Can someone explain this to me?

[christwendt]

I’m confused. My tank is 6 months old almost 7. I’ve gone through ugly phases and I’m noticing my sps are taking off. It’s gotta be matured. I’m also noticing purple corralaine growing. I’ve even noticed some red spots that don’t brush off easily even with a tooth brush. My rocks are still covered in green color and I notice my back black panel is covered in green “spots” there’s like 5 percent pink spots rest look green. What is this ? How do I get the purple to take over ?

 

[ichthyogeek]

The green dots are just regular microalgae. You can scrape them off. You still have a ways to go before the coralline starts truly taking everything over.

 

[schuby]

There are many colors of coralline algae, including green. Your tank is not mature yet but it is moving along well.

 

[christwendt]

The green dots are just regular microalgae. You can scrape them off. You still have a ways to go before the coralline starts truly taking everything over.

Gotcha I just thought by 6 months the green would be going away it hasn’t really gotten any better this whole time but the green hair algae went away thankfully. So eventually those rocks will become clear then the pink will take over or the pink will slowly start showing up on the rocks over the green? I’ve seen some people with super clear rocks and bits of pink.

 

[christwendt]

There are many colors of coralline algae, including green. Your tank is not mature yet but it is moving along well.

Good to know I just thought by 6 months there would be less green it’s all over still. Good to know this is normal and healthy. I didn’t know if it was a nutrient issue or something

 

[ichthyogeek]

Gotcha I just thought by 6 months the green would be going away it hasn’t really gotten any better this whole time but the green hair algae went away thankfully. So eventually those rocks will become clear then the pink will take over or the pink will slowly start showing up on the rocks over the green? I’ve seen some people with super clear rocks and bits of pink.

Nahhh....it took mine a good solid year to stabilize, and another year on top of that to finally mature to the point where all the weird little microalgaes (bubble, GHA, frigging turf algae) finally went away. And a good couple bottles of Vibrant.

In your case, I'm willing to bet that the pink will gradually take over the green, as long as you maintain calcium levels.

 

[christwendt]

Nahhh....it took mine a good solid year to stabilize, and another year on top of that to finally mature to the point where all the weird little microalgaes (bubble, GHA, frigging turf algae) finally went away. And a good couple bottles of Vibrant.

In your case, I'm willing to bet that the pink will gradually take over the green, as long as you maintain calcium levels.

This hobby is so neat you learn something everyday. I honestly thought my tank was way closer to maturity seems like I have a ways to go. I’m moving Sunday and going into a tank 15 gallons bigger and bringing everything over to that new tank. Does that restart this process of maturity ? I’ll be adding 10 more pounds of this rock that was soaked in acid but keeping everything else.

 

[schuby]

You'll get a mini-cycle when u change tanks: small step back. Different colors of coralline like different light levels, ime. Pink higher and purple lower. Green might go away in favor of pink/purple.

 

[ichthyogeek]

This hobby is so neat you learn something everyday. I honestly thought my tank was way closer to maturity seems like I have a ways to go. I’m moving Sunday and going into a tank 15 gallons bigger and bringing everything over to that new tank. Does that restart this process of maturity ? I’ll be adding 10 more pounds of this rock that was soaked in acid but keeping everything else.

So....maybe. Are you ditching the sand (seems to be something you should do based off of recent trends)? I would say that regardless, your rock will most likely be set back. The life is already on it, so it doesn't immediately all bleach out and you start at step 1. More like step 5 or 6 when you were previously at step 8...and like step 20 is the final step or something.

 

[christwendt]

So....maybe. Are you ditching the sand (seems to be something you should do based off of recent trends)? I would say that regardless, your rock will most likely be set back. The life is already on it, so it doesn't immediately all bleach out and you start at step 1. More like step 5 or 6 when you were previously at step 8...and like step 20 is the final step or something.

I am going to use a bag of new sand and keep a cup of old sand then rinse the rest before adding to new tank. The old sand is only going to be 6 months old and I clean a section every week. Thank you for putting that to perspective that’s not too bad of a set back.

 

[schuby]

I have to admit, I don't understand saying you're are adding some new rock and keeping everything else, when moving to a bigger tank, and then saying later that you'll also be adding a new bag of sand and only keeping a cup of old sand. The more we change in our tanks, the more risk. You can reduce the risk by spreading many changes over time. For example, change tanks, change out the sand, and let your corals recover for a week or two. If you're also changing your lighting with the new tank, the new lights should be lowered in intensity and then ramped up a little each day. After your corals look good again, then add the additional rock. Expect your corals to be unhappy each time the tank is disrupted. They will bounce back if the disruptions are not severe.

One last thing, before coralline covered my rock, they looked green on top with a flash picture. They did not look green when my aquarium lights were on. Your rocks are normal and not algae covered just because of a green coloration.

 

[christwendt]

I have to admit, I don't understand saying you're are adding some new rock and keeping everything else, when moving to a bigger tank, and then saying later that you'll also be adding a new bag of sand and only keeping a cup of old sand. The more we change in our tanks, the more risk. You can reduce the risk by spreading many changes over time. For example, change tanks, change out the sand, and let your corals recover for a week or two. If you're also changing your lighting with the new tank, the new lights should be lowered in intensity and then ramped up a little each day. After your corals look good again, then add the additional rock. Expect your corals to be unhappy each time the tank is disrupted. They will bounce back if the disruptions are not severe.

One last thing, before coralline covered my rock, they looked green on top with a flash picture. They did not look green when my aquarium lights were on. Your rocks are normal and not algae covered just because of a green coloration.

