Live Rock Question..
- Thread starter mindy2577
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braydonosu
Member
How long has the tank been set up for? What are your water perams? Looks like maybe brown diatoms that are normal for a cycling/finishing cycle tank.
mindy2577
Member
Originally Posted by braydonosu
http:///forum/post/2936161
How long has the tank been set up for? What are your water perams? Looks like maybe brown diatoms that are normal for a cycling/finishing cycle tank.
The tank has been up since August. Cycled for about two months with no fish and one large rock. (Rock shown in pic) It did this same thing shortly after we put it in there. But then it disappeared. We just added three more rocks and this happened. I googled brown diatoms..it said something about over extended lighting periods..but our tank light is only on from 1030 to 2030. Is this to long? Also..is it a bad thing? What can we do to get rid of it?
Used Test Strips..
Water Levels:
Ph 7.8
Amon .25
No3 0
No2 0
Alk 300
Salt 1.020
http:///forum/post/2936161
How long has the tank been set up for? What are your water perams? Looks like maybe brown diatoms that are normal for a cycling/finishing cycle tank.
The tank has been up since August. Cycled for about two months with no fish and one large rock. (Rock shown in pic) It did this same thing shortly after we put it in there. But then it disappeared. We just added three more rocks and this happened. I googled brown diatoms..it said something about over extended lighting periods..but our tank light is only on from 1030 to 2030. Is this to long? Also..is it a bad thing? What can we do to get rid of it?
Used Test Strips..
Water Levels:
Ph 7.8
Amon .25
No3 0
No2 0
Alk 300
Salt 1.020
braydonosu
Member
What size tank is this? And how big are the rocks that you are putting in? It looks like you could be going through mini cycles when you put in new live rock. Your ligth period seems ok - depends on what kind of light, and how old the bulbs are - that could be an issue. Regular water changes should help.
mindy2577
Member
Well..on parts of the rock its starting to turn a dark burgandy red. Im not so worried about the brown stuff on the glass because i cleaned it today and it came right off. I know it will be back..but I don't mind cleaning the tank.
Our tank is a 44 gallon pentagon.
We have 4 rocks. Three are about the shape two fists put together -these are the ones we just added recently. The other one is a a little bigger in the shape of a volcano. Sorry I don't remember there exact weights. The bulbs are new. In the morning we have the Flora Glo 15w T8 on from 1030 to 1530 and then Life Glo 24w T5HO and Coral Life Actinic F15 T8BP from 1530 to 1900. Then back to the first one from 1900 to 2030 or 2100. Is this a good lighting schedule? Any help would be nice.
Our tank is a 44 gallon pentagon.
We have 4 rocks. Three are about the shape two fists put together -these are the ones we just added recently. The other one is a a little bigger in the shape of a volcano. Sorry I don't remember there exact weights. The bulbs are new. In the morning we have the Flora Glo 15w T8 on from 1030 to 1530 and then Life Glo 24w T5HO and Coral Life Actinic F15 T8BP from 1530 to 1900. Then back to the first one from 1900 to 2030 or 2100. Is this a good lighting schedule? Any help would be nice.
braydonosu
Member
I'm not an expert, but I thought that the flora glo had a wavelenght that is supposed to stimulate plant growth. Were the rocks that you just added to the tank 'live rock' or was it dry base rock? If it was live, you may have had some die off that would explain the not so low ammonia and also explain a mini cycle and the diatoms. Waterchanges are your friend here.
braydonosu
Member
The new algae sounds like red slime algae - use the tube you change water with and suck that stuff off of the rock.
mindy2577
Member
Originally Posted by braydonosu
http:///forum/post/2938470
I'm not an expert, but I thought that the flora glo had a wavelenght that is supposed to stimulate plant growth. Were the rocks that you just added to the tank 'live rock' or was it dry base rock? If it was live, you may have had some die off that would explain the not so low ammonia and also explain a mini cycle and the diatoms. Waterchanges are your friend here.
It was live rock. One of them already had a little bit of red on it. Could it possibly be spreading? We also purchased three emerald crabs. They went to town on the big rock. I do have a question about the water changes. What is the best method for this?
http:///forum/post/2938470
I'm not an expert, but I thought that the flora glo had a wavelenght that is supposed to stimulate plant growth. Were the rocks that you just added to the tank 'live rock' or was it dry base rock? If it was live, you may have had some die off that would explain the not so low ammonia and also explain a mini cycle and the diatoms. Waterchanges are your friend here.
It was live rock. One of them already had a little bit of red on it. Could it possibly be spreading? We also purchased three emerald crabs. They went to town on the big rock. I do have a question about the water changes. What is the best method for this?
braydonosu
Member
It sounds to me like the die off from the liverock is creating a mini cycle. A 10% water change per week should help - and you can point a power head in the direction of the algae to help keep junk from accumulating in that area.
I have a 40 gal tank, so once a week I do a 4 gal change. I always use a 5 gal bucket with a mark at the 4 gal level. Fill it to there with my R/O unit, heat the water to around 78ish while I have a PH circulating water. Then I pour in my salt mix - usually around .5 cups per gallon. Let this go for a few hours, then test salinity with a refractometer and adjust accordingly. Usually 6 hours later or the next day even I'll siphon out 4 gallons and then replace it with the new water.
By the way, what kind of water are you using? R/O, DI, Tap...
I have a 40 gal tank, so once a week I do a 4 gal change. I always use a 5 gal bucket with a mark at the 4 gal level. Fill it to there with my R/O unit, heat the water to around 78ish while I have a PH circulating water. Then I pour in my salt mix - usually around .5 cups per gallon. Let this go for a few hours, then test salinity with a refractometer and adjust accordingly. Usually 6 hours later or the next day even I'll siphon out 4 gallons and then replace it with the new water.
By the way, what kind of water are you using? R/O, DI, Tap...
braydonosu
Member
IMO the combination of a mini cycle from the new live rock die off plus the tap water is causing your problem. If your tap water is high in nitrates and phosphates like most tap then you are basically creating a perfect situation for algae - add in the light that I think is in the proper range for algae growth and you have an algae outbreak.
