Start of ugly phase?

[Trooper182]

So my tank has been running for 2 weeks now. It's a 75 gal. I have a strawberry, coral beauty and clown in the tank. Everything is doing fine. Noticed today my sand is starting to show spots of brown along with the rock. So I'm assuming this is the start of the ugly phase correct? I still need to get some CUC and and going to try and hunt for some tomorrow if lfs is open. Was thinking a 2 peppermint shrimp, 10 turbo snails and a few hermit crabs. Would this be a good start? For now this is a fish only tank. May add corals down the road later next year. I changed the lighting so I could take pics, otherwise it all looks blue.

 

[HudsonReefer2.0]

Did it cycle before adding fish?

 

[Sonatine]

Assuming it cycled, I'd add nassarius snails too! They won't get algae, but they're great for leftover food. They're also fairly entertaining to watch, for a snail. They rise from their sand burrows like zombies whenever it's feeding time.

 

[Trooper182]

Did it cycle before adding fish?

Yes it did cycle before adding in the fish.

 

[Auquanut]

First off, love the scape. Looks like you're getting some diatoms. The start of the uglies. If you don't intend to add corals right away, limiting your lighting schedule will help. You can add some snails, just don't add too much too soon. I'm partial to turbos just cause they're hardy, can turn themselves over, work hard, and just look so cool.

 

[HudsonReefer2.0]

This is a good place to get quality cuc and top notch service https://www.reefcleaners.org/

 

[Daniel92481]

Nice tank! The snails would really help. I think you have a good idea of the cleaners you need for your tank, but I would add a few at a time. Being such a new tank, you don’t want them to starve because there’s too many to start with. I would go with the shrimp and maybe 4-5 smaller trochus or turbo snails, and go from there. How come no coral? I think you would really enjoy a couple of soft, easier corals! I recommend Zoanthids, or a ricordea Florida mushroom.

 

[Trooper182]

These are some of my parameters. Don't have an updated sheet photo.

 

[Trooper182]

First off, love the scape. Looks like you're getting some diatoms. The start of the uglies. If you don't intend to add corals right away, limiting your lighting schedule will help. You can add some snails, just don't add too much too soon. I'm partial to turbos just cause they're hardy, can turn themselves over, work hard, and just look so cool.

Right now I'm running a preloaded file on my controller. This is the current settings. Trying to figure out what would be a better profile to run. During the week nobody is at the house to enjoy the tank until around 4:00. Everyone is gone in the mornings by 8.

 

[Trooper182]

Nice tank! The snails would really help. I think you have a good idea of the cleaners you need for your tank, but I would add a few at a time. Being such a new tank, you don’t want them to starve because there’s too many to start with. I would go with the shrimp and maybe 4-5 smaller trochus or turbo snails, and go from there. How come no coral? I think you would really enjoy a couple of soft, easier corals! I recommend Zoanthids, or a ricordea Florida mushroom.

Thanks. So this is my first saltwater setup. Always had freshwater growing up and decided to finally do my first saltwater. I'm in the army and my schedule keeps me fairly busy. I just wanted to start slowly with just the fish and learn more before I jump into Coral. I know it will add a whole new level to the tank that I want to eventually get to. Plus I am retiring from the army in about a little over a year and will be moving back to my home state. So it will be hard enough breaking all this down and moving it 800 miles. Trust me, every time I see some of all you guys setups it really makes me want to lol.

 

[Daniel92481]

Thanks. So this is my first saltwater setup. Always had freshwater growing up and decided to finally do my first saltwater. I'm in the army and my schedule keeps me fairly busy. I just wanted to start slowly with just the fish and learn more before I jump into Coral. I know it will add a whole new level to the tank that I want to eventually get to. Plus I am retiring from the army in about a little over a year and will be moving back to my home state. So it will be hard enough breaking all this down and moving it 800 miles. Trust me, every time I see some of all you guys setups it really makes me want to lol.

Thank you for your service out there! I hear you, if you plan on breaking it down, maybe wait to really stock it up. Looks like you’re on the right path.