What is going on here?

xtlosx · 04/02/2013, 12:04 PM

Hey Guys, so let me preface this by saying I bought 150lbs of marco rock (didn't rinse it as well as I should have apparently) and 150lbs of marco fine sand (rinsed well). Tank was started in December, and nothing was out of the ordinary until about a 4-5 weeks ago....

I started getting patches of cyano on my rock. It would come, go, and then the rock would look good, and then it would just keep moving through the rock. Mind you, in this time, there is zero cyano, or anything on my sand bed it's pristine and white. Now at the very very top of my rock, I have what is pictured here... I'm really hoping it's just cyano and NOT dinos..

My thesis is, the rock wasn't rinsed enough, it's "curing" in my tank and the dead organisms underneath and leaching through and maybe causing nutrient issues.... I'm running GFO & Carbon replaced often, and starting to do 15-20% water changes now every week or so.

What is interesting is, when the cyano comes then goes, those spots on the rock go from white bleached base rock, to a concrete color, to getting green coraline, and now we are starting to see pink coraline (back wall, some rock, MP40 wetsides)... Do I just continue water changes, ride it out, and eventually it'll burn out?

Sugar Magnolia · 04/02/2013, 12:09 PM

Yep cyano. I had the same thing happen as my tank was maturing the first few months. I used 95% BRS dry rock and even though I pre-cycled it, I still went through various algae blooms and cyano outbreaks.

xtlosx · 04/02/2013, 12:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sugar Magnolia

Yep cyano. I had the same thing happen as my tank was maturing the first few months. I used 95% BRS dry rock and even though I pre-cycled it, I still went through various algae blooms and cyano outbreaks.

Thank you... I was really dreading it could possibly be dinos, but just couldn't ID it. The biggest problem is every single parameter is zero, and yet the garbage keeps happening, and it's only on the rock which was my other clue.

We lost two fish last week because of the increased phosphates (my guess) even though we run GFO constantly, and I just did a big 20% WC this morning, and everyone else is looking much much better. Darn this cyano.

Worst part is, for the first two months, looked perfect, no issues, then right after that, boom... deceiving...

Neptune_Fan · 04/02/2013, 01:48 PM

I hate to say it but I don't think the fish died from increased phosphates levels. Phospates have no effect on fish, just corals. Think of how many people use tap water to do water changes on an Fowler.

theresearcher · 04/02/2013, 02:04 PM

It looks like cyano to me. That's what i have.

xtlosx · 04/02/2013, 02:14 PM

Let me re-state what I meant to say, sorry for the confusion. Phosphates alone did not do any damage to the fish, but whatever was stuck in that rock and during this curing process may have. If there is a lot of built up organic matter in the rock and it decomposes too quickly that could stress my relatively new biofilter, etc... There's a lot going on that I can only speculate but whatever is being released while the curing is going on ultimately is my guess on what did the fish in. I only have some basic LPS in the tank right now because the cyano suffocated the couple of little SPS frags I had. LPS are unaffected.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Neptune_Fan

I hate to say it but I don't think the fish died from increased phosphates levels. Phospates have no effect on fish, just corals. Think of how many people use tap water to do water changes on an Fowler.

Quote:

Originally Posted by theresearcher

It looks like cyano to me. That's what i have.

Thanks.. I'm hoping that at some point the darn stuff will just go away and I will be done with it. Problem is I don't know how much crap is stuck under the rock and when it will be done properly curing. How long have you been dealing with cyano?

Stolireef · 04/02/2013, 03:38 PM

One thing you may want to consider, if you're not already doing it, is to aggressively blow off the rocks during your water change. I do it by refilling the tank using an MJ1200 attached to a hose in my saltwater resevoir. I'm always amazed at how much comes out considering that I feed lightly and do a water change every two weeks.

Also, readings of '0' are not necessarily reliable. The cyano can take up the nutrients before they can build up enough to show up in a test. Most experienced reefers will tell you that time, light feeding, and good nutrient export is the solution to cyano. Put a strong emphasis on time since your tank is still new and the biofilter is not yet fully established.

