keeping sand clean

[joey182]

I have a 55 gallon fowlr that has been running since new years and I didnt put thelive rock in until may. I cured it in a trash can. But alot of little things have falen into my sand. I was wondering if I need a better clean up crew or more circulation. Rite now my tanks circulation is a fluval 404 and a powersweep 214. And my clean up crew is 10 hermits 20 astreae snails 2 turbo snails and 2 serpant sea stars. Do I need better circulation,a new clean up crew, or both.

[absolutdain]

personally in your 55 gallon fowlr i would put at least 20 more hermits and 30 more snails....yellow headed sleeper gobies do a good job with substrate too

[steve1s]

Actually I think both is in order here. The fluval 404 although rated at 340 GPH will not have as much flow once it has media and must also fight the head pressure back to the tank. Keep in mind that manufacturer ratings for canister filters are based on the unit being empty.

For a 55g tank a decent amount of flow would be closer to 550 GPH (10x tank volume). With the 404 and the 214 (160GPH) your tank rotation is about 7x per hour and at the lower side of the scale. I would add an additional powerhead at the opposite end on the 214 for increased flow. Also make sure at least one ot the water movement equip is properly aggitating the surface.

Although you do have a somewhat decent "crew" the astrea's being the largest amount are not that great for the sand. They are more efficient at rock and glass. I would instead suggest a combination of nassarius and cerith snails for that. With the 2 stars I don't really think the hermits are needed as serpent stars are great at large particle clean up, the snails should do the rest.

Cheers
Steve

[9 Gallon Jebo]

I have a 9 gallon jebo and have 4 blue leg hermit crabs 4 astrael snails and a yellow head sleeper goby that I had bought last night from LFS to replace my brittle star fish that was crushed by a fallen live rocks that was moved by my large turbo snail. My question is - Do I have enough clean up crew for my tank?

Many thnx... :)

[steve1s]

Be careful with the sleeper in such a small tank. They will not always get what they need from the foods you feed, if they eat them at all. A large part of their nutrition will come from the critters it filters from the substrate. If it is accepting the foods you feed, also make sure you augment the food by soaking it in a good liquid marine vitamin (Selcon or Zoe) a few times a week.

As far as your "crew" is concerned, I would not get anymore crabs. In smaller tanks they can get to be a nuisance as they get larger. I would instead suggest a few nassarius and cerith snails. Be cafeful not to add too many . If there is not enough of a natural food source, they will begin to die.

If your current amount does not do a good enough job of keeping the tank clean, then mabye add one or two more of the ones I have mentioned. If things are fine for now then it's something to look into as your tank progresses.

Cheers
Steve