Is this cyano part of the ugly stage?

[Reefgirl0412]

My 110 gallon tank has been running for a little over 3 months. I am going through the ugly stage and have diatoms all over my sand and rock, however, today I came across a purple spot on my sand. Nitrites 0, nitrates are between 0 and 5 ppm, ammonia 0, PH 8. I've heard that this could be cyano, but maybe it's what comes after diatoms? Is there something I should do or just let it be? Thank you.

 

[dvgyfresh]

I would increase nitrate and phosphate during the ugly stage to help speed it along and hopefully prevent Dino’s , that said it looks like normal tank uglies to me, but I can’t say I’ve ever gotten cyano , maybe flow needs to increase ?

 

[Reefgirl0412]

I would increase nitrate and phosphate during the ugly stage to help speed it along and hopefully prevent Dino’s , that said it looks like normal tank uglies to me, but I can’t say I’ve ever gotten cyano , maybe flow needs to increase ?

Yeah I have two powerheads, seems like the flow is fine. How would I increase nitrates?

 

[Reefgirl0412]

I would increase nitrate and phosphate during the ugly stage to help speed it along and hopefully prevent Dino’s , that said it looks like normal tank uglies to me, but I can’t say I’ve ever gotten cyano , maybe flow needs to increase ?

Here are some pictures of the whole tank, if that helps.

 

[dvgyfresh]

Yeah I have two powerheads, seems like the flow is fine. How would I increase nitrates?

Is there ample surface agitation? I always have one wave maker pointed up to cause agitation, Cyano likes low oxygen environments. Feeding a bit more or dosing nitrates works( neo nitrate ) Nothing to be alarmed about after looking at tank tho looks like normal uglies just takes time with dry rock

 

[\m/reefsnmetal\m/]

I may be blind but I don't see any cyano. Looks like coralline algae on rocks. Does it scrape off easy?

 

[Reefgirl0412]

Is there ample surface agitation? I always have one wave maker pointed up to cause agitation, Cyano likes low oxygen environments. Feeding a bit more or dosing nitrates works( neo nitrate ) Nothing to be alarmed about after looking at tank tho looks like normal uglies just takes time with dry rock

Ok. Thank you. I think im just going to let it roll. I maintain my tank well. I do a little more than 10 percent water change every week, change my filter sock, clean the front of the glass, and gravel vac sand with water change.

 

[Reefgirl0412]

I may be blind but I don't see any cyano. Looks like coralline algae on rocks. Does it scrape off easy?

The purple is not coralline algae. It's the color if the rock. This is what I'm talking about on the sand the purplish spot

 

[dvgyfresh]

Ok. Thank you. I think im just going to let it roll. I maintain my tank well. I do a little more than 10 percent water change every week, change my filter sock, clean the front of the glass, and gravel vac sand with water change.

That’s good! I would be wary of keeping the tank “too clean” when starting out , I kno it’s counter productive/opposite to what most people would tell you. But I’ve found it keeping the tank too clean early on stalls the ugly process and in my case I got Dino’s which is not fun to deal with. I’ve never cleaned my sand bed/ vacuumed it my thought process is to let it get dirty so the good bacteria get a chance to populate. All this to say there are many methods and your not doing anything wrong just free advice lol

 

[Reefgirl0412]

That’s good! I would be wary of keeping the tank “too clean” when starting out , I kno it’s counter productive/opposite to what most people would tell you. But I’ve found it keeping the tank too clean early on stalls the ugly process and in my case I got Dino’s which is not fun to deal with. I’ve never cleaned my sand bed/ vacuumed it my thought process is to let it get dirty so the good bacteria get a chance to populate. All this to say there are many methods and your not doing anything wrong just free advice lol

That's a beautiful tank! Hope mine will look good lol. I guess I won't clean the sand bed. Do you recommend adding microbacter7? Or macrobacter clean or anything?

 

[\m/reefsnmetal\m/]

The purple is not coralline algae. It's the color if the rock. This is what I'm talking about on the sand the purplish spot

Ok I gotcha. It could be the start of cyano but you already said you're gonna let it roll which is what I would do. Starting with dry rock takes a little longer to get the tanks natural filtration going. The tank I started with Dry rock has had all kinds of algae/cyano adventures.

 

[dvgyfresh]

That's a beautiful tank! Hope mine will look good lol. I guess I won't clean the sand bed. Do you recommend adding microbacter7? Or macrobacter clean or anything?

Oh it will! Just takes some time , I also bought live rock which greatly helps with maturity and stability of the tank def reccomend some. I also started with easy corals and worked my way up - Xenia and GSP are great starting corals to see how they do - my first Xenia and GSP frags both melted so I’ve definitely made mistakes along the way. I’d reccomend microbacter 7 and probidio digest for bacteria

 

[Reefgirl0412]

Ok I gotcha. It could be the start of cyano but you already said you're gonna let it roll which is what I would do. Starting with dry rock takes a little longer to get the tanks natural filtration going. The tank I started with Dry rock has had all kinds of algae/cyano adventures.

Ok. Yeah I prefer not to add anything unless it's macrobacter 7 or macrobacter clean, but even than I prefer not to do it. I really want everything to go natural but im so impatient, and this ugly stage is driving me crazy.

Oh it will! Just takes some time , I also bought live rock which greatly helps with maturity and stability of the tank def reccomend some. I also started with easy corals and worked my way up - Xenia and GSP are great starting corals to see how they do - my first Xenia and GSP frags both melted so I’ve definitely made mistakes along the way. I’d reccomend microbacter 7 and probidio digest for bacteria

Yeah I have a bottle of microbacter 7 on hand so you think I should start using that after today's water change?

 

[Reefgirl0412]

Ok I gotcha. It could be the start of cyano but you already said you're gonna let it roll which is what I would do. Starting with dry rock takes a little longer to get the tanks natural filtration going. The tank I started with Dry rock has had all kinds of algae/cyano adventures.

Also I only have 2 small live rock in my tank. I dont want to overdo with the rocks

 

[dvgyfresh]

Yes use microbacter7i think it’s capful weekly? Idk it’s good stuff though

 

[Reefgirl0412]

Yes use microbacter7i think it’s capful weekly? Idk it’s good stuff though

Ok cool. Thank you

 

[\m/reefsnmetal\m/]

Trust me everyone can relate to the struggles with patience lol. I don't know about the microbacter as I've never used it. Maybe someone else has more knowledge on that.

 

[Reefgirl0412]

Ok cool. Thank you

Which instructions do I follow? The one that says once a week?

 

[Reefgirl0412]

Yes use microbacter7i think it’s capful weekly? Idk it’s good stuff though

Do I follow the weekly instructions? Or the top one?

 

[Reefgirl0412]

Trust me everyone can relate to the struggles with patience lol. I don't know about the microbacter as I've never used it. Maybe someone else has more knowledge on that.

Yeah its honestly almost frustrating. Lol