When to add a CUC

[Sophie"s mom]

Hello all, I have a 90 g that is 2 months old now. I currently have 2 clowns, a 3" Naso tang, and a 3" foxface. I am leaving the lights off for the first 3 months to try and prevent the "ugly phase" as much as possible. I have about 45 lbs. of base rock, and about 30 lbs. of live rock, and TONS of copepods, and a cleaner shrimp. So, my question is when I should add a CUC. Should I wait until I turn the lights on? Or maybe a few days prior to lights on? Just curious what others thoughts are on this. I have a Coralife 125 protein skimmer running 24/7. I also have a UV sterilizer that I have not turned on yet.

 

[Uncle99]

Anytime, but, only a few so they don’t eat everthing, die, and raise your nutrients.

The biggest error I see is buying these CUC packages, holy wow, in a new system, they all starve.

In a 90g, to start, 2 turbos, 4 Astrea, 4 nasarrius, 4 Nerite.

Crabs I never use cause they always cause issues.
Urchins I don’t use as they strip everthing.
Stars, most jus5 dwindle.

 

[vanguard]

I would have said that the first wave of the CUC should get there right around 3-4 weeks.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

since your lights are off, I would get mainly carnivore cuc and only minimal algae eating cuc. Increase the algae eating cuc when you turn on the lights and start seeing more algae growing.

 

[paintman]

You can get yur CUC when ever your ready to waste money!

 

[Sophie"s mom]

Anytime, but, only a few so they don’t eat everthing, die, and raise your nutrients.

The biggest error I see is buying these CUC packages, holy wow, in a new system, they all starve.

In a 90g, to start, 2 turbos, 4 Astrea, 4 nasarrius, 4 Nerite.

Crabs I never use cause they always cause issues.
Urchins I don’t use as they strip everthing.
Stars, most jus5 dwindle.

Yeah, when you look at the recommended CUC "packages", they are just crazy. I was thinking of starting off with a few nassarius and ceriths. I agree with the whole no crab thing. I know some people think they are great. But I keep reading about how crabs ( even hermits) kill snails like crazy.

 

[Sophie"s mom]

since your lights are off, I would get mainly carnivore cuc and only minimal algae eating cuc. Increase the algae eating cuc when you turn on the lights and start seeing more algae growing.

That is exactly what I was thinking. I want to add a few nassarius and ceriths now, and just build at the tank progresses. Any thoughts on the whole idea of leaving the lights off for the first few months?

 

[Sophie"s mom]

Yeah, when you look at the recommended CUC "packages", they are just crazy. I was thinking of starting off with a few nassarius and ceriths. I agree with the whole no crab thing. I know some people think they are great. But I keep reading about how crabs ( even hermits) kill snails like crazy.

What are your thoughts on the idea of leaving the lights off for the first few months?

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

That is exactly what I was thinking. I want to add a few nassarius and ceriths now, and just build at the tank progresses. Any thoughts on the whole idea of leaving the lights off for the first few months?

It works somewhat... Tank maturity is not the only factor, must also consider that light strength and duration, and nutrients in the water, and flow all influence algae growth.

 

[PotatoPig]

What are your thoughts on the idea of leaving the lights off for the first few months?

In practice - this is probably going to just delay any ugly phase. You’ll build up nutrients in the system with nothing to pull them out (unless you have a fuge), then you’ll turn the lights on and all the photosynthetic stuff that’s been dormant will spring to life, then your tanks micro critters (pods, etc) will catch up as their food supply just got a huge boost, then you’ll see phases of algae as different species emerge and recede as parameters and herbivore populations change, then you’ll end up with some sort of balance and maybe need to start looking at adding snail species targeted at whatever macroalgae/cyano strain things even out to.

OTOH - if this is your first saltwater tank a few months lights off won’t hurt and you’re in for a healthy learning curve just with the fish and other occupants. Lights off let’s you get used to that and make tweaks to your tank while the algae is on hold.

 

[kevgib67]

I’d just wait until you start to see some algae and just add slowly. Build up your cuc as your tank matures.

 

[Sophie"s mom]

In practice - this is probably going to just delay any ugly phase. You’ll build up nutrients in the system with nothing to pull them out (unless you have a fuge), then you’ll turn the lights on and all the photosynthetic stuff that’s been dormant will spring to life, then your tanks micro critters (pods, etc) will catch up as their food supply just got a huge boost, then you’ll see phases of algae as different species emerge and recede as parameters and herbivore populations change, then you’ll end up with some sort of balance and maybe need to start looking at adding snail species targeted at whatever macroalgae/cyano strain things even out to.

OTOH - if this is your first saltwater tank a few months lights off won’t hurt and you’re in for a healthy learning curve just with the fish and other occupants. Lights off let’s you get used to that and make tweaks to your tank while the algae is on hold.

So, I had a 110 g about 15 years ago, but I got the whole idea of leaving lights off for the first few months from BRS. They actually recommend 4 months, I was planning on 3. Another question on this topic (also a recommend from BRS) is to use either Brightwell Microbacter clean or Vibrant, start dosing about 2 weeks prior to turning the lights on. I have never been a fan of chemical use, unless very warranted. But BRS says this combined with lights of will pretty much "skip the ugly phase". Thoughts, anyone?

 

[Subsea]

So, I had a 110 g about 15 years ago, but I got the whole idea of leaving lights off for the first few months from BRS. They actually recommend 4 months, I was planning on 3. Another question on this topic (also a recommend from BRS) is to use either Brightwell Microbacter clean or Vibrant, start dosing about 2 weeks prior to turning the lights on. I have never been a fan of chemical use, unless very warranted. But BRS says this combined with lights of will pretty much "skip the ugly phase". Thoughts, anyone?

I don’t believe BRS claim.

While I prefer to add diver collected live rock to inoculate tank with healthy biodiversity, I suspect Microbacter is nitrogen fixation bacteria only. While I am not against using Microbacter, it is highly overrated.

I am against using Vibrant in a marine aquarium.

Understanding Vibrant: Algaefix, Polixetonium Chloride / Busan 77

The purpose of this post is to look closely at Vibrant to compare its properties to a known algaecide, Algaefix by API. This is intended to shed light on the active ingredients in Vibrant, explain its mechanism of action, and give people insight into its use and what to expect. It is not a...

www.reef2reef.com

The purpose of this post is to look closely at Vibrant to compare its properties to a known algaecide, Algaefix by API. This is intended to shed light on the active ingredients in Vibrant, explain its mechanism of action, and give people insight into its use and what to expect. It is not a recommendation to use or not use either product. (apologies, I'm not a chemist and I hope inaccuracies in my descriptions aren't too distracting.)

Background on Algaefix / polixetonium chloride
Algaefix by API contains 4.5% “dimethyliminoethylene dichloride, ethoxylate” CAS 31512-74-0 per MSDS and EPA documentation. This amount is the same in the various Algaefix Marine, Pond, etc labels. This chemical is a polymeric quaternary ammonium compound. Other quaternary ammonium compounds or “quats” (not polymers), such as benzalkonium chloride are in widespread use as sanitizers, antibacterial soaps etc. The Algaefix chemical is also known by the trade name Busan 77 or the more recently EPA-favored name polixetonium chloride, I will refer to it by these or simply “the polyquat.”
Polixetonium chloride is a well-known algaecide, registered in the U.S. since 1971. The EPA documentation on it is thorough and has a number of useful bits of info. This 65 page EPA draft risk assessment from 2020 covers most relevant info, including the material below. This chart shows the concentrations at which it was found to have an inhibitory effect on various “algae”.