Little brown spots appearing

SebastianM · Jan 23, 2020

First off, I am new to the reefing hobby and have entered a whole new world.

I have noticed brown spots appearing across my dry rock about 5 weeks into my 10 gallon setup, should I be worried? Or is this a natural diatom/algae bloom?

Flippers4pups · Jan 23, 2020

Most likey algae starting out. Going to happen with a new tank and dry rock. Normal.

bsr2430 · Jan 23, 2020

Up your water changes should help this.

Also, make sure your water changes match your current water. With a 10G tank, little changes can send that algae blooming.

how are you hoping off your tank?
What type of water too?

RJ F. · Jan 23, 2020

Welcome to the "ugly phase". Its a reef hobby staple. Brstv has a good video how to avoid it. It involves NO LIGHT on the tank for the first 4 months . But the results are worth it. If that's not your speed just do 10% water changes weekly and buckle in lol. Welcome to the hobby!

Also as another has asked. Please provide the type of water you are using. Rodi, tap with dechlorinator, well water?

W1ngz · Jan 23, 2020

Definitely good advice above about keeping on top of your water quality and water changes, but... don't worry. This is just the first of about 25 different things that will happen in the next few months. It's not just a box of water, try and keep the perspective that you're building an ecosystem. A lot of things will grow fast and die off while you wait for the more desirable stuff to take hold.

SebastianM · Jan 24, 2020

bsr2430 said:
Up your water changes should help this.

Also, make sure your water changes match your current water. With a 10G tank, little changes can send that algae blooming.

how are you hoping off your tank?
What type of water too?

I’ve been changing 1-2 gallons every Saturday, I have an RODI system from BRS and I’ve been using the same salt and temperature matching the water to the tank. I might add another member to the clean up crew, a hermit or snail to help tackle the ugly phase and dose some vibrant. I was just worried that it wasn’t some sort of fungus or parasite ;Dead