Rust???

[Oceanicsublimat]

I started cycling my tank last Thurs before I went out of town..and I had put some carbon in a filter bag in my sump, I also put some LR that I had gotten from the LFS in the tank.. could it be something off the LR?.. when I got back today I noticed some rust looking stuff on my carbon bag. Is this normal? The shrimp has a gelatinous substance surrounding it..

 

[Oceanicsublimat]

I was just reading an article about cyanobacteria.. The article read that Cyano is a bacteria that is present when there is a nutrient problem.. could it be from the shrimp or LR??and will it go away?? there is no light under my tank..well not much anyways...

 

[Oceanicsublimat]

I was just reading an article about cyanobacteria.. The article read that Cyano is a bacteria that is present when there is a nutrient problem