Skipping Ugly Phase?

[TheSheff]

Hello all, just curious if any of you have a go-to method that you use in order to skip or greatly reduce the severity of the ugly phase in your tank. Personally, I was overdosing micro-bacter clean in one of my first tanks for a while and never experienced an ugly phase. Do any of you start off a tank and carbon dose soon after? Been looking into NP-Bacto Balance from Tropic Marin lately.

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

Hello all, just curious if any of you have a go-to method that you use in order to skip or greatly reduce the severity of the ugly phase in your tank. Personally, I was overdosing micro-bacter clean in one of my first tanks for a while and never experienced an ugly phase. Do any of you start off a tank and carbon dose soon after? Been looking into NP-Bacto Balance from Tropic Marin lately.

Yes, just using all live rock

 

[GHOSTLY]

Yes, just using all live rock

+1. Get an algae eater too. I had live rock but I dried it out and used it again. I'm really curious to see what my uglies are gonna look like! Kinda excited

 

[HomebroodExotics]

Using all live rock or already established rock from an existing tank would be the best way imo as well. If you use dry materials You will get some "uglies" no matter what and the degree to which you find them ugly is up to you.

 

[AydenLincoln]

Lowering the lights, a good cuc from the beginning, 0 TDS water source so RODI water, adequate filtration/flow, and pods.

 

[Sump Crab]

Real liverock from the ocean or established rock (multiple years old) from another tank.

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

Real liverock from the ocean or established rock (multiple years old) from another tank.

You had it right with the real live rock from the ocean!, Forget the rest! Haha

 

[Dan_P]

Hello all, just curious if any of you have a go-to method that you use in order to skip or greatly reduce the severity of the ugly phase in your tank. Personally, I was overdosing micro-bacter clean in one of my first tanks for a while and never experienced an ugly phase. Do any of you start off a tank and carbon dose soon after? Been looking into NP-Bacto Balance from Tropic Marin lately.

Dose ”never experienced” mean set up the aquarium and 2-4 years later, still no “uglies”?

 

[Sump Crab]

You had it right with the real live rock from the ocean!, Forget the rest! Haha

I agree. Sometimes you can find some OG pacific liverock in tank breakdowns.

 

[SaracensRugby]

On my third tank, and by no means an expert, but I have to vote for live rock form the ocean, or from an established system (2+ years). Any time I have introduced "virgin" rock, even in an established system, it takes some time to get covered in the good stuff, and goes through some stages of uglies on those specific rocks. And when I moved, with all 3-5 year old rock, into multiple diff holding tanks, over a few months, my tank didn't skip a beat. No algae outbreaks of any kind.