Clean-Up Crew (1/20/04)
Hi WWM Crew. It has been sometime since I last email you folks. I finally got around to converting to DSB and Live Rock and protein skimming for filtering my 75 gallon FOWLR tank. It look great. I now have a 4.5 - 5 inch DSB comprised of 150lbs of Southdown (hard to find in Texas) <impossible in Utah> and 40lbs of Carb Sea live sand. <Sounds nice>
I just set it up a few days ago and was wondering how long to wait before adding a detritivore and or clean up crew kit. I still have a 6 hermits in the tank. Everyone says that the LR will seed the bed, so do I need a detritivore kit to get the pods and worms for the sand? <Much can come from the LR, but a detritivore kit will give I a boost. Up to you. I am a big fan of these two sources: www.ipsf.com and www.inlandaquatics.com > If I order a clean up crew, should I order a 30 gallon clean up crew now and another 30 gallon crew a few months from now? <It's really up to you. I'm not a big fan of hermits myself. I like various snails like: Nassarius, Nerites, Turbos, Ceriths. Also a big fan of Brittlestars. There is no specific # of snails/hermits you need. Retailers will tell you that you need whatever # they want to sell you.>
In addition to the DSB, I added a 20 gallon long sump/refugium. What should I put into the Refugium? It is about 15x12 inches. My primary goal is NNR. <Will you be lighting it? Chaetomorpha or Gracilaria algae would be great. You could also put some critters in there (refugium fauna kit, for example.>
Thanks, Glenn <Hope this helps, Steve Allen>