Discouraged

[Reefgirl0412]

I second this. Off-topic for a second but I was sort of beside myself when I found a Eunice worm the other day -- posted on here and I got a bunch of help, encouragement, advice, and even an offer to come help me remove it and take it off my hands. The value of this website shines through especially in cases like this.

OP, in a year you'll be looking back at this like, why was was I even worried. Your tank will mature and balance out, especially if you take action now to help it along.

Yes I agree! Everyone's super helpful and encouraging. I definitely have learned a lot in the last 24 hours from everyone! I hope that you're right that in a year I'll have a normal looking tank lol. Definitely is taking every ounce of patience I have haha

 

[Dave1993]

Yes I agree! Everyone's super helpful and encouraging. I definitely have learned a lot in the last 24 hours from everyone! I hope that you're right that in a year I'll have a normal looking tank lol. Definitely is taking every ounce of patience I have haha

mine took 1 year yours could be less could be more every tank is different

 

[sdreefer619]

IT GETS UGLY BEFORE IT GETS BETTER. PATIENCE IS KEY IN THIS HOBBY. I LEARNED THE HARD WAY. TAKE IT SLOW AND LET IT CYCLE.

 

[cabezatuck]

All tanks go through that phase and in fact the diatoms mean you are on the right track. People that post amazing coralscapes and say the tank is only a month old have rushed and stocked too quickly and as they experience new tank issues like Dinos, cyano and algae they are going to lose a lot of livestock. Reef tanks are all about patience. If you have diatoms keep doing what you are doing. They will eventually subside. Don’t rush on corals, maybe just a couple of softies at first. When you start getting coraline algae growth, which is usually by the end of the first year, you are good to add more coral. All my tanks looked like that at first and some far worse, there is a reason they call it the “ugly tank phase”.

 

[Reefgirl0412]

All tanks go through that phase and in fact the diatoms mean you are on the right track. People that post amazing coralscapes and say the tank is only a month old have rushed and stocked too quickly and as they experience new tank issues like Dinos, cyano and algae they are going to lose a lot of livestock. Reef tanks are all about patience. If you have diatoms keep doing what you are doing. They will eventually subside. Don’t rush on corals, maybe just a couple of softies at first. When you start getting coraline algae growth, which is usually by the end of the first year, you are good to add more coral. All my tanks looked like that at first and some far worse, there is a reason they call it the “ugly tank phase”.

Thank you. Yeah the diatoms are gone, now I have green algae I'm assuming. Not GHA but just green instead of brown, and I have some cyano.

 

[Reefgirl0412]

Thank you. Yeah the diatoms are gone, now I have green algae I'm assuming. Not GHA but just green instead of brown, and I have some cyano.

 

[SteveMac84]

Yeah im waiting for the uglies to go away and than I'm thinking about starting out with some zoas and GSP.

My GSP. It’s hearty. Love the zoas. Both were my first. Fighting GHA. My first uglies. IT IS frustrating. Lol. I get it. It’s not always easy to be patient. But I do like the challenge.

 

[Dave6771]

Honestly, don't freak out. They go through that. Just focus on, and learn how to stabilize your parameters, and it'll be fine. Don't over feed, and don't completely strip the phosphate out of your water either. It's a learning curve. Even then, things happen that could make it crash or be ugly at any time really. You really need to love your pets be dedicated to the hobby if you want to succeed long term. You are in the right place for advice though.

 

[Reefgirl0412]

Thank you. Yeah I love my fish. They're awesome. And my baby boy loves to look at the tank. Definitely learning a lot

 

[sdreefer619]

Yes stability is key. Pick like 3 parameters and keep them stable. When I did that coralline was booming in my tank. And if you look at reefs they all have cyano and algae so I would just wait it out. Keep things stable

 

[cabezatuck]

Thank you. Yeah the diatoms are gone, now I have green algae I'm assuming. Not GHA but just green instead of brown, and I have some cyano.

