What to get as a clean up crew 10g
 

Hey guys,

This is my first reef tank. Everything is fully cycled and now I just have a tank full of diatom. Could you guys please give me some suggestions on what to stock as a clean up crew for my tank. I am thinking of spending about $30 bucks on these little guys.


Thanks

Get 2/3 astrea snails and maybe a couple of nassarius snail Will clean up the diatoms in few days. Possibly the most efficient snails among CuC. I wouldn't go crazy for now since you need "algae" for cuc and without any bioload, there won't be much food for them. It baffles me when people suggest to put the full army of cuc right after cycle while there's not enough food to sustain their food source. So go slow and add as per as your tank's need. You will hear a lot of different opinions. Some love hermits while other hate them. Some don't like cuc at all and rely on bristle worms, pods and micro stars to do the job which will somehow get into you tank in due time.

For your size of tank i would recommend either 1 or 2"trochus snails as they are the "goats" for cleaning up.

I would also as mahawaka said add some nassarius snails if you have a deep sand bed, if you have no sand then no. They do a great job of stirring up a sand bed and are cool to watch popping out when feeding.

Nerites are great for cleaning glass, 2-3 tops

Last is dwarf cereths if you have live rock, these guys do a great job of the glass right at the edge of the substrate, they also can get into cracks of live rock better than others, because they are so small you could do 5 right now.

My lfs sells all snails for 2.99 each so this should cost you about 40 if you have live rock & substrate.

Im not a big fan of crabs as they can and will munch on your snails. Also snails are picky when it comes to water chemistry so make sure you have no copper in your water. Im already assuming you have no ammonia, nitrites and have done a large water change to bring your nitrates way down!

Want another opinion? :lol:

I would skip Nassarius because they don't seem to live long, and Trochus get big and would be obtrusive in a 10-gallon. I would also pass on Margarita snails because even though they are arguably one of the best algae eaters, they are temperate (not tropical) and when kept in a tropical tank they have a considerably shorter life span because of the increased metabolism. I would not add a starfish, shrimp, or a Conch or this tank as these would all starve in the long run in a 10-gallon.

I would suggest a couple Cerith Snails for the sandbed because they are the only true detrivores that are readily available, a couple Spiny Astraea (these are better than Pyramid Astraea imo), and later down the road add a couple Ring Cowries (they are a bit sensitive, so better to let your tank settle in first). In a couple months re-assess and add a snail or two if required. You won't need to spend $30, probably half that. :)