Is this the ugly phase? That quickly??

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reef tank 2.0

reef tank 2.0

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It doesn't look all that bad under lights out. But that all changes when the blues come on
 

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4 weeks into the cyano break out, and I still have it. It's never been super thick, but it's certainly still around. I have been doing small water changes every 3-4 days or so, just to vacuum the sand. Obviously that helps for a few days before it comes back again. I don't remember it ever sticking around this long, in my last tank. I get a brownish film on the glass too, every couple days. is it common for this stuff to stick around for a month or more?
 

vetteguy53081

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On my last tank, when i went through the ugly phase, everything was brown. Sand, and rock.

I'm thinking I've been done with the cycle for a month plus. I noticed all my rock (dry rock), is starting to get brown spots in it. But my sand is still white.

Is it possible that this could be the start of the ugly diatoms phase? If so, why is my sand still white?

Here is a picture with my whites on. One full rock picture, and then the second is a close up, to show you the brown spots.

Even though my whites are on and blues at zero, I'm still picking up blue lights. They're not turning all the way off. But hopefully you can see what I'm referring to

20240428_182220.jpg 20240428_182027.jpg 20240428_181958.jpg
Looks like diatom spores which can evolve as soon as 72 hours
 
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i've been fighting cyano since June 10th. it won't go away. I vacuum the sand once a week. it's certainly not thick, but it's consistent. not sure what else could be fueling it. I don't think my water parameters matter, but they are pretty consistent.

alkalinity - 6.9
calcium - 445
phosphate - 0
magnesium - 1200
ph - 8.2
salinity - 1.025
nitrate - 2.3
 
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