to clean or not to clean the algae on glass

[JarviZ]

I got my dwarf cerith snails from reefcleaners.org and of course got way more than I asked haha. I put in a lot more than the recommended amount but I'm worried that as they get bigger, they'll start eating more and reproducing so that there won't be enough algae to eat.

The algae on the glass comes and goes. I almost never clean the side glass panels unless the algae build-up gets too thick. I figured it would be a good food source for the snails.

Are there any issues with leaving the algae on the side as additional food for my excess snails?

 

[rbtwo4]

leave them in ur tank bro they no big deal. u may have a fellow reefer who u can give them too. plus some may die anyway. how many did u get???

 

[tunicata]

I love shopping at reefcleaners.

Those dwarf ceriths are going to eat the algae on the glass as well as on the substrate. I would not worry too much if you have a low-medium or higher bioload there should be enough algae and detritus.

The snails are not really going to 'grow up' in your tank either so I don't think you have to worry about that type of competition.

My water and glass is usually pretty clear (looking). My substrate including the rocks have not had an algae problem for 2 years now (I had extremely low bioload for the size of the tank) (knock on wood). When I start to think that my snails are suffering from lack of algae I just kept the lights on longer than normal.

Within 2 days of that, there would be a light fuzz of algae on the glass.

So, no big deal.

 

[JarviZ]

His recommended CUC was:

10 Dwarf Ceriths - small effective cleaners
3 Nassarius
4 Florida Ceriths
3 Blue Legs
3 Small to Medium Nerites

except I got about 50 dwarf ceriths in the bag and I wasn't sure what to do with all the extras... I added ~25 total just becaues they were so tiny and thought I could just take them out eventually if they became an issue.

I donated the rest to my LFS, but I think they started getting just a little bigger, which I why I asked what happens if they get bigger and start eating more.

I do have a pretty decent/high bioload for my 14g, so I guess it should be okay for now.

 

[jedimaster1138]

I purchased from reefcleaners.org as well, macro and some Dwarf Ceriths. I got at least 50 in the bag. I put about a third in my sump which in 2 weeks, they have cleaned. Amazing little guys. I might move some of them up into the display (a 50g) as I think there's enough algae and junk in the display to keep them happy. Plus they seem to spend a lot of their time under the sand anyway, so there must be lots in there for them to munch on.

 

[JarviZ]

I purchased from reefcleaners.org as well, macro and some Dwarf Ceriths. I got at least 50 in the bag. I put about a third in my sump which in 2 weeks, they have cleaned. Amazing little guys. I might move some of them up into the display (a 50g) as I think there's enough algae and junk in the display to keep them happy. Plus they seem to spend a lot of their time under the sand anyway, so there must be lots in there for them to munch on.

How big is your tank? I only have a 14g?

 

[jedimaster1138]

Just noticed I never replied to this. I think I had it typed nad then work blew up and I never pushed post.

My tank is 50g plus a sump. I think my crew is the right size at this point...I don't see a lot of debris on the sand. I still might pick up a shrimp at some point.