If it’s a lime green that’s kind of coating everything that is normal too, and is the precursor to coraline algae which is good algae! Coraline is pink and purple and calcium rich so when you see it on your glass you’ll have to use a little effort to scrape off, but coraline presence means your system is healthy and suitable for supporting coral.

for cyano usually it occurs where there is a lack of flow or build up in nutrients from fish waste, uneaten food. You have any pics of tank currently?

 

[Reefgirl0412]

If it’s a lime green that’s kind of coating everything that is normal too, and is the precursor to coraline algae which is good algae! Coraline is pink and purple and calcium rich so when you see it on your glass you’ll have to use a little effort to scrape off, but coraline presence means your system is healthy and suitable for supporting coral.

for cyano usually it occurs where there is a lack of flow or build up in nutrients from fish waste, uneaten food. You have any pics of tank currently?

 

[Reefgirl0412]

If it’s a lime green that’s kind of coating everything that is normal too, and is the precursor to coraline algae which is good algae! Coraline is pink and purple and calcium rich so when you see it on your glass you’ll have to use a little effort to scrape off, but coraline presence means your system is healthy and suitable for supporting coral.

for cyano usually it occurs where there is a lack of flow or build up in nutrients from fish waste, uneaten food. You have any pics of tank currently?

Also, on some rocks I have lime green appearing. So im assuming that's good. Like the current algae is going away and the lime green is there.

 

[JumboShrimp]

3 months? It is way, way, way, way, way, way, way, WAY too early to get discouraged. Hang in there— we are all here to help.

 

[Sharkbait19]

All it takes is time and patience. My tank once looked that way, too. It’s never an instant thing. Three months in, my tank looked pretty much like that, and it slowly progressed to different types of algae, until it eventually became more consistent with the types of algae growing.

 

[Karen00]

Patience is the number one "must have" in this hobby. If you don't have that you won't survive. My tank didn't start its ugly phase until about five months in. It's now eleven months in and the uglies (algae and cyano) are just starting to fade. I probably could have gotten rid of it sooner with treatments but I didn't want to go that route so I'm just riding it out with doing removal and water changes and working toward stability. You probably only see pretty tanks because a lot of folks only post when their tanks are pretty looking (like me). Having said that you will see a lot of tank progression pics (including the uglies) in the build threads. Once I get around to doing mine that's where I will post the nasty pics). Alternatively you will see what folks go through in the algae section. You are definitely not alone.

Have patience, patience and more patience. You will get there.

 

[Rick's Reviews]

This tank is a little over 3 months old. I am really discouraged. Looks ugly. I am doing 10 percent water change, change out the filter sock every 4 or so days, vaccuum my sand and still I have this **** in my tank. Everyone's looks so beautiful and here's mine.

Don't worry yourself over other aquariums, nobody likes to share a bad photo of ugly stage in aquriam's but majority have been through this, your very close to the end goal of what you set out to achieve and we look forward to seeing how your aquarium comes along.
Start looking into what life you would like, I spent most of my time during this phase at what I am going to add, just shopping and researching. Your setup and aquarium look amazing and I'm sure your going to have the best success

 

[gibec]

I GUESS YOU DIDNT DO YOUR RESEARCH.

some people get over the diatom stage earlier or later down the road, but its the first stage that everyone goes through. It will we over soon.

This is a hobby that you cant just blindly go into... or you will have a BAD time. haha. Oh yeah... dont be discouraged when you go through corals dying and fishes dying. Its all a learning experience.

you can have fishes die because they jump out of the tank, get stuck in pumps/drain holes, sickness, etc. You will then learn to get a lid and not forget to put it back on after feeding; plug the drain holes if smaller fish gets stuck and kill themselves; not buy cheap fish from cheap lfs stores thinking your getting a deal, etc.

 

[Sleeping Giant]

It's all about the waiting game, mine still needs work after 2.5 yrs. We all feel your anguish.

 

[kiran]

I'm still new to the hobby as well, but one thing I also learned in this hobby in a very hard way is patience is paramount and with everything I read everything will pass in time as long as I stay proactive. Right now my tank is doing great so I'm letting it coast. It took like 8 months for my tank to finally get to where I was feeling confident with it. Just take things slow and you got this.