Coelli
New member
Hiya,
I thought I'd pick the RC brain to see if anyone has some ideas on two issues I'm having. One may not be a problem but I thought I'd ask.
My tank:
65g 36x18x24, 20L sump with fuge
Aquamaxx Ecomaxx skimmer
DC6000 pump running at 50% (~800gph)
Maxspect Gyre 130 @ 40% opposite the return
2 Kessil A360NEs peaking at 55% for a couple of hours (still adjusting lighting schedule over the past few months), 14 hour light cycle with most of it at 15-20%.
ATO w/kalk
The tank was set up in November and about half of the LR came over from the old tank. New reef grade sandbed, 1-1/2" deep.
Low-ish bioload -
Royal gramma
Yellow watchman (he and the RG game over from the old tank)
Starry blenny added 2 months ago
Pair of 1" baby clowns added a month ago
Various small inverts, snails; randall's pistol, 6 sexy shrimp, anenome crab, emerald crab, 2 pom pom crabs (with their anenomes), a small sea cucumber hitchhiker, fighting conch, marble star, and a sea hare (added last weekend).
LPS, SPS, softies
2 mini maxi anenomes
All of the livestock is doing great. I have bubble algae and a little bryopsis, but not very much. Corals are growing and encrusting, mostly the SPS is the happiest because of the low nutrients.
Parameters are stable and good; nitrates and phosphate are 0, ca and mag in line, alk 9.4 and PH between 8.0-8.2 without much variance. Salinity 1.024 (dropped a little due to wet skimming and I'm raising it slowly).
I get little to no algae growth and have to clean the glass once or twice a week at most, and it's only a little hazy when I do.
So here are the two issues:
1. This is the one that concerns me the most. The tank has a foam/LR wall in the back. It is starting to get some kind of encrusting, rust-like algae along the top few inches that doesn't easily come off with a toothbrush, if at all. It is mostly along the top where the light and flow are strongest. It's also on some of the rock at the bottom right of the tank, where the Gyre flow comes down (Gyre's on the left). It seems to love light and flow. Snails (trochus and astraea) don't seem to be able to rasp it off and the sea hare added at my LFS's suggestion doesn't seem to be making much of a dent either. My LFS thought maybe lobophora, but it's not plating. It is not slimy at all and like I said, doesn't seem to scrub off. Yet it's not coralline either (the coralline is trying to compete with it). Any thoughts? If the sea hare doesn't seem to make any progress I'll find it another home since I don't have any other algae for it to eat.
2. Some of the rocks on the rock all are turning a dark green that's so dark it appears black; you can only tell it's green if you shine a flashlight on it with the lights off. It is discoloration and doesn't scrub off. The tank has a TON of flow, so it shouldn't be cyano. Not all of the rocks are affected, just a couple. Again... Any thoughts?
I'll try to get photos if it would be helpful but you know how LEDs are.
Thanks!!
I thought I'd pick the RC brain to see if anyone has some ideas on two issues I'm having. One may not be a problem but I thought I'd ask.
My tank:
65g 36x18x24, 20L sump with fuge
Aquamaxx Ecomaxx skimmer
DC6000 pump running at 50% (~800gph)
Maxspect Gyre 130 @ 40% opposite the return
2 Kessil A360NEs peaking at 55% for a couple of hours (still adjusting lighting schedule over the past few months), 14 hour light cycle with most of it at 15-20%.
ATO w/kalk
The tank was set up in November and about half of the LR came over from the old tank. New reef grade sandbed, 1-1/2" deep.
Low-ish bioload -
Royal gramma
Yellow watchman (he and the RG game over from the old tank)
Starry blenny added 2 months ago
Pair of 1" baby clowns added a month ago
Various small inverts, snails; randall's pistol, 6 sexy shrimp, anenome crab, emerald crab, 2 pom pom crabs (with their anenomes), a small sea cucumber hitchhiker, fighting conch, marble star, and a sea hare (added last weekend).
LPS, SPS, softies
2 mini maxi anenomes
All of the livestock is doing great. I have bubble algae and a little bryopsis, but not very much. Corals are growing and encrusting, mostly the SPS is the happiest because of the low nutrients.
Parameters are stable and good; nitrates and phosphate are 0, ca and mag in line, alk 9.4 and PH between 8.0-8.2 without much variance. Salinity 1.024 (dropped a little due to wet skimming and I'm raising it slowly).
I get little to no algae growth and have to clean the glass once or twice a week at most, and it's only a little hazy when I do.
So here are the two issues:
1. This is the one that concerns me the most. The tank has a foam/LR wall in the back. It is starting to get some kind of encrusting, rust-like algae along the top few inches that doesn't easily come off with a toothbrush, if at all. It is mostly along the top where the light and flow are strongest. It's also on some of the rock at the bottom right of the tank, where the Gyre flow comes down (Gyre's on the left). It seems to love light and flow. Snails (trochus and astraea) don't seem to be able to rasp it off and the sea hare added at my LFS's suggestion doesn't seem to be making much of a dent either. My LFS thought maybe lobophora, but it's not plating. It is not slimy at all and like I said, doesn't seem to scrub off. Yet it's not coralline either (the coralline is trying to compete with it). Any thoughts? If the sea hare doesn't seem to make any progress I'll find it another home since I don't have any other algae for it to eat.
2. Some of the rocks on the rock all are turning a dark green that's so dark it appears black; you can only tell it's green if you shine a flashlight on it with the lights off. It is discoloration and doesn't scrub off. The tank has a TON of flow, so it shouldn't be cyano. Not all of the rocks are affected, just a couple. Again... Any thoughts?
I'll try to get photos if it would be helpful but you know how LEDs are.
Thanks!!