Appreciate you mentioning you were confused. I’ll explain better. I’m going from a 20 gallon all in one innovative marine to a 25 gallon ext overflow innovative marine with 10 gallon sump. The dimensions depth wise are exactly the same just the width is deeper as it’s a lagoon. I was going to rinse my old sand and save a cup from only the top layers ( rinse until clear ) then add that to the new tank along with a new bag of sand I bought cuz the one bag isn’t enough. I’m going to keep the scape exactly the same and the light settings because I don’t want to change much right away. I’m a few weeks I’ll take that zoa rock out and replace it with that new rock structure in the photo and move that cycled rock to my sump. Does that sound like it makes more sense ?

 

[christwendt]

I have to admit, I don't understand saying you're are adding some new rock and keeping everything else, when moving to a bigger tank, and then saying later that you'll also be adding a new bag of sand and only keeping a cup of old sand. The more we change in our tanks, the more risk. You can reduce the risk by spreading many changes over time. For example, change tanks, change out the sand, and let your corals recover for a week or two. If you're also changing your lighting with the new tank, the new lights should be lowered in intensity and then ramped up a little each day. After your corals look good again, then add the additional rock. Expect your corals to be unhappy each time the tank is disrupted. They will bounce back if the disruptions are not severe.

One last thing, before coralline covered my rock, they looked green on top with a flash picture. They did not look green when my aquarium lights were on. Your rocks are normal and not algae covered just because of a green coloration.

You nailed the last point btw. It only looks green with the flash I didn’t notice that tbh.. I feel dumb now when I turn the white light on it looks like this.. silly me this is with the lights white in tank and no flash.
side note since this is hardly any algae do I need to start supplementing my urchin or does it look like enough food still?

 

[schuby]

Yes, your more detailed migration plan makes more sense.

I'm not personally a fan of rinsing live sand: I want everything in the bag in my tank. Some on this site fervently push this practice at every opportunity. To each their own. You mentioned you clean a portion of your sand with each water change: sounds like a another good plan to me. Less disruption = healthier tank.

No need to feel dumb. There is so much to learn about our tanks and the world, in general. As long as we can refrain from thinking we know it all, then we can keep learning. I always want to learn (and sometimes we learn what not to do from others' experiences). Observe your tank, ask some questions, read threads, and do what you think is best.

Regarding your urchin, I'm no expert. My impression is that most urchins love to eat coralline algae. With that in mind, trying to grow more coralline algae and keeping an urchin seem to be opposing actions.

 

[christwendt]

Yes, your more detailed migration plan makes more sense.

I'm not personally a fan of rinsing live sand: I want everything in the bag in my tank. Some on this site fervently push this practice at every opportunity. To each their own. You mentioned you clean a portion of your sand with each water change: sounds like a another good plan to me. Less disruption = healthier tank.

No need to feel dumb. There is so much to learn about our tanks and the world, in general. As long as we can refrain from thinking we know it all, then we can keep learning. I always want to learn (and sometimes we learn what not to do from others' experiences). Observe your tank, ask some questions, read threads, and do what you think is best.

Regarding your urchin, I'm no expert. My impression is that most urchins love to eat coralline algae. With that in mind, trying to grow more coralline algae and keeping an urchin seem to be opposing actions.

I’m only rinsing my old sand not the new stuff to get rid of any gunk that may be in there. That’s why I’m keeping a cup so I can keep that bacteria that’s on the top layer and seed with my new sand The new sand in the new bag I won’t be rinsing. I’m all for asking questions sometimes it just seems I ask so many haha. Really appreciate your help. I think it’s time to rehome my urchin back at the lfs as my green hair algae is gone and has been for over a month !

 

[Subsea]

I’m only rinsing my old sand not the new stuff to get rid of any gunk that may be in there. That’s why I’m keeping a cup so I can keep that bacteria that’s on the top layer and seed with my new sand The new sand in the new bag I won’t be rinsing. I’m all for asking questions sometimes it just seems I ask so many haha. Really appreciate your help. I think it’s time to rehome my urchin back at the lfs as my green hair algae is gone and has been for over a month !

a side note about mature live sand. Bacteria is only one small part of micro fauna & fana, which recycle organic & inorganic nutrients into live food for hungry mouths.

Ron Shimek's Website...Deep Sand Beds

Dr Ron Shimek's Website - Information on animal groups, husbandry of coral reef aquarium animals, his passion for native Montana orchids, Ron's blog and online articles

www.ronshimek.com

[The infauna are "the clean-up crew" and the "reef-janitorial" staff, and the array found in a successful tank may be DIVERSE! More than 200 different species commonly are found living in a mature sand bed. These include many types of flatworms, round worms, dozens of species of bristle worms, small snails, brittle stars, small sea cucumbers, protozoans, and many types of small crustaceans. The total populations may be immense. I have done sampling to measure the abundances found in the 45 gallon tank I mentioned earlier, and the number of animals larger than half a mm, or about one fiftieth of inch, in that tank ranges from 90,000 to 150,000 depending on what part of their population cycle the various species are in. ]

​

Left. An harpacticoid copepod, about 1/50th of an inch long. Barely visible, these small crustaceans are an important part of the food chains and clean-up crews in our tanks. They live on and in the sediments. Center. A group of tube-dwelling bristle worms, probably chaetopterids, in my 60 gallon Stichodactyla tank. These animals are primarily filter feeders catching small particles with their paired feeding tentacles. Left. The head end of a small predatory bristle worm called a syllid. These probably eat other small worms and move through the sediments in search of them. This worm was about 1/10th of an inch long.



[What does this diverse and abundant array of critters do for and in the sand bed? Well, some will eat excess food, detritus, or algae. In doing so, they utilize it, and excrete part of it as waste. In turn, bacteria utilize that, and thus the infauna help keep the biological filter going. Additionally, many infaunal animals burrow ingesting some sediments as they go. They digest the microorganisms off of them, opening space for bacteria to grow.]