Substrate speckels

[myelin]

I've got a bunch of speckles on the substrate in my tank. Some of the crushed coral has gone from white to yellow. Some rocks are covered with algae. The speckles are brown/black in color.

 

Is this a bioload problem?

[changhsu]

How old is your tank?

 

If the discoloration or algae growth keeps increasing, its may be an algae bloom. Part of the tank maturation process for new tanks.

 

What's your bioload? ie livestock vs filtration & lighting?

 

Most new tanks go through a couple of stages of algae blooms. You can do things to alleviate or aggrevate it. Sometimes the outbreak is mild and plateaus. You can:

 

1) reduce nutrient import

 

2) reduce photoperiod or rotate the rocks facing the light

 

3) change water more frequently

 

4) use turkey baster to suck out what you can (it will grow back, but at least you are exporting excess nutrient)

 

5) buy a critter to combat it (this is a little more risky because you're introducing one more variable to your ecosystem which is already trying to reach equilibrium)

 

After a long time, your sandbed should discolor and trap bubbles. This is usually a good sign of a maturing sandbed growing lotsa bacteria and critters that help with bio filtration. If you don't like the sandbed surface to stagnate and discolor, if you like a white sand beach look, get a sand-sifting critter after your tank stabalizes.

[myelin]

From what you say, everything is normal in my tank.

 

I have crushed coral as my base. What should I get to sift the "sand"?

[changhsu]

Well, it is normal for *new* tanks.

 

Ops, oh yeah, i forgot, you got CC, not DSB.

 

I'm not sure what critters will sift through CC, I think sand-sifters probably prefer to dig through finer sand, not CC. But there are critters that like coarser CC, these are mostly constructors, not sifters. They require coarser substrate that can hold up structures that they build. I'm not familiar with a lot of them, but I can think of some like the pistol shrimp, engineer goby, etc. However, these guys DIG big time, they can literally move mountain ranges and create sand storms in your tank (that is if you also have sand). So becareful with these diggers.

 

I suppose there are sifters for CC. The most common sand-sifters are snails (eg Nassarius), brittle stars, cukes, gobies, clams, etc. They sift the sand for food. They all have pros and cons. Some like the brittle star will do a great job but also deplete the good bugs in your DSB/CC and grow big. I guess some of these bigger sand-sifters can sift CC, like in the oceans, there's a niche for every critter.

[myelin]

Right on. My tank is fairly new at a little over a month old. Everything is doing great. I was just wondering about the substrate turning strange colors.

 

Thanks for the advice. I'll have to find something to sift the CC for me.