When I set up my tank in early December, I used dry rock and it was completely white. Now that my tank is cycled, and I have a CUC, a few fish and few corals my dry rock is turning a bit more orange, and a bit green. Same with my live sand. Is this normal? Should I be worried/do something?
Color Change
- Thread starter Maine Reefer
- Start date
- Tagged users None
nautical_nathaniel
Indecision may or may not be my problem.
Got any pictures? It's normal for it to turn colors as it ages and different algae and such grow on it. However, the stuff on your sand is most likely diatoms which are common with new tanks but should be kept under control with proper water control.
Maine Reefer
Active Member
- Joined
- Nov 26, 2017
- Messages
- 159
- Reaction score
- 66
The first picture was when it was first set up, and the other two are pictures from a few minutes ago.
nautical_nathaniel
Indecision may or may not be my problem.
Yup, that looks like a little bit of diatoms starting up, totally normal 
Start getting used to testing for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate as well as phosphate, understanding how these parameters fluctuate or change in your tank with any action will be very helpful in preventing algae issues down the road. Right now your tank looks good, in fact its way better than what I was expecting.
I would also get in the habit of doing regularly scheduled water changes, I do weekly but some folks do as little as 2-3 days or as much as two weeks. 10-20% of your tank's total volume should work but do an amount that's easy to remember for salt mixing, such as a five gallon bucket.
Start getting used to testing for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate as well as phosphate, understanding how these parameters fluctuate or change in your tank with any action will be very helpful in preventing algae issues down the road. Right now your tank looks good, in fact its way better than what I was expecting.
I would also get in the habit of doing regularly scheduled water changes, I do weekly but some folks do as little as 2-3 days or as much as two weeks. 10-20% of your tank's total volume should work but do an amount that's easy to remember for salt mixing, such as a five gallon bucket.
Maine Reefer
Active Member
- Joined
- Nov 26, 2017
- Messages
- 159
- Reaction score
- 66
Yep, I test weekly and do 15% water changes weekly.Yup, that looks like a little bit of diatoms starting up, totally normal
Start getting used to testing for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate as well as phosphate, understanding how these parameters fluctuate or change in your tank with any action will be very helpful in preventing algae issues down the road. Right now your tank looks good, in fact its way better than what I was expecting.
I would also get in the habit of doing regularly scheduled water changes, I do weekly but some folks do as little as 2-3 days or as much as two weeks. 10-20% of your tank's total volume should work but do an amount that's easy to remember for salt mixing, such as a five gallon bucket.
Instigate
Valuable Member
It was my understanding nitrite wasn't worth testing for. The levels that commonly occur in our tanks during cycling are well below toxic levels and if you're tracking the cycle ammonia and nitrate is all you need really. Right?Yup, that looks like a little bit of diatoms starting up, totally normal
Start getting used to testing for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate as well as phosphate, understanding how these parameters fluctuate or change in your tank with any action will be very helpful in preventing algae issues down the road. Right now your tank looks good, in fact its way better than what I was expecting.
I would also get in the habit of doing regularly scheduled water changes, I do weekly but some folks do as little as 2-3 days or as much as two weeks. 10-20% of your tank's total volume should work but do an amount that's easy to remember for salt mixing, such as a five gallon bucket.
nautical_nathaniel
Indecision may or may not be my problem.
Initially it is, it is important to see 0 nitrite to ensure that the cycle is functioning. After that point it's not as important.
Instigate
Valuable Member
But if you're seeing ammonia level dropping and nitrate rising that in itself would tell you the cycle is functioning no? The purpose of tracking the cycle is to see when it is safe for inhabitants correct? Once the bio-filter is able to process 2ppm(or so) ammonia into nitrite over 24 hours it's safe for fish since nitrite and nitrate toxicity is not a concern. You would need to track nitrate to plan your water changes so it doesn't get out of hand but it's not going to be unsafe for fish. I don't see a good reason to be testing for nitrite at any point in a marine system. Just seems like a waste of time and money. If I'm missing something please let me know.
Totally normal. If you can borrow a rock from another reefer that has some coralline on it, it may help start it growing in your tank. Or see if a fellow reefer has some they have scraped off their glass or rocks and give you to disperse in the tank. They also have coralline products, but i can't say how well they work, as I've never used them. Regardless, with time, eventually all your rocks will be all sorts of shades of various colors from the coralline.
