clean up

[ricksconnected]

ok im working with a 30gal fowlr.
im seeing a little more fish pooh than i think should be in there. plus, im seeing what i believe to be hair algae.
i have a few crabs, is a zebra crab,
one has blue legs and the other 3 are emeralds. the zebra is a bully. the 3 emeralds, i have no idea what they do. just kinda hide really.
i have 3 snails that stay on the glass. again i dont know what kind they are either. ok so im not much help. im new remember.
what im wondering is what i need to make up a good solid cleanup crew.
i dont want to add much more to this tank as im already having serious nitrate issue that i hope by this weekend i'll be on my way to getting control over. in all, my crabs and snails pretty much suck for a cleaning crew, but they are my fav's to watch.
what do i need to get to get my rocks and sand cleaner?

 

[dannybradley]

Nassaruis snails are good for keeping the sand bed clean, as are conchs. I would only and one conch for a tank your size. You can probably handle 20 small nassarius, or 10 large tonga nassarius.

Adding 1 or 2 large turbo snails to a tank that size can make a large impact on algae cleanup. Be caureful though, too large of a crew will starve itself.

 

[ricksconnected]

thank you danny, i'll do some research on these guys this evening.

 

[ricksconnected]

ok so which is best for cleaning up pooh? my tank seems to have to much of it. 30gal with 3 small fish. i cant get to some of the places when cleaning. algae is in check. my zebra and hermits arent cutting it. i dont have a dang clue what they even do. the emeralds are just as worthless too it seems.

 

[weaglereefer]

Nothing will EAT poo. You need water movement to keep the wastes in suspension and have them processed by your protein skimmer.

Waste will break down and cause nitrates, which will cause algae. Having a skimmer run wet will help remove more nitrates, but you will need to keep an eye on salinity as it can drop if you run the skimmer too wet.

 

[ralph atl]

DannyBradley;390270 wrote: Nassaruis snails are good for keeping the sand bed clean, as are conchs. I would only and one conch for a tank your size. You can probably handle 20 small nassarius, or 10 large tonga nassarius.

Adding 1 or 2 large turbo snails to a tank that size can make a large impact on algae cleanup. Be caureful though, too large of a crew will starve itself.

They are great! The only question that I have is the conch. I would be concerned if I had wrasses that it would devour them in the sand. I hear they eat cyno? not sure though.