Clean up crew

[Sam1969]

Anyone have suggestions for a clean up crew for a 90 gal tank ?

My clean up crew is small at best and almost non-existant ..

I have 2 large blue legged crabs, 5 or 6 small blue legged crabs and 3 large snails ( stupid crab ate 2 ) .
I really need somthing that will bottom feed as I have algae growing in my sand to the point where there are actually roots sticking out of the sand.

Also in my tank is a yellow tang, two clowns and an anemone

any suggestions would be appreciated

Thanks

[RCFA]

Nassarius Snails. pretty good at turning over the sand

[Myka]

I would suggest a Fighting Conch or an Orange Lipped Conch whichever you can find, they are great for the sand, and a bit more resistant to murderous hermits.

Could you post a pic of your algae? It may be maintenance issues that are causing it, and depending what kind it is, it may be a fairly easy solve.

[Sam1969]

cant post a pic of the algae as I have just syphoned it all out today again ..
but its a green algae that grows thick enough to cover the top layer of the sand and you can pick it up in fairly large pieces.

I have been doing 20 % water changes weekly for the last month and a half.

My lights are on 10 hours per day (acticnics on first/last for 1 hour )and the lights for my sump have been off for a month now.

running carbon and phosban in my reactors.

I never had this much of a problem with my old tank, not sure where the problem lays but somthings gotta give ..

[Dolf]

You may also want to consider cerith snails. They eat the sediment and extract the algae and bacteria. Here is a link to an old article that contains both cerith snails and conchs'. http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-07/rs/index.php
You could likley replace your hermit crabs with nassarius snails. They will both eat the "left overs" but the snails will not kill other inhabitants.

***disclaimer: I hate ALL crabs, but for good reason.***

[Sam1969]

Thanks for the suggestions .. And the GOOD read .. I think I have a litter better idea of what I need to do to solve my problem.

MYKA once the algae starts to grow back in a day or two I will post a pic for you.

Thanks again

[spreerider]

my favorite CUC is now my emerald crab, nothing eats as much algea as he does, my scarlet hermits are also good cleaners and dont seem to eat snails like the blue legged ones do.

[Dolf]

Originally Posted by Sam1969

Thanks for the suggestions .. And the GOOD read .. I think I have a litter better idea of what I need to do to solve my problem.

MYKA once the algae starts to grow back in a day or two I will post a pic for you.

Thanks again

I am glad you enjoyed that read. There is another one by the same author about turbos, astrea snails and the likes. It explains which ones are best, which are collected from cold water and then sold to us reefers and may be something you find interesting... http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rs/index.php