Yellow on Rock

[deejers]

Hello-
I’ve been in the hobby a little over a year:
55 gallon
Clown pair
Sailfin Tang (Currently only 2 1/2 inches, but will get a bigger tank next year per promises from hubby)
About 5 snails
Weird yellow growth on my rocks- see pic. Seems to be faded when lights are off, but gets brighter when lights are on. My rocks have stayed pretty white to date, but now they look yucky. Any advice on what this is and what I should do would be greatly appreciated! I have so much to learn!

 

[reefing102]

Welcome to RC!

That looks like normal algae growth. It is rare that rock will stay white in the home aquarium. It usually will first turn a yellow/green. Then, depending on aquarium conditions, you could see other “ugly” phases such as hair algae, possibly Dino’s, Cyano,etc. once those are cleared up, you should start to see coralline algae, which will be purple, pink, red, etc just depending on tank conditions.

I hope this helps!

 

[griss]

Welcome to RC!

That looks like normal algae growth. It is rare that rock will stay white in the home aquarium. It usually will first turn a yellow/green. Then, depending on aquarium conditions, you could see other “ugly” phases such as hair algae, possibly Dino’s, Cyano,etc. once those are cleared up, you should start to see coralline algae, which will be purple, pink, red, etc just depending on tank conditions.

I hope this helps!

Agree with Shane. If this tank has really been set up for 1 year, it seems strange to me that the rock is still so white.

 

[deejers]

Welcome to RC!

That looks like normal algae growth. It is rare that rock will stay white in the home aquarium. It usually will first turn a yellow/green. Then, depending on aquarium conditions, you could see other “ugly” phases such as hair algae, possibly Dino’s, Cyano,etc. once those are cleared up, you should start to see coralline algae, which will be purple, pink, red, etc just depending on tank conditions.

I hope this helps!

Yes- it helps! Thanks so much!!! I initially had a faulty light (strip LED lights built into the cover of 55g long), so rarely turned it on. Then about a month ago I found a replacement wire and have had the lights on for about 6 hours a day on most days since then. Maybe too much light? Also- could be why my rocks initially remained so white? Idk

 

[deejers]

Agree with Shane. If this tank has really been set up for 1 year, it seems strange to me that the rock is still so white.

Thanks so much!!! I initially had a faulty light (strip LED lights built into the cover of 55g long), so rarely turned it on. Then about a month ago I found a replacement wire and have had the lights on for about 6 hours a day on most days since then. Maybe too much light? Also- could be why my rocks initially remained so white? Idk

 

[griss]

Do you have any corals? If so, 6 hours of lighting a day seems not enough. I run my actinics 13 hours a day and my metal halide 12 hours a day. But, I have quite a few corals and an Long Tentacle Anemone.