Ugly phase

[LearningHow2Reef]

Hello there guys,
My tank has less than 2 moths and sand is starting to turn brown. I know it is something that usually happens in new tanks, and I have read that it is something that will eventually disappear. But, the algae is starting to grow where the water move is very low. Will it disappear even with this condition? It is a 120g tank, and currently I have in the tank 2 ocellaris, a cleaning shrimp and 2 trochus snails. I tested 3 days ago and nitrates were 12 and phosphates 0.04. Thank you in advance, guys.

 

[the_chef_pierre]

Yup. Sounds normal. It should disappear soon

 

[LearningHow2Reef]

Yup. Sounds normal. It should disappear soon

ALright, thank you. But I am thinking maybe I should add another pump to my tank, It has only one. Jebao SW-10.

 

[the_chef_pierre]

Yeah, 2 would be better. One one each side. I used to have to circulating pumps in my 30 gal until one of them died. Just waiting for the replacement in the mail now

 

[LearningHow2Reef]

Yeah, 2 would be better. One one each side. I used to have to circulating pumps in my 30 gal until one of them died. Just waiting for the replacement in the mail now

Oops, I am sorry, my tank is not 120g, its 120 l (30g). I am sorry about it, where I live we dont use gallons haha

 

[splitting_lanes]

I’d suggest you just ride out the ugly phase.

 

[Homewrecker]

Once you hit six months everything will get a lot nicer. If you're concerned feel free to add some more CUC

 

[LearningHow2Reef]

I’d suggest you just ride out the ugly phase.

Do you mean before adding another pump? Or what do you mean?

 

[LearningHow2Reef]

Once you hit six months everything will get a lot nicer. If you're concerned feel free to add some more CUC

ALright!! Thank you so much!

 

[splitting_lanes]

Do you mean before adding another pump? Or what do you mean?

I’d suggest you don’t add another pump, or change anything just to fix the ugly phase. You can’t fix it, but it will go away with maturity.

 

[LearningHow2Reef]

I’d suggest you don’t add another pump, or change anything just to fix the ugly phase. You can’t fix it, but it will go away with maturity.

Alright, thank you so much!! But I was thinking about getting another pump because I dont know if I have enough flow. Its my first reef tank and I dont know how it should be.

 

[jeffchapok]

If you've been to the ocean, think of how violent the waves are. I've seen it posted here that your flow should be just below the level that begins to move your substrate around.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Its diatoms.
You can run carbon, lower white lights temporarily and siphon the uglies every 3-4 days or leave it and it should dissipate.

 

[glb]

That's normal for a new tank. They all get diatoms which eventually go away. Your nitrates are a little high, but if it's a new tank that's also normal after cycling. A water change would probably take care of the nitrates in a tank that size. Hang in there. I just got out of the ugly phase of cycling. Sometimes it takes a while, but remind yourself that we've all been there and it does get better!

 

[LearningHow2Reef]

If you've been to the ocean, think of how violent the waves are. I've seen it posted here that your flow should be just below the level that begins to move your substrate around.

Hmm, actually Its not even close of it. My pump is facing a bit to the top of the tank to move the water surface, and the rest of it doesnt move that much.

Its diatoms.
You can run carbon, lower white lights temporarily and siphon the uglies every 3-4 days or leave it and it should dissipate.

Alright! thank you so much. I think i will let it be by now.

That's normal for a new tank. They all get diatoms which eventually go away. Your nitrates are a little high, but if it's a new tank that's also normal after cycling. A water change would probably take care of the nitrates in a tank that size. Hang in there. I just got out of the ugly phase of cycling. Sometimes it takes a while, but remind yourself that we've all been there and it does get better!

Alright! thank you so much! But are nitrates really that high? Its a bit confussing, some people say that 5-15 is okay, but others say quite different things

 

[glb]

Hmm, actually Its not even close of it. My pump is facing a bit to the top of the tank to move the water surface, and the rest of it doesnt move that much.


Alright! thank you so much. I think i will let it be by now.



Alright! thank you so much! But are nitrates really that high? Its a bit confussing, some people say that 5-15 is okay, but others say quite different things

It depends on what’s in the tank. For fish, your numbers are fine. For LPS corals, nitrates between 5-10 work. If you want to keep SPS, the numbers would need to be much lower. I don’t have SPS so maybe someone else can chime in. And to answer your question, no the nitrates aren’t that high, but you’ll need to lower them depending on what you put in the tank. Good luck!!

 

[LearningHow2Reef]

It depends on what’s in the tank. For fish, your numbers are fine. For LPS corals, nitrates between 5-10 work. If you want to keep SPS, the numbers would need to be much lower. I don’t have SPS so maybe someone else can chime in. And to answer your question, no the nitrates aren’t that high, but you’ll need to lower them depending on what you put in the tank. Good luck!!

Im planning on adding softies and maybe some LPS!! Thank you so much for your time!!

 

[glb]

Im planning on adding softies and maybe some LPS!! Thank you so much for your time!!

You’re very welcome. We all want to help. No question is ever too simple. We’ve all made every mistake in the book and want to see you succeed. R2R is the best!