NEWBIE TO FORUM. HELp

[tyh]

hey guys.. i'm new to nano tanks...currently cycling a 10 gallon tank with LR only

under close inspection, i've noticed that on the LR, something that is brown in colour is growing all over it. kinda looks like mud....sandy mud. real sandy...some will momentarily float and attach itself to the LR

what the hell is it?? eyesore! part of the curing process??

 

also, i've noticed a tiny polyp emerging from one of the LR closest to surface( nearest to light source)...kinda cute when it opens up once i turn on the lights...haha

 

do snails eat thest polyps? i've got some snails too...and some polpys seem to disappear. or could it be taht the polpys just 'moved'?

[ross76053]

Hmmm...don't know about the sandy stuff - can you post some pics? And the polyps - snails won't eat 'em, if they're truly polyps. They may be fanworms that expand & retract (thus looking like the disappear).

 

Ross

[harbingerofthefish]

like with Ross, the brown stuff by description sound like an algae, but the fact that it comes off the rock and then reataches itself seems a littl odd. I guess a picture really is worth a 1000 words.

 

on the "polyp"... Could be a fan worm of some type. Especially if it's coming from OUT of the rock. If it sticks out from a hole and has no visible base it's most likely some type of anenome. I have a little yellow one about 3/4" long that has 5 tentacles around it's center. If it only comes out when the lights are on, it's probally not a fan worm though. They are not photosynthetic so they don't care if it's day or night.

[printerdown01]

....sorry i misread the post....

[HuBu]

if you are cycling, that brown stuff might be diatoms. its natural.

[Dave ESPI]

as live rock cures, various calcium based biota dies off and as it deteriorates will become small detritial particles. The rock is constantly being bored into by worms/ inverts and making LR sand. Halimedia Algae is one of the leading oolitic sand producers on a reef as it deteriorates. the "mud" is a combination of brown alga, diatoms and sediments. Using a P. Head blow mulm and settles particles of sand off and when doing a w/c ya can siphon it out... or simply leave it. try to increase light or do a w/c with a decent salt it will make a differance. a lot of times the diatoms ( WHICKH ARE NATURAL PART OF CYCLING) will fade away after a short time as higher alga will strip nutrients faster from the water collumn.

HTH

[tyh]

yes i've been cycling my tank for 2 weeks.... so i guess what dave said is true...

 

can i just leave it as it is? will it disappear? when will the 'higher algae' grow?

 

must i leave the lights on?

[printerdown01]

Ok, please excuse my first post!! I completely misread what you were saying!! The stuff is probably actually a mixture of cyano (looks like a grease smear) and diatoms. The cyano will sheet off, usually in strings, when disturbed and will float around the tank. Don't worry about it. Honestly you tank will be an eye soar for the next 4 weeks or so. If you want get a towel and drape it over the tank, LOL. Just kidding, your best bet is to add your clean-up crew now. Astrea snails seem to survive the cycle really well, as do blue legged hermits. These will both help keep algae growth down -but you should still expect massive blooms .

[tyh]

printerdown u've hit it right on the spot dude.

so these ######s will go away after a while?? or after i've introduced my clean up crew? are these algae blooms? why would they appear again?