everything turned red

[btaylor]

in my tank the rocks, glass and sand started to turn red. i cleaned it up and the next morning it was just as bad as it was before i cleaned it. and its been this way for about a week. what is it and why is it there? anything i can to get rid of it? the tank is almost 9 weeks old. i was putting iodine in the water for my coral like the lfs said to. then a couple days later the red stuff came.


Another thing is my fine bubble corals bubbles bust in the afternoon and then the next morning they come back out. is that normal or am i doing something wrong for it to do it. its up on a rock and has good lighting all the time.

Originally Posted by btaylor

in my tank the rocks, glass and sand started to turn red. i cleaned it up and the next morning it was just as bad as it was before i cleaned it. and its been this way for about a week. what is it and why is it there? anything i can to get rid of it? the tank is almost 9 weeks old. i was putting iodine in the water for my coral like the lfs said to. then a couple days later the red stuff came.

For a new tank this is just growing pains. The red stuff is cyano and can be quite normal in a newer tank. Adding iodine is just fuel to the fire though. It will spur on the cyano like no ones business. That and PO4 are it's best sources for getting started. If you are using good RO water it should subside soon, especially if you discontinue the iodine additions. You really should not be adding the iodine unless you test for it. Most often it is not needed and many animals will gain what they need through injesting foods, not chemical additions.

Another thing is my fine bubble corals bubbles bust in the afternoon and then the next morning they come back out. is that normal or am i doing something wrong for it to do it. its up on a rock and has good lighting all the time.

The inflating and deflating is normal and will typically be a response to light stimulous but can also be an indication of an irritant. If all the water parameters and chemistry are in line, you should be okay. At 9 weeks though I would put a halt to anymore stoney coral additions. The tank is still a bit young and unstable yet. Softies are sometimes okay at this point but LPS and SPS are not that forgiving of spikes in water quality and "the learning curve"

Cheers
Steve