Live Rock turn brown

[tkpsimon]

Hi everybody,

 

background:

This is a 20gL, 10g refugium, 30lb LR, 3"sand bed, 5 stage RO, 7watt PC per gallon, Bionic, reefsolution/DT, in-sump protein skimmer. one clown/royal grama, couple hermit, Xeina, zoo, pagoda, candy, and mushroom, around 15 of tubro snail. it's been setup like this for about 1 year.

 

For the last 2/3 months, lots of the live rock starting to turn brown color, and i have a hair algae growing on couple spot(controllable), it start only the last couple months. Calcium is always around 390 to 400.

 

what is going on, is this mean the tank is maturing, or some serious problem is waiting for me? Fishes are doing fine, but some coral are not doing as good as before, like the candy.

 

any suggestion would be appreciate. thanks in advance.

[FSUreef]

Have you replaced the bulbs in your lighting yet? Who makes them? From what I've experienced, if they're Corallife, they probably should have been replaced a few months ago. If they haven't been replaced, it's time.

 

Also, how often do you perform water changes? Is the RO water your own? If so, when was the last time you inspected/replaced the guts in your unit?

 

What are your water test results in your tank, and in your mixed water before it goes into your tank?

 

Hunter

[Christopher Marks]

Could it be diatoms? Or have you changed your salt mix recently?

 

I would follow FSUreef's advice and replace the bulbs on your tank, that's often an overlooked source of problems in older tanks.

[tkpsimon]

First of all, thanks for the advice,

 

I don't think the problem is belong to lighting, since i relplace both of the bulb about 4-5 months ago.

I usually did a 3 gallon water change every 1, or 2 weeks, not more than that. PH is quite stable, i use a PH monitor and it goes from 8.1 to 8.2 day and night.

I'm not sure if it's the RO, I did replace the cartidge after it used for 10 months, but the membrane is still the orginal one that come with the unit. how can i test the quality of my RO?

 

So, if it's diatom, what is the source of it, and how should i cure this?

[CUNROE]

tkpsimon,

I don't know the proper way to test a RO unit but I run GH and KH test on my RO everyonce in a while. If it reads anything over 1 drop then I know that there some solids getting through the membrane and it needs to be replaced. hope that helped

Chris

[Goliath]

Could also be a brown algae outbreak, I actually through is a few margarita snails and astrea snails into my 18H tank and they sucked up all the brown algae from my rocks. Give that a try, I had the same issue but mine had to have been brown algae and not diatoms because of the way it was growing

[FSUreef]

I would really think about checking out your R/O system. I know in Florida, it's cheaper to buy water from a lfs over purchase a R/O unit because the membranes, cartridges, etc. get clogged so quickly.

 

Obviously, if you're getting phosphates in your system, algae outbreaks are one of the results.

[zizmans]

Is the brown color growth on the rock, or is your cora. algae dissapearing showing the rock color underneath? (That question could possibly moronic, freshman trying to help) Would taking your RO water to a LFS and having a complete water test help?I've heard Florida water is bad for aquarium enthusiasts. Worse than So Cal? Seattle? Is it higherlower in what? Also I'm thinking about getting an RO unit as well is there a general rule as to when to change the guts?

[JustDavidP]

You can check your RO with a Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) meter. They are relativele inexpensive (in comparison to other reef costs). If your RO system is not filtering properly, you are introducing phosphate, sillicate and other nasties into your tank. Brown fuzz on rock sounds to me like a diatom bloom or other kind of algea bloom. Check your water quality from the RO (possibly bring it to a LFS) and go from there. Make any water changes with trusted water and hope that the cleanup crew gets busy.

 

David

[JustDavidP]

Originally posted by zizmans

Also I'm thinking about getting an RO unit as well is there a general rule as to when to change the guts?

 

The only true way is to test with a TDS meter. Your membranes could fluctuate in lifespan due to changing water conditions, temperature, pressure etc.

 

This is a nice TDS. I use it and trust it (have checked against others)

 

http://www.aquaticreefsystems.com/TDS_Meters.htm

 

David

[Reefs1]

I actually have the above mentioned TDS meter and a 4 stage RO/DI and I love it. If you have an RO and don't have a TDS meter, you are simply "flying by the seat of your pants" as far as knowing how the unit is performing. If you get the meter, you will need to pull a hose off PRIOR to the DI in order to accurately test you RO membrane. Test that water, then test your finished product water and you will successfully tested the both the RO and the DI membranes. Also be sure and test your tap water, write all these readings down...Just as an example, the TDS on my tap is about 110, on my RO i get about 5 and after my DI I get Absolute Zero baby! My RO produces the purist water and get so little algae I can't believe it myself, and I run my lights on a 10 hour cycle. Get the TDS meter from ARS, they are single handedly the best company for water purification equipment and advice.

 

PS- How well is your skimmer performing, this is also an important factor to consider since they remove alot of algae growing solids. Good luck!