Dry Rock turned green rapidly....now my sand as well?

[SonRK]

Hey guys.

 

Oh the joys of a new tank.

 

 

So my tank has now been cycling for 9 weeks. My nitrates read 2 days ago at about 10-25 ppm, will check it now and add an edit or reply to this post, and I have no phosphate checker. I just did a 4 gallon water change yesterday of a 30gallon tank, and I use RODI water, with Red Sea Coral Pro Salt

 

 

I just added Chemi Pure Elite, Purigen, and Filter Floss in yesterday in my media baskets.

 

I had my CUC in for I guess 1.5 weeks now, and I decided to feed them those sinking algea wafers 4 days ago because they ate all my hair algae in a day. I gave them half and tossed it in. They ate it so fast that the wafer was gone in about an hour or so.

 

 

 

Anyways, I thought the rapidly spreading green stuff on my dry rock was Corraline Algae, the good kind everyone loves, because there's a spot where it turned purple. I figured it was sweet.

 

I would have used my tank's lights to show off what's going on, but the LEDs make the rocks and sand look reddish, etc. so I had my brother hold an LED flashlight next to me take some pictures EXCEPT for some hermit crab shell that turned green.

 

 

http://i.imgur.com/KVc4qtU.jpg (Green Shell, example of my lighting making the sand purpley and such)

 

http://i.imgur.com/bGnkTdf.jpg Dry Rock turning green, with a speckle of purple in the middle.

 

http://i.imgur.com/3vrYWpQ.jpg Here is the sand bed, that looks to be turning green as well.

 

 

Today was going to be the day I add my pair of clowns in, but I'll keep them in the QT until I can figure out what this could possibly be.

 

 

Bonus Pics with my tank's lighting that adds unnecessary color:

 

http://i.imgur.com/j00fShF.jpg http://i.imgur.com/lZDEexF.jpg http://i.imgur.com/Zc2AQ3X.jpg

[tetraodon]

it may not be coralline algae, it looks like just regular green algae, not a big issue, its going through its natural process, what light do yo have on the tank?

[SonRK]

it may not be coralline algae, it looks like just regular green algae, not a big issue, its going through its natural process, what light do yo have on the tank?

 

 

http://reefradiance.com/dm-155e.html

 

The DM-155e from Reed Radiance

[tetraodon]

nice light, the algae is part of the regular cylce of the tank i wouldnt be worried, what do you have for a CUC?

[SonRK]

http://reefcleaners.org/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&view=productdetails&virtuemart_product_id=272&virtuemart_category_id=20

 

Was supposed to be 18 Dwarf Ceriths, 7 Nassarius, 10 Florida Ceriths, 5 Nerites, and 5 random hermit crabs.

 

But I got so much extra, and most if not all were basically alive! That's why I tossed in the wafer because they literally cleaned up the hair algae in <12 hours.

[tetraodon]

not bad, i wouldnt worry too much with all that CUC

[SonRK]

Would it be okay to add my Clowns if you think regular green algae is for the most part harmless?

 

I used a raw shrimp to help cycle my tank, and Ammonia and Nitrites have been 0 for weeks now, with only Nitrates being pretty much constant

[tetraodon]

green algae is harmless, so your good to add the clowns whenever

[BeardedReeferLLC]

Yep its part of your cycle. Not Coraline algae.

[SonRK]

So, I think I figured out another reason for the massive increase in this green algae.

 

I feel like I've been keeping my lights on WAY too long. I have the main lights (white and colored LEDs) on for about 13 hours, and then turn on the blue and violet ones when it's sunsetting here in New Jersey. I then turn off the Blue and Violets about 2 hours after the main lights are off.

 

So in total, my tank is lit for about 15 hours. I feel like most people (based on searches) keep their main lights on for about 8-10 hours or so?

[tetraodon]

yea wayy to much light, i have all my lights, both channels on for about 10 hours and thats it,

[opaquelace]

15 hours is way too long. Some people say 7 hours but I keep mine on for 8 and a half. 10 hours is too much for most people even. Your tank is new. Green rocks are normal. I find with tanks less than a year old that random growths of hair algae and other nuisance algae is very common and to be expected. Once your tank matures a little algae outbreaks will decrease if not completely stop. Green hair algae is actually a good indication that a clean up crew can be added to get to work. I prefer to just add the clean up crew at that point and let them do their job, clean up the rocks and sand and once the tank looks clean for about a week then I start testing to see if it's ok to add things.

[jedimasterben]

Natural photoperiods in the tropics (where all the reefs are located) are between 11-13 hours depending on the time of year, so keep your photoperiod in that. Some do as little as 8 hours, but why not be able to enjoy it for longer?

 

 

At any rate, the green on the rocks is nothing new, abnormal, or harmful, that's just how it is going to be in your tank for a while until things start to balance out. It'll probably take 6-8 months for coralline to start showing up, and up to a couple of years for your rocks to start looking really good (maybe less, too many factors play into it to know).