when to add clean-up crew

Hi everyone. I have posted before about what to use for a clean-up crew, but my question now is whether this is the right time to add the crew or not. My tank has been cycling for 4 weeks with live rock. It is now full of diatoms (brown gunk everywhere), and I am beginning to get hair algae and other types of plant-like algae growing on my rock (and this is with the lights off for most of the day, and the skimmer running).

Parameters as of last night - ammonia 0-0.25 (hard to tell the difference with the test kit), nitrite-0, nitrates-5, pH-8.2.

Should I add some snails and hermits now, or should I wait longer and maybe add a clownfish first?

 

Whats your salinity and temp?

 

Salinity 1.025, Temp 79 degrees with the light, 77 degrees without the lights.

 

As above - temp and salinity are important parameters to consider

IMO - I would not add a clown fish as 1st fish in tank unless tank was mature 3 month old
they are a little more sensitive than Damsels for example and it would be a shame if your 1st fish experience was not a good one .

CUC - I am prettry sure I added a few snails and hermits - not the full crew, just a sample when my tank was about the same age as yours is now - added 3 Turbos and a couple of hermits as the tank matured further I added more

Steve

 

IME, clowns are just as tolerant as Damsels... just cost more. (Clowns are Damsels after all).



You need to wait until your ammonia is at 0 and stable. 4 weeks isn't that long. You may yet see more spikes... I would wait...



but it won't hurt anything other than the CuC if you threw them in now... snails and crabs can be cheap... up to you.