Ugly stage advice!!

[tankreefer]

So need some advice. I know it’s a patience/waiting game and nothing good happens fast. Just want to make sure I havnt left anything out. Stuck in the ugly stage and nothing is making a dent. But the tank cycled 4 months ago, ceramic bio balls from a buddy’s tank that’s like 10 years old super healthy. Started with dry Rock and bare bottom. 2 mp40’s. 2 tangs, copperband, wrasse, and clown. Sea urchin x2 and 5 turbos. Quite a few SPS frags, large colony and a massive 10lb rock from my buddies 10 year tank with a huge encrusted SPS colony on it. Great coral growth so far and color. LPS corals. So large biome diversity. Added lots of pods before adding coral.

I have a 130 gallon, 2 ATI stratons (slow ramp 6-8, whites come on 830-1pm) then blues until 6pm.
1.026
Mag: 1400
Cal:410
Alk:8.1
Nitrate: 10-12
Phos: .05

0TDS from RODI water.

It looks like I have Dino, film algae, little GHA pretty much a mix of everything and only where
Light hits, shaded area no growth. After a lot of research and small tweaks, I just can’t seem to get over the ugly stage hump yet. Like I said I know it’s a patience game but I’m trying to figure out what’s out of whack at this point, especially since I have a large biome diversity from my buddies tank. Is there some tweaks I can make to help? Cause cleaning the rock doesn’t help comes back the next day. Thanks!

 

[907defelipes]

I hate to say this but just keep doing what you are doing. You may have a diverse biome but it isnt balanced out yet. You have a big tank and that takes a lot of bacteria to colonize. Since starting with dry rock, it was all a blank canvas and things do go a little slower.

I know its frustrating but you already have the answers. For what its worth, my tank is almost 6 months old and 1 month ago, I was in the same boat as you. I still have some uglies but they are now rapidly receding.

Your parameters are good. I like my phos just a touch higher and I like my alk a bit higher as well but other than that, I think you are well within range.

 

[CBonito]

So need some advice. I know it’s a patience/waiting game and nothing good happens fast. Just want to make sure I havnt left anything out. Stuck in the ugly stage and nothing is making a dent. But the tank cycled 4 months ago, ceramic bio balls from a buddy’s tank that’s like 10 years old super healthy. Started with dry Rock and bare bottom. 2 mp40’s. 2 tangs, copperband, wrasse, and clown. Sea urchin x2 and 5 turbos. Quite a few SPS frags, large colony and a massive 10lb rock from my buddies 10 year tank with a huge encrusted SPS colony on it. Great coral growth so far and color. LPS corals. So large biome diversity. Added lots of pods before adding coral.

I have a 130 gallon, 2 ATI stratons (slow ramp 6-8, whites come on 830-1pm) then blues until 6pm.
1.026
Mag: 1400
Cal:410
Alk:8.1
Nitrate: 10-12
Phos: .05

0TDS from RODI water.

It looks like I have Dino, film algae, little GHA pretty much a mix of everything and only where
Light hits, shaded area no growth. After a lot of research and small tweaks, I just can’t seem to get over the ugly stage hump yet. Like I said I know it’s a patience game but I’m trying to figure out what’s out of whack at this point, especially since I have a large biome diversity from my buddies tank. Is there some tweaks I can make to help? Cause cleaning the rock doesn’t help comes back the next day. Thanks!

Just give it time. That's all you can do. I pushed my tank too far too early and it cost me big.
It's 2 years old now, and after running with some florida keys live sand and some florida keys live mud in my refugium most of that time, the system is now definitely alive and good to go.

But a year ago it was not, even at almost a year old it really wasn't fully alive. And even when the tank populates with life, all of those things will battle...a mature tank is a several year thing the way I look at it.

 

[BonnieB]

I’ve only ever started with live rock but my friends that have started with dry rock have said it took their tanks between 6-9 months to develop the right amount of balance. The one piece of advice they all gave me when starting was to keep the lights off as much as possible to help move past that stage. The other thing was to get yourself a good bunch of CUC, ones for rock, sand and glass to help munch away at those algae!

 

[tankreefer]

Thanks for the info all. What odd part that I can’t quite put my finger on is the ugly is only on parts of the rock exposed to my light, anything under or shaded, it’s clean. Normally the ugly stage will hit all over doesn’t matter shaded or not. Can anyone explain that too me? Maybe related to just my duration of white and cyan lights being on possibly?

 

[907defelipes]

Thanks for the info all. What odd part that I can’t quite put my finger on is the ugly is only on parts of the rock exposed to my light, anything under or shaded, it’s clean. Normally the ugly stage will hit all over doesn’t matter shaded or not. Can anyone explain that too me? Maybe related to just my duration of white and cyan lights being on possibly?

Thats not accurate. Diatoms and cyano are both photosynthetic.

 

[BonnieB]

I know that when I was starting out I received multiple warnings of how the lights being too high/long would cause algae and bacteria blooms, but there can be other causes as well. I’d say try cutting back on the lights and see what happens and then go from there. Personally, I’ve learned for my particular tank right now not to chase numbers. BUT when something isn’t right, then that’s the first thing I look for so I’d also see how your numbers are holding up. Hopefully you have good Salifert or Hanna test kits to give you most accurate readings.

 

[tankreefer]

Also the bottom of my tank is kinda clean for a glass bottom very little growth. It could be the dry rock is leaching phosphate and getting locked up therefore reading low on the Hanna checker?

 

[tankreefer]

Oh ya I only use salifert and Hanna checkers. Def not chasing numbers only stability now that I have acros.