Started the uglies

D4nnyD91

New Member
View Badges
Joined
Sep 11, 2026
Messages
6
Reaction score
24
Location
London
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Evening all,
Looks like im currently stepping into the ugly phase. What Nitrate numbers do you guys aim for to try and keep diatoms up and not end up with the dreaded dinos? I dont have any CUC in the tank atm as it was just too clean up until yesterday so i will make sure this week i head out to the LFS before it gets out of control and grab a few turbo snails and possibly a strawberry conch or 2.

Thanks
66e6eb2f-876d-43d6-8924-32863d3c26a6.jpg
 
I would say thats the beginning of the beginning of the uglies. I would grab a few hermits and a few snails but I would wait on the conches, let some micro algae grow on those white rocks before getting too many hernivores, your rocks and sand are looking too clean still.

I don't aim for any particular nitrate numbers, but I like to keep my nitrates lower than 10 and my phosphate lower than .1
 
Hey man,

Thanks for the reply. I will post an update in the next couple of weeks once we have some CUC in there


Thanks again
 
adding on to what mr mojo said nitrates typically will come down to an individual tank's needs, LPS dominant reefs for example typically like higher nitrates than sps dominated, there's also mushroom heavy tanks that some people like to have at a even higher nitrate level, so it all depends on your plans for your tank and what you plan on adding
 

TOP 10 Trending Threads

IF YOU WERE CHOOSING YOUR MAIN REEF TANK TODAY, WHAT SIZE WOULD YOU PICK COMPARED WITH YOUR CURRENT

  • Much smaller

    Votes: 2 2.7%
  • A little smaller

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • About the same

    Votes: 6 8.0%
  • A little larger

    Votes: 23 30.7%
  • Much larger

    Votes: 25 33.3%
  • About the same volume, but different dimensions

    Votes: 9 12.0%
  • I’d keep this one and add a second tank

    Votes: 7 9.3%
  • I don’t have a reef tank yet

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Other (Post in the comments)

    Votes: 3 4.0%
Back
Top
Home
Post thread…
Market
What's new