Ugly stage

[Perthegallon]

Any suggestions on getting rid of the ugly stage

 

[brandon429]

yes, but the answer is a nine page work thread as single sentences without any pics and follow up aren't as ideal. his nano is just like yours, we cover all steps for when to act, how thoroughly etc:

 

[brandon429]

Cycling a new Biocube 32

I hope that video sets your reefing perspective permanently. That Sir is a bare fishbowl, just under ten years running, with some of the most high end sps we keep in reefing. no filters, no plumbing, a fishbowl reef with corals sitting in it and just bubbling for thousands of days The reason...

www.reef2reef.com

your reefs are a near perfect match across the board. do what we do there/outstanding results.

your tank is only slightly more ready for the first topical cleaning of rock. we've been allowing most pigments to develop/expected, but yours are starting to become GHA and thats when we'd act as outlined there. we dont alter course around params, lift your rocks out, kill algae, set back.

 

[Perthegallon]

Cycling a new Biocube 32

I hope that video sets your reefing perspective permanently. That Sir is a bare fishbowl, just under ten years running, with some of the most high end sps we keep in reefing. no filters, no plumbing, a fishbowl reef with corals sitting in it and just bubbling for thousands of days The reason...

www.reef2reef.com

your reefs are a near perfect match across the board. do what we do there/outstanding results.

your tank is only slightly more ready for the first topical cleaning of rock. we've been allowing most pigments to develop/expected, but yours are starting to become GHA and thats when we'd act as outlined there. we dont alter course around params, lift your rocks out, kill algae, set back.

Would it hurt the corals if I just leave it

 

[vetteguy53081]

Wont hurt corals but could develop into diatoms, hair algae or more. I would suggest adding cleaning crew with at least THREE . . . turbo, astrea, trochus, maragarita Snails and some blue leg hermits

 

[Perthegallon]

Wont hurt corals but could develop into diatoms, hair algae or more. I would suggest adding cleaning crew with at least THREE . . . turbo, astrea, trochus, maragarita Snails and some blue leg hermits

I have 10 hermit crabs and 3 turbo snails they are having a hard keeping up

 

[Porpoise Hork]

Time and patience. I know that's not the answer you want, but hear me out.


It looks like you have a relatively new tank. Nearly all new tanks that start with uncured rock go through an ugly phase. This phase can take up to 6 months possibly longer to pass before the tank starts looking like all those you see posted with purple coraline covering the rockwork and no ugly brown, green, or red patches. After the initial cycling stages are complete the next thing a new tank will do is the inevitable diatom bloom. This is that unsightly brown all over the sand bed and in patches on the rockwork. The diatoms are feeding on the excess levels of silica that are currently present and as the available food sources are consumed, they will naturally die off. This usually takes anywhere from 3 days to up to a week possibly longer for this to happen. The Green is film is algae and in some cases can actually be the start of coraline algae development. There is nothing you can do to prevent this unless you pull the rock out periodically and boil it. But that is something you don't want to do. Somewhere in this time period you may experience a hair algae outbreak or some other form of nuisance algae. With a little research and the right treatment methods you can overcome them.

One thing to note is you want to keep your nutrient levels slightly elevated. Especially now with an immature tank and limited bio-diversity. The reason I say this is if you allow the nutrients to fall to zero or purposely keep them there, you would be setting yourself up for a dinoflagellate bloom. This is a nightmare to deal with and can take months to beat. Some never do and ultimately restart their tanks or leave the hobby all together.

After all the issues and what seems like setback after setback, the tank will reach a level of maturity and you will sit back and think of all the hard work and time that went into getting you there. The only things that happen quickly in this hobby are things you don't want to do so. So as much as you don't like the way the how the tank looks right now, it will get better. It may get worse before then, but it will get better.

I like most of is here have battled diatom blooms, cyano outbreaks, dino's (more than once) green hair algae, black ick, etc etc... So you're not alone. Just give it time and don't be afraid to ask if you need any assistance.

 

[Perthegallon]

Time and patience. I know that's not the answer you want, but hear me out.


It looks like you have a relatively new tank. Nearly all new tanks that start with uncured rock go through an ugly phase. This phase can take up to 6 months possibly longer to pass before the tank starts looking like all those you see posted with purple coraline covering the rockwork and no ugly brown, green, or red patches. After the initial cycling stages are complete the next thing a new tank will do is the inevitable diatom bloom. This is that unsightly brown all over the sand bed and in patches on the rockwork. The diatoms are feeding on the excess levels of silica that are currently present and as the available food sources are consumed, they will naturally die off. This usually takes anywhere from 3 days to up to a week possibly longer for this to happen. The Green is film is algae and in some cases can actually be the start of coraline algae development. There is nothing you can do to prevent this unless you pull the rock out periodically and boil it. But that is something you don't want to do. Somewhere in this time period you may experience a hair algae outbreak or some other form of nuisance algae. With a little research and the right treatment methods you can overcome them.

One thing to note is you want to keep your nutrient levels slightly elevated. Especially now with an immature tank and limited bio-diversity. The reason I say this is if you allow the nutrients to fall to zero or purposely keep them there, you would be setting yourself up for a dinoflagellate bloom. This is a nightmare to deal with and can take months to beat. Some never do and ultimately restart their tanks or leave the hobby all together.

After all the issues and what seems like setback after setback, the tank will reach a level of maturity and you will sit back and think of all the hard work and time that went into getting you there. The only things that happen quickly in this hobby are things you don't want to do so. So as much as you don't like the way the how the tank looks right now, it will get better. It may get worse before then, but it will get better.

I like most of is here have battled diatom blooms, cyano outbreaks, dino's (more than once) green hair algae, black ick, etc etc... So you're not alone. Just give it time and don't be afraid to ask if you need any assistance.

I don’t mind the ugly part at all I’m just worried about my corals and want them to live I can deal with the alage later
How do I keep my nutritions up

 

[brandon429]

solely by not purposefully filtering directly for nitrate and phosphate, no GFO no no-pox etc.

you can run carbon or plant filtration safely, generalized surface area, but not the ones that chemically select for nitrate or p04 specifically, thats a recipe for dinos invasions in white rock tanks.

feed and change water like CPR, its adding extra heads on Daniel's corals and he's one month into keeping them in this tank. you will not have too-low nutrients if you dont specifically bind them in filtration and if you're removing the whole waste detritus portion as light hand-guiding/export for the tank. Being hands on vs hands off is what is growing Daniel's corals so well and this fast in a new tank.

 

[Porpoise Hork]

I don’t mind the ugly part at all I’m just worried about my corals and want them to live I can deal with the alage later
How do I keep my nutritions up

The corals will be fine provided they have the correct lighting, water flow and the water parameters are stable in the proper ranges. Easiest way to keep the nutrient levels elevated is to be a little heavy with feeding. Something that we all pretty much do unless you target feed your fish. Discontinue any form of carbon dosing or remove any nitrate/phosphate media reactors, and modify your water change schedule and/or volume. Over time the nutrient levels will start to climb and you would need to monitor them weekly to maintain a stable level. If doing those things do not seem to work and the nutrient levels still keep falling then you can always dose with products like Spectracide Stump Remover and Aquavitro Activate. Those are the two I use to raise the nutrient levels if needed, but there are plenty of other products on the market that will do the job. They are very concentrated and a little goes a long way with both of them.