Brown Film on my Crushed Coral?

[doobieman]

I have a Brown Film on my crushed Coral. Can anyone tell what this is, and what shall I do about?

 

[27mtaylor]

Is it algae? Do you vacuum you Crushed Coral when you do water changes? That should help to get rid of it.... or at least temporaily get rid of it.

 

[doobieman]

I have vacuumed once, I have only had it in the tank for about 3 weeks

 

[27mtaylor]

My CC seems to turns brown between my vacuumings. I do a 10% water change weekly and I am able to turn over the CC while doing that and it brings it back to a white color.

 

[doobieman]

Ok then I will just keep doing that. I also have 10 Blue Leg hermits that cleaned alot after I put them in there, then just quit and the brown got worse. Thanks though, I am still learning and I have got alot of good help from here before so I thought I would try again.

 

[27mtaylor]

Have you checked all your water parameters? Something may be causing unwanted algae to prosper.

 

[doobieman]

All I know to do is take a sample to the Fish Store and they test it and tell me its all ok

 

[cain420]

what does it taste like?? sounds like ur cleaning crew went on strike!
btw.. what kind of water did u use? tap? ro?

 

[cain420]

Originally Posted by doobieman
All I know to do is take a sample to the Fish Store and they test it and tell me its all ok
for god sakes, buy a test kit! :scared:
water levels can change and kill fish!

 

[doobieman]

Tap water with a clorine conditioner, Not sure what RO is

 

[doobieman]

Would buy a test kit, but the local fish store does not carry one for saltwater, not sure what or where to get one.

 

[cain420]

ro is reverse osmosis.. probably the most prominent thing in a hobbiest's home! do some water changes with it, it is known to help with algaes.. reverse osmosis removes the dissolved metals and other chemicals and debris in tap water that the stuff u poured in removes.. u coulda just let the water sit and the chlorine goes away by itself.. but the metals NEVER go away even with evaporation.. can lead to dead corals and such as they can become a concentrate.. I got mine at a superstore called meijers for $0.29 a gallon.. took me 3 trips of bringin 20 gallons home at a time to fill mine up but its sooo gonna be worth it! look for some threads on ro water, and they get into it a little more.. i bought a drinking water setup that is givin me readings good enough for me to use.. i wont even cook using my tap water anymore.. they have setups on this site for decent prices if you dont like to bring water home from a store.. most stores have it where u fill the jugs yourself..

 

[cain420]

Originally Posted by doobieman
Would buy a test kit, but the local fish store does not carry one for saltwater, not sure what or where to get one.
click here!

 

[doobieman]

OK sounds good thanks for your help, learned alot!

 

[froznfinn]

I've heard crushed coral will pick-up algae ..kind of what you see is what you get..I have some shells and coral found at the ocean...nad they do tend to pick-up algae ..most people will try and get you to switch to live sand..my sand is very cleanand rarely vacum..

 

[doobieman]

don't know much about live sand, never heard of until I got on here actually. Not available local though, would have to buy on-line

 

[mr_bill]

Originally Posted by doobieman
Tap water with a clorine conditioner, Not sure what RO is
Didn't read all the responses after this one, but you have diatoms from using tap water. Thats the brown stuff on the CC, and you will continue to see it until all added goodies in the tap water are used up by the diatoms.