P.S. It's really great that you are going slow and small with stocking. Over the long term, you will be far more successful with that approach.

xtlosx · 04/02/2013, 03:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stolireef

One thing you may want to consider, if you're not already doing it, is to aggressively blow off the rocks during your water change. I do it by refilling the tank using an MJ1200 attached to a hose in my saltwater resevoir. I'm always amazed at how much comes out considering that I feed lightly and do a water change every two weeks.

Also, readings of '0' are not necessarily reliable. The cyano can take up the nutrients before they can build up enough to show up in a test. Most experienced reefers will tell you that time, light feeding, and good nutrient export is the solution to cyano. Put a strong emphasis on time since your tank is still new and the biofilter is not yet fully established.

P.S. It's really great that you are going slow and small with stocking. Over the long term, you will be far more successful with that approach.

Thank you.. well with the couple of losses to our fish, and almost losing some more before the big water change today... I wish I would've gone slower, but it is what it is at this point. Come heck or high water, no more losses. I have 20G of water mixed up right now and just sitting ready to change should it need to be changed again.

Stolireef · 04/02/2013, 05:24 PM

[QUOTE=xtlosx;21354319] Come heck or high water, no more losses./QUOTE]

I only wish you could guarantee that. As reefkeepers, we exist on the cutting edge of an extremely complex environment. From fish compatability, to water chemistry, to unknown and uncontrollable variables, it's almost impossible to avoid losses. Even the ocean can't keep things alive at times (see Red Tide, hurricanes, invasive species, etc.). The best you can hope for in this hobby is to limit losses by not making obvious errors.

I've been doing this since 2001 so I'm reasonably experienced and, on a nearly daily basis, I learn something new. That said, sometimes the oldest and most tried and true methods are the best. This month's TOTM leans heavily on the Berlin method and appears to forgo many of the 'flavors of the month' reef keeping concepts. I'd kill for his tank.

Good luck and keep up the efforts.

theresearcher · 04/02/2013, 05:30 PM

I've had it for about a month/month and a half and it is slowly starting to thin out.

xtlosx · 04/08/2013, 02:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theresearcher

I've had it for about a month/month and a half and it is slowly starting to thin out.

I've had mine for about a month, and the parts that got it first have now thinned out and the rock went from the bleach colored base rock to now concrete and darkish colored..... I'm thinking it will make its way around the rock work entirely and eventually burn itself out.. I'm on that road right now.

mayjong · 04/08/2013, 02:28 PM

it just a cycle.
marco rocks still need to be cycled. the website says so...

btw- i love marco rocks. you won't have any aptasia, bubble, majano, flatworms, or other pests unless you introduce them...

04/02/2013, 12:04 PM	#1
xtlosx Just Reefin' Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Algonquin,IL Posts: 2,774	What is going on here? Hey Guys, so let me preface this by saying I bought 150lbs of marco rock (didn't rinse it as well as I should have apparently) and 150lbs of marco fine sand (rinsed well). Tank was started in December, and nothing was out of the ordinary until about a 4-5 weeks ago.... I started getting patches of cyano on my rock. It would come, go, and then the rock would look good, and then it would just keep moving through the rock. Mind you, in this time, there is zero cyano, or anything on my sand bed it's pristine and white. Now at the very very top of my rock, I have what is pictured here... I'm really hoping it's just cyano and NOT dinos.. My thesis is, the rock wasn't rinsed enough, it's "curing" in my tank and the dead organisms underneath and leaching through and maybe causing nutrient issues.... I'm running GFO & Carbon replaced often, and starting to do 15-20% water changes now every week or so. What is interesting is, when the cyano comes then goes, those spots on the rock go from white bleached base rock, to a concrete color, to getting green coraline, and now we are starting to see pink coraline (back wall, some rock, MP40 wetsides)... Do I just continue water changes, ride it out, and eventually it'll burn out? __________________ Current tank: 150G 60x24x24 - 3x Radion Gen2s - 2x MP40s, Skimz SV223 DC, 40B Sump\Fuge - Purple S. Gigantea

04/02/2013, 12:09 PM	#2
Sugar Magnolia Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Northern VA Posts: 17,691	Yep cyano. I had the same thing happen as my tank was maturing the first few months. I used 95% BRS dry rock and even though I pre-cycled it, I still went through various algae blooms and cyano outbreaks. __________________ Adrienne The only thing to fear is fear itself....and spiders.

