check and your rock/sand surfaces pristine with manual cleaning only (or mostly?) and it resulted in an unstable system that was very frustrating for you.

The goal is to get tolerable benign algae/bacteria/coral covering all the surfaces ASAP so the pathogenic variety that’s harder to control can’t take hold. In order to do this, you can’t be aiming for a perfectly pristine tank with manual cleaning.

Yes, there was definitely something weird going on and a pretty big imbalance. I was constantly hitting rock bottom nitrates and phosphates, then I got dinoflagellates that roared in as soon as I started dosing nitrates/phosphates directly (which should have been a red flag to begin with). Ultimately my system balanced itself and now I have some bubble algae, which I know where it came from, but alas, tank is so stable now.

 

[Coral reefer]

I always use herbivores of some type. Huge fan of tuxedo urchins, trochus snails, and tomini/kole tangs. I also dig cleaner/fire shrimp. That’s mostly all I use tho.

 

[Adit0]

do cleaner shrimp eat algae @Coral reefer ?

 

[Chromis]

I always use herbivores of some type. Huge fan of tuxedo urchins, trochus snails, and tomini/kole tangs. I also dig cleaner/fire shrimp. That’s mostly all I use tho.

I think those are my top cleaners that last too. Since trochus live a few years but also breed and replace themselves. Love my Kole tang, but also any random small bristletooth tangs like tominis and two-spot tangs work too. I love emerald crabs and Seahares but they don’t last. Peppermint shrimp do steal food from corals but they can prevent aiptasia.

 

[Coral reefer]

do cleaner shrimp eat algae @Coral reefer ?

Probably not much