Starting clean up crew, help!

[Konst]

Hi guys I’m almost done with cycling my 15 gallon tank. I have already put copepods and there are at least 15 pineapple sponges growing and kinda taking over the live rock so I guess it’s going good. I’d like to add something that eats algae so I can start light acclimation. What would be the best starting clean up crew? I’ll add fish after the light acclimation but I want something to keep the uglies at bay. Thanks In advance:) 

[Staticmoves]

33 minutes ago, Konst said:

Hi guys I’m almost done with cycling my 15 gallon tank. I have already put copepods and there are at least 15 pineapple sponges growing and kinda taking over the live rock so I guess it’s going good. I’d like to add something that eats algae so I can start light acclimation. What would be the best starting clean up crew? I’ll add fish after the light acclimation but I want something to keep the uglies at bay. Thanks In advance:) 

exciting times, new tank!

if you already have pineapple sponge growing, that's a good sign.

a few questions.

- how old is the system.

-what is the current ammonia source to feed bacteria.

-fish before lights would help keep bacteria fed, unless other source being dosed.

-live rock or dry rock.

-live sand or dry.

-Most important question..... lets see some pic's of tank.....

 

[Konst]

2 hours ago, Staticmoves said:

exciting times, new tank!

if you already have pineapple sponge growing, that's a good sign.

a few questions.

- how old is the system.

-what is the current ammonia source to feed bacteria.

-fish before lights would help keep bacteria fed, unless other source being dosed.

-live rock or dry rock.

-live sand or dry.

-Most important question..... lets see some pic's of tank.....

 

Thanks for replying.

my system is 2,5 months old 

I used dr Tim’s ammonia. Put until it went to 2 ppm. Now it hovers between 0 and 0.15ppm according to api and salifert test kits. 
I used 5 kilos of Marco rocks and a kilo of Indonesian live rock that’s why the sponges going on. I added tigs and the other copepods that reproduce and I’m throwing 2 ml phytoplankton every week. I’ll take some pictures later and I’ll make sure to post them including the new sponges. 
I know I did some mistakes but it’s going good in my opinion I was just thinking to start from bottom to the top for stocking. Is it better if I add fish first?

[Konst]

5 hours ago, Staticmoves said:

exciting times, new tank!

if you already have pineapple sponge growing, that's a good sign.

a few questions.

- how old is the system.

-what is the current ammonia source to feed bacteria.

-fish before lights would help keep bacteria fed, unless other source being dosed.

-live rock or dry rock.

-live sand or dry.

-Most important question..... lets see some pic's of tank.....

 

Here are some pictures, my phone is not so good but some sponges grew really big in just a couple of weeks so they are visible 

 

 

[Staticmoves]

3 hours ago, Konst said:

Thanks for replying.

my system is 2,5 months old 

maybe give it another few weeks with light off with a fish .

may be an idea to toss a seachem ammonia alert badge in the tank as well to keep an eye on things, and before the fish goes in, incase live rock is doing anything funky.

once lights stay on, or if they are already on, then cleanup crew can follow slowly, if to many go in without the algae and what not to eat, crabs will cannibalize snails and snails could starve, so slow and steady to meet the demand. (you can always add algea wafers to start if need be).

ammonia from the fish will help keep bacteria alive and populating. (1 to start)

Nice to see the slow start. should set you up for success.

 

Love the Scape!

 

[Konst]

11 minutes ago, Staticmoves said:

maybe give it another few weeks with light off with a fish .

may be an idea to toss a seachem ammonia alert badge in the tank as well to keep an eye on things, and before the fish goes in, incase live rock is doing anything funky.

once lights stay on, or if they are already on, then cleanup crew can follow slowly, if to many go in without the algae and what not to eat, crabs will cannibalize snails and snails could starve, so slow and steady to meet the demand. (you can always add algea wafers to start if need be).

ammonia from the fish will help keep bacteria alive and populating. (1 to start)

Nice to see the slow start. should set you up for success.

 

Love the Scape!

 

The idea was that when I add the algae eaters after the pods and turn on the lights they will have algae to eat plus there won’t be any shock in the system.  I’m not going to add anything for at least one more month. What clean up crew would you recommend in case I start without fish, and vice versa. The seachem badge is actually a good idea I also have phosphate tests in case the rock did something crazy but it got delivered to me with bus and it was only for 5 hours in transit until I picked it up so no die off. I’m really happy with the sponges because they look so good and they are good filter feeders. Thank you so much!

[Staticmoves]

10 minutes ago, Konst said:

The idea was that when I add the algae eaters after the pods and turn on the lights they will have algae to eat plus there won’t be any shock in the system.  I’m not going to add anything for at least one more month. What clean up crew would you recommend in case I start without fish, and vice versa. The seachem badge is actually a good idea I also have phosphate tests in case the rock did something crazy but it got delivered to me with bus and it was only for 5 hours in transit until I picked it up so no die off. I’m really happy with the sponges because they look so good and they are good filter feeders. Thank you so much!

That's some fresh rock.

maybe 3 trochus snails for now. crabs will starve until food starts going into the tank. nassarius snails will starve until food enters the sand bed. no to starfish.

have some algae wafers on hand just incase. 

[Konst]

16 minutes ago, Staticmoves said:

That's some fresh rock.

maybe 3 trochus snails for now. crabs will starve until food starts going into the tank. nassarius snails will starve until food enters the sand bed. no to starfish.

have some algae wafers on hand just incase. 

Okay got it. Thanks a lot for the info 🤜🏻🤛🏻

[deadendruss]

One of the best clean up crew members I have is a leopard conch.  I would give it a bit more time or wait till you have fish.

[Konst]

28 minutes ago, deadendruss said:

One of the best clean up crew members I have is a leopard conch.  I would give it a bit more time or wait till you have fish.

Thanks for replying, I was also thinking about a conch but later however I want smaller invertebrates because the tank is actually really small. Unless there’s some Pygmy conch idk 😅

[deadendruss]

On 10/2/2024 at 5:01 PM, Konst said:

Thanks for replying, I was also thinking about a conch but later however I want smaller invertebrates because the tank is actually really small. Unless there’s some Pygmy conch idk 😅

I have an Evo 13.5 and my conch, we nicknamed him dusty, is about and inch and a half long and has been in the tank for about 5 months.

[Konst]

22 hours ago, deadendruss said:

I have an Evo 13.5 and my conch, we nicknamed him dusty, is about and inch and a half long and has been in the tank for about 5 months.

That’s great I might add one as well. I just added 3 trochus snails. They already graze the live rock. 

[Konst]

On 10/2/2024 at 9:00 PM, Staticmoves said:

That's some fresh rock.

maybe 3 trochus snails for now. crabs will starve until food starts going into the tank. nassarius snails will starve until food enters the sand bed. no to starfish.

have some algae wafers on hand just incase. 

I just added 3 of them. They are the first inhabitants! Finally some life in the tank. I fired up the lights at 10% 

[Konst]

Btw the pineapple sponges really took over the live rock I can count at least 30 and who knows how many I can’t see. I’m really happy with how the tank is going so far. I think I’ll add a clownfish in 2 weeks.