Leave the lights off - 4 months

[RaymondL]

I've watched the BRS TV channel while cycling my first salwater tank - I'm now cycled and in week 2, which I have a pair of clowns to start. I probably will be adding a Goby later down the road, but will just have the 2 clowns for a while.

BRS channel said to the best thing to do is to leave the lights on for the first 4 months to prevent the 'Ugly Phase' I'm following that advice, and yes, 4 months is a long long time to be waiting - a test of patience no doubt! I"m hoping that after the 4 month time period, when I flick the switch, the wait will be worth it.

I"m wondering if anyone has ever taken their advice and what the results were? Or am I really wasting time?

 

[billyocean]

Either way...I think by 4 months the uglies would be gone anyways

 

[RaymondL]

Either way...I think by 4 months the uglies would be gone anyways

That's what I was thinking as well.......I'm also dosing with Brightwell Microbacteri Clean weekly.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

The forum is full of posts from peeps that had left their lights off for some time in the beginning, they still get the uglies, its unavoidable. I think BRS even admitted it doesnt work in a later video.

The only one proven way to avoid uglies is to start with all live rock, and I mean real ocean live rock.

 

[christwendt]

I've watched the BRS TV channel while cycling my first salwater tank - I'm now cycled and in week 2, which I have a pair of clowns to start. I probably will be adding a Goby later down the road, but will just have the 2 clowns for a while.

BRS channel said to the best thing to do is to leave the lights on for the first 4 months to prevent the 'Ugly Phase' I'm following that advice, and yes, 4 months is a long long time to be waiting - a test of patience no doubt! I"m hoping that after the 4 month time period, when I flick the switch, the wait will be worth it.

I"m wondering if anyone has ever taken their advice and what the results were? Or am I really wasting time?

I’m on my second tank. I waited roughly 3 months to turn lights on. It’s now 7 months and I haven’t had an ugly phase. It’s crazy I’m shocked but something paid off. It’s been so smooth. I haven’t gotten a single strain of green hair algae. Some diatoms on sand but that’s it. Rock is about done with the green phase by now. Good luck I think it’s very worth it to wait.

 

[Smoke-Town]

Seems like a long time to me. And if it's just bone dry rocks... I feel like that guideline is more fitting for live rock shipped to you.whereby the lights of would give time for the dead organics to breakdown and cycle while algae also dies off giving you a bare start with large biome.

But keeping it bare and not adding anything in my opinion gives random bacterias that may have been in the gills of your added clownfish to populate unchecked in the tank.

Personally, I'd add a bunch of frags all over, turn on the lights, monitor phosphates and keep neophos on hand incase of bottoming out, and start fighting the good fight against whatever pops up.

I also think dosing a little kalkwasser and adding a bottle of pink and purple helix even with very few corals will give a big advantage to the coraline being the real estate winner over other algaes

 

[Smoke-Town]

Well the above poster seems to so far have had a good experience with that method so choose your poison I suppose.

"All roads lead to Rome"