Should I dose nitrates in the ugly phase?

[Ocean’s Piece]

So my tank is 6 months old and nitrate has never been above 0 except after the cycle. I have had phosphates in the water, but never nitrates. I have been in the ugly phase for about 6 months and I’m starting to see that the end is near. I know algae consumes nitrates so that’s what I have been thinking the culprit has been but I wanted to see what y’all thought. Should I wait until the ugly phase is over or should I start dosing now? And if so, what product would you recommend?

 

[brandon429]

No

you should clean the tank to control the uglies, don’t be reactive be proactive and thorough. High or low nitrate isn’t implicated in uglies, lack of coralline and grazing is the cause. We can force remove the growths to make way for coralline which will lower your work in time


= price of dry rock reefing is much more hand gardening

 

[brandon429]

Sure hoping you have a nano if this is a 180 we w need the fluconazole



a large tank rip clean plus two month updates

Build Thread - Cook's 105 Planet Aquariums Crystaline Reef - 48x20

These are images from this evening. I have done nothing other than protein skim and feed the tank since the cleaning. I will be doing a water change this weekend. There is some algae stubble in a couple of areas. The sand has some diatom blooming as well. I added new rinsed sand along with...

www.reef2reef.com

a smaller tank example, two folks not playing around here:

Algae/Cyano Issue Not Improving, Help Please?

Hi all, I have a Red Sea Reefer 250 that has been up and running for 8 months now. My issue is a strange black algae\cyano growth that has plagued me for the last two months+. I have been treating as follows: cleaning gravel twice weekly 20% water changes twice a week Addition of beneficial...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[ClownSchool]

So my tank is 6 months old and nitrate has never been above 0 except after the cycle. I have had phosphates in the water, but never nitrates. I have been in the ugly phase for about 6 months and I’m starting to see that the end is near. I know algae consumes nitrates so that’s what I have been thinking the culprit has been but I wanted to see what y’all thought. Should I wait until the ugly phase is over or should I start dosing now? And if so, what product would you recommend?

You can either add cuc, or clean it yourself. 6 months seems like a looong time to be in the ugly stage. Most of my reading has said a month, or two.
if you decide to clean yourself, add equal parts hydrogen peroxide and tank water into a cup, dip a toothbrush into it, pull a rock out and scrub the problem areas. Rinse by dunking the rock into a bowl of clean tank water and repeat on the next rock.
Adding a macro algae, like dragon’s breath, to the tank will control nitrates. But, pick a good place to attach it - like, use a rubber band to snuggly strap it to the base of your return nozzle - or, it will become a $20-$30 snack for your crabs. Good luck!
Dosing with something like AlgaeFix can work, but as it all dies, your nitrates will climb and I understand if you don’t wish to dose your tank.