04/02/2013, 02:04 PM	#5
theresearcher Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Posts: 176	It looks like cyano to me. That's what i have. __________________ :frog: :jester: :crazy1: :lolspin: :bounce1: :p :bigeyes: :fun5: :beachbum:

04/02/2013, 03:38 PM	#7
Stolireef Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Scottsdale AZ Posts: 3,180 Blog Entries: 5	One thing you may want to consider, if you're not already doing it, is to aggressively blow off the rocks during your water change. I do it by refilling the tank using an MJ1200 attached to a hose in my saltwater resevoir. I'm always amazed at how much comes out considering that I feed lightly and do a water change every two weeks. Also, readings of '0' are not necessarily reliable. The cyano can take up the nutrients before they can build up enough to show up in a test. Most experienced reefers will tell you that time, light feeding, and good nutrient export is the solution to cyano. Put a strong emphasis on time since your tank is still new and the biofilter is not yet fully established. P.S. It's really great that you are going slow and small with stocking. Over the long term, you will be far more successful with that approach. __________________ I want to burn twice as bright and half as long. Oh, and a full tank crash is just an excuse for a new build. Current Tank Info: 125 Rimless Leemar, Apex, Trigger 30 Elite Sump, Vertex 180i Skimmer, 2 X Gen4 Radion XR30W, BM Doser, 2xMP40WES, 2xTunze 6095, Sicce Syncra 4.0.

04/02/2013, 05:24 PM	#9
Stolireef Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Scottsdale AZ Posts: 3,180 Blog Entries: 5	[QUOTE=xtlosx;21354319] Come heck or high water, no more losses./QUOTE] I only wish you could guarantee that. As reefkeepers, we exist on the cutting edge of an extremely complex environment. From fish compatability, to water chemistry, to unknown and uncontrollable variables, it's almost impossible to avoid losses. Even the ocean can't keep things alive at times (see Red Tide, hurricanes, invasive species, etc.). The best you can hope for in this hobby is to limit losses by not making obvious errors. I've been doing this since 2001 so I'm reasonably experienced and, on a nearly daily basis, I learn something new. That said, sometimes the oldest and most tried and true methods are the best. This month's TOTM leans heavily on the Berlin method and appears to forgo many of the 'flavors of the month' reef keeping concepts. I'd kill for his tank. Good luck and keep up the efforts. __________________ I want to burn twice as bright and half as long. Oh, and a full tank crash is just an excuse for a new build. Current Tank Info: 125 Rimless Leemar, Apex, Trigger 30 Elite Sump, Vertex 180i Skimmer, 2 X Gen4 Radion XR30W, BM Doser, 2xMP40WES, 2xTunze 6095, Sicce Syncra 4.0.

04/02/2013, 01:48 PM	#4
Neptune_Fan Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Port St Lucie, FL Posts: 224	I hate to say it but I don't think the fish died from increased phosphates levels. Phospates have no effect on fish, just corals. Think of how many people use tap water to do water changes on an Fowler.

04/02/2013, 05:30 PM	#10
theresearcher Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Posts: 176	I've had it for about a month/month and a half and it is slowly starting to thin out. __________________ :frog: :jester: :crazy1: :lolspin: :bounce1: :p :bigeyes: :fun5: :beachbum:

04/08/2013, 02:28 PM	#12
mayjong Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Sacramento CA Posts: 2,426	it just a cycle. marco rocks still need to be cycled. the website says so... btw- i love marco rocks. you won't have any aptasia, bubble, majano, flatworms, or other pests unless you introduce them... __________________ No Tanks... I'm out! still lurking, though...