Ugly stage

[chrisgold]

how many water changes a week should i do through the ugly stage ?

 

[lapin]

I would do 10% per week.
This can be your schedule for the next year until your tank matures.
You can even vac the sand bed each week.

 

[JCM]

I would do 10% per week.
This can be your schedule for the next year until your tank matures.
You can even vac the sand bed each week.

This sounds about right.

 

[chrisgold]

I would do 10% per week.
This can be your schedule for the next year until your tank matures.
You can even vac the sand bed each week.

Thanks aye ive been doing 20% weekly. Do ypu know if you still do water changes while using microbacter clean?

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

Make it dirty before the wc. Like blow everything off. Clean the glass or acrylic. Toothbrush scrub. Than do ur 10%
-d

 

[elorablue]

Thanks aye ive been doing 20% weekly. Do ypu know if you still do water changes while using microbacter clean?

Yup. You’re dosing it once a week?
I dose the Clean once a week After my water change

 

[brandon429]

hey can you post a pic of the tank in the uglies, we've all been there.

there are some amazing physical cheats that can be done to make it look great, much faster than using dosed scrubbing bac. pics show if some cleaning cheats are avail and useful here based on layout and details in pic

for xample with a pic we can determine if the current light intensity is required or something to be attained next year, that can help tremendously. there are nine other tricks in addition lol

 

[JGT]

hey can you post a pic of the tank in the uglies, we've all been there.

there are some amazing physical cheats that can be done to make it look great, much faster than using dosed scrubbing bac. pics show if some cleaning cheats are avail and useful here based on layout and details in pic

for xample with a pic we can determine if the current light intensity is required or something to be attained next year, that can help tremendously. there are nine other tricks in addition lol

Do tell Brandon, do tell.

 

[brandon429]

we all know this leads to a rip clean, im merely looking for ways to justify it. gimme em pics

if the tank is huge we'll forego it. if its a nano then we'll champion the six recent nanos we booted back into shape as links to copy
I have no new tricks.

 

[lapin]

ya that ole rabbit hole rip/clean

 

[chrisgold]

Yup. You’re dosing it once a week?
I dose the Clean once a week After my water change

Nah i just doed 30 ml on fri and been doing 5ml per day since with skimmer and uv off for 4 hours after

 

[chrisgold]

hey can you post a pic of the tank in the uglies, we've all been there.

there are some amazing physical cheats that can be done to make it look great, much faster than using dosed scrubbing bac. pics show if some cleaning cheats are avail and useful here based on layout and details in pic

for xample with a pic we can determine if the current light intensity is required or something to be attained next year, that can help tremendously. there are nine other tricks in addition lol

Just loads of algae on the rocks

 

[chrisgold]

we all know this leads to a rip clean, im merely looking for ways to justify it. gimme em pics

if the tank is huge we'll forego it. if its a nano then we'll champion the six recent nanos we booted back into shape as links to copy
I have no new tricks.

Whats a rip clean?

 

[brandon429]

Hey how many gallons is this tank

Check this guy's 30 we transformed:

Algae Identification

Any opinions on what type of algae this is growing on my rocks and sand bed?

www.reef2reef.com

gotta admit we have a tank on file already fixed to match any work job needed. Power man cleaning should be considered for all accessible reefs. Does not harm a cycle or set one back. Causes awesomeness

 

[JGT]

Who wouldn’t want awesomeness?

 

[vetteguy53081]

how many water changes a week should i do through the ugly stage ?

You dont have to do any but if appearance is an issue, start with blowing with a turkey baster. Once loosened, siphon. In most cases, you are dealing with diatoms. Diatoms are a brown algae that typically appear in a reef tank that has just completed its cycle but they can also appear in an established reef tank. They can cover sand, rock, pumps, glass, you name it. Diatoms look ugly but in most cases they are harmless so the key is to not panic when they appear.
Diatoms feed mainly off of silicates but also consume dissolved organic compounds, phosphate and nitrates. Unfiltered tap water can contain silicates and is a good way to jump start a bloom if you use it to mix salt or to replace water that evaporated from the tank. The best way to prevent this from happening is to filter water through a RODI unit , although you can still get a diatom bloom when using RODI if the cartridge that removes silicates expires.
diatoms are typically harmless to a captive reef and can be beaten once their food source expires. Once you put the kibosh on the source, the outbreak should last a couple of weeks so just be patient and it will pass. For major outbreaks you may want to consider the three day blackout. Diatoms are easily wiped from the glass with a mag float, a turkey baster or a toothbrush can access other areas of the tank. Be prepared for them to re-establish themselves quickly, they are likely to be able to resettle and have exponential growth rates.
To prevent their return, practice good aquarium husbandry by doing regular water changes, keep the substrate clean, don’t overfeed the fish, ensure your skimmer is running at an optimal level and rinse out filter socks and sponges on a regular basis.
Some cleaner crew to help control it are : Cerith snails, Nerite snails and Trochus snails and also Astraea snails are effective at removing diatoms.

 

[elorablue]

Nah i just doed 30 ml on fri and been doing 5ml per day since with skimmer and uv off for 4 hours after

ok, ya just follow the directions and stick to the weekly wc.
I think, if I remember correctly, we have the same 20g cube?
I just add 3 capfuls of it after weekly 15% water change. I don't have a skimmer or UV

 

[chrisgold]

Hey how many gallons is this tank

Check this guy's 30 we transformed:

Algae Identification

Any opinions on what type of algae this is growing on my rocks and sand bed?

www.reef2reef.com

gotta admit we have a tank on file already fixed to match any work job needed. Power man cleaning should be considered for all accessible reefs. Does not harm a cycle or set one back. Causes awesomeness

Yeah mines a 30 gal aswell il post a pic with lights on

 

[chrisgold]

ok, ya just follow the directions and stick to the weekly wc.
I think, if I remember correctly, we have the same 20g cube?
I just add 3 capfuls of it after weekly 15% water change. I don't have a skimmer or UV

Mines the 35.2 waterbox mate

 

[brandon429]

those are the two top rip cleans and at a mere 5 pages its not a scary read like our six hour, fifty page collection of the exact same outcomes.

pros and cons from rip cleans:

cons-takes lots of work

pros, them after pics.