dharned Posted August 20, 2003 Share Posted August 20, 2003 Hi all, Tank life has been doin well and new additions have been stable... I have noticed my live rocks have gotten much WHITER. Some areas look like a sugar coated frosted cereal. yum. The problem is, the rocks look very bleeched (sorry no pic) and in some areas, its a thick white frosted coat. All my levels are fine, and in lighting terms, my light is only a 8w 18000 k fluorescent (powerglo) considered low for a 5 gallon. Whats the dilli-o-nanio? Link to comment
dharned Posted August 20, 2003 Author Share Posted August 20, 2003 Come on peeps. 11 views and no feedback well, on the bright note, pastel green and red spots are in some of the bleeched areas. Ideas/Input still WANTED!!! heh heh. Link to comment
NanoBound Posted August 20, 2003 Share Posted August 20, 2003 "my light is only a 8w 18000 k fluorescent (powerglo) considered low for a 5 gallon." I think you answered your own question as far as the coralline bleaching. As for the frosted covering, it just sounds like your tank is doing some dusty settling. Take a turkey baster and blow the dust sediment off. This will also cause the dieing of the coraline. Be sure to have a filter in your hob to remove the dust cloud. Hope this helps some!! Link to comment
JLTRUK Posted August 20, 2003 Share Posted August 20, 2003 how bleached white are we talking here...my guess is that you have a fish that may be getting sand and spitting it at the rock...I dont know bro. sorry, but its a guess:) Link to comment
dharned Posted August 20, 2003 Author Share Posted August 20, 2003 k smarty pants. Why does it look frosted (ie. the white looks thicker like it is growing). As i said, very bright spots of red and green HAVE started. Is it possible the crabs are doing too well with cleaning? ... and also.... save the one liners for comedy central. BOOO. Link to comment
JLTRUK Posted August 20, 2003 Share Posted August 20, 2003 one liners...ok man sure. you got us guessin here without any pics and you posted 2 times in a row begging for a response...you got one. sorry its not a technical one, Im not working with a heck of a lot of info from you my friend Link to comment
dharned Posted August 20, 2003 Author Share Posted August 20, 2003 Well, the perc likes to make a sand storm with his/her tail in the corners, but its not sand. Really frosted, like frosted shredded wheat, we've all seen that right? Except, i guess it would be moldy shredded wheat because or the pastel pink and green spots... hmmm. Link to comment
dharned Posted August 20, 2003 Author Share Posted August 20, 2003 JLTRUK, wasnt referring to your reply, thanks for your input though. Ok, busting out the digicam... stay tuned in 10. Link to comment
NanoBound Posted August 20, 2003 Share Posted August 20, 2003 This is one for the JERK THREAD!!!!!!!! Link to comment
dharned Posted August 20, 2003 Author Share Posted August 20, 2003 OK OK we all have our days. Mine was one of them. my apologies to all. Sorry for being a jerk. It's my own fault for being too lazy to DL pics off of a serial digi cam. Here a collage for u. Thanks for taking the time, even if we have BOTH been insulting now your time is still appreciated. heheh. Link to comment
tow-up Posted August 20, 2003 Share Posted August 20, 2003 the red looks like cyano to me. rest looks like bleaching of the corraline i guess.. just give your tank some time and check your phosphate levels. Link to comment
dharned Posted August 20, 2003 Author Share Posted August 20, 2003 Definately not Cyano. The red on the left hand rock in the pic is some kind of ruffled macro algae that the tube worms started to build on. Really cool actually. Makes the macro look spotted. Link to comment
dharned Posted August 20, 2003 Author Share Posted August 20, 2003 Ok, so i am bored as my fiance is watching "Chicago" and I can't say I want to see it a second time (but the costumes are nothing short of a victoria's secret catalogue ). I am closing this case by diagnosing that the rocks are: 1.) bleeching from changes in water params. Reason: new to reefing and bumped SG from 1.023 to 1.025 so it is closer to real authentic sea water. Not concerned with parasites just yet. Did ya know 1.023 is low? I didn't till a few weeks ago. 2.) Crabs eat too much. reason: Because they eat too much. Quite the hooligans. 3.) POSSIBLE light problems. Reason: Come on. Add substrate, LR, pump, heater, and it's really 4 gallons or less right? 2 watts per gallon. Low but not impossible to work with. The lable on the powerglo says so. heheh hahah. *insane* 4.) I better research calcium requirments and levels. They might be high or non-existant. My button polyps are religiously open, the daisy polyps are sprouting, the feather dusters are dusting. It cant be that bad. Link to comment
Angel Posted August 20, 2003 Share Posted August 20, 2003 I would go with the lighting being the culprit also. The coraline will grow back, slowly, but in time with higher lighting. I do not think it is your crabs eating the coraline, but someone else can, and will, correct me if I am wrong. Link to comment
going to see the oracle Posted August 20, 2003 Share Posted August 20, 2003 i had some of this fluffy white stuff that was a little tan-tinted and i found it to be detritus from the snails/ crabs. i get a detritus eater i.e nassarius snail. try using a turkey baster or a pipette to blow the stuff off and definitl upgrade the lighting when you get the chance! lighting is the one single most important thing in your nano. you will have amazing growth with better lighting and your macro will help prevent pest algaes as it will grow better. i would try a sealights fixture http://reefgeek.com/products/categories/li...ting/10806.html i have one of these on my 2.5 and the color and growth is amazing! Link to comment
Vincerama Posted August 20, 2003 Share Posted August 20, 2003 The "Frosting" is your bleached coralline, I think. Mine looks like that too. Well, at first, when the rocks first arrived they were deep purple VERY nice...then they turned a bit white, then they got coated with green hair algae. I scrubbed them with a toothbrush, but I think my crew and the natural progression of the tank has cut WAY back on the green hair...so now I can see my frosted flakes as well. However, the coralline is now growing back...slowly. I find that dripping kalkwasser helps alot. I think that direct current from a powerhead helps too. I have 2 x 36W PC lights (50/50) on my 10g. (iel 7.2 W/gallon) but I also find that different types of coralline are growing back and alot of it is in shaded areas, so the light might not be that critical. My suggestion is to start dripping kalkwasser into the tank. UPgrade your lights too, if you want to keep corals. Also try aiming a powerhead directly at one of your rocks to see if it makes a difference! V Link to comment
Blownpony Posted August 20, 2003 Share Posted August 20, 2003 kalkwasser? Is this the name of a product or what? Can I find this at my lfs? Link to comment
Vincerama Posted August 20, 2003 Share Posted August 20, 2003 Do a search on kalkwasser, which means "limewater" which is a saturated solution of Calcium Hydroxide. You can buy it in a fish store OR you can go to Walmart, find their "Jam/jelly/pickling/fruit preserve" section (in housewares?) and buy "pickling lime" you might be able to find it at the grocery store too. The main difference is that the LFS stuff sells for $15 a pound and Walmart sells it for $1.50. It's called "Balls Pickling Lime" there is another brand that you can buy off the internet alled "Mrs. Wages Pickling Lime". Yes...you make pickles with it, or rather, you use it to make CRISPY pickles. There is a lot of debate about the "other stuff" and impurities of pickling lime vs. LFS kalkwasser...another thread... Anyway, what you do it mix RO/DI or distilled water with Calcium Hydroxide (about 1 tsp per 2 litres) until it is milky. THen let it sit for a couple of hours, then you SLOWLY DRIP the clear portion of it (decant it into another container) into your tank (Preferably at night) instead of top off water. Why? Well, kalk has a ph of 12 so you want to add it in small portions and at night when there is no photosynthesis to remove the CO2 and therefore lower ph in the tank. It CAN BURN YOU, it is like acid in that respect (well, it's the opposite of acid, it's a strong base!) so be careful when you handle it. Why? Well, basically (search this site or reefcentral.com for the real chemistry) the kalk will combine with CO2 in your tank water to provide calcium carbonate which coral and coralline algae like, PLUS it buffers your water with carbonate (or something, again, do a search!) All I can really tell you is that it is good to use if used properly (and safely) and cheap if you can find pickling lime. V Link to comment
dharned Posted August 21, 2003 Author Share Posted August 21, 2003 Thanks Vincerama, will try the Kalkwasser when I can. I was thinking calcium has been the only other major thing i have been neglecting. The white is slowly growing coraline and I doubt my lights are in for an overhaul anytime soon. Just sticking with mushrooms and button polyps for the time being anyway. Thanks for a wonderful and price efficient reply Link to comment
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