Dry Rock / Cycling

[Sylvester]

Hey
So I started my dream tank using dry rock apposed to live rock.
tank has cycled for roughly 3 months. The ugly stage seems to not go away as you can see, I coralline algae growth and the thing that gets me is the clean underside of rocks!
Any suggestions?
Thanks

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

algae needs food and light. Underside of the rocks will not grow algae because they are not exposed to light. The food that fuels algae is phosphate, so what is your phosphate levels? How many fish in the tank, and how much do you feed?

Beating algae simply means starving it, so phosphate level has to be lowered to very low level, lower than .05, and then controlled.

 

[Sylvester]

okay, my phosphates are at .12 now
So it’s just a matter of dropping phosphate. Okay good to know
Thank you

 

[Sylvester]

I have about 16 fish , some hermit crab, nasarius snail, sand sifting starfish and a conch

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

.12 is actually not that bad, and 3 months of uglies not bad either, your tank looks good. Just work on controlling phosphates. Ugly stages can last anywhere from 3 months to a year.

If you started with dry rock, they usually leach out phosphate for a while, so be aware of that, and just work on reducing & controlling phosphates

 

[Sylvester]

Perfect
Thank you so much for the quick response.
I will keep the phosphates down.
much appreciated

 

[techy_reefer]

Just curious what method of controlling phosphates are you going with. My thought is more water changes. Otherwise is there chemicals to use to counteract it?

 

[Sylvester]

Just curious what method of controlling phosphates are you going with. My thought is more water changes. Otherwise is there chemicals to use to counteract it?

My phosphates are around 0.06 and steady. I do weekly water changes and daily filter sock change outs.

 

[Doctorgori]

you are at a good stage so In addition to the above advice get a good piece of real ocean rock, …I think it’s time….
you won’t need much nor have to spend a fortune…IMO this is a better cheaper route than dosing the bottled stuff to correct future issues
plus all the good and sometimes bad hitchhikers
check out some of the threads on some of the assorted gulf coast live rock dealers, all have great reviews

 

[Sylvester]

you are at a good stage so In addition to the above advice get a good piece of real ocean rock, …I think it’s time….
you won’t need much nor have to spend a fortune…IMO this is a better cheaper route than dosing the bottled stuff to correct future issues
plus all the good and sometimes bad hitchhikers
check out some of the threads on some of the assorted gulf coast live rock dealers, all have great reviews

So, funny enough I just put in 25 lbs of Pukani live rock. I seen tons of pods and a few little clams. I hope it kicks the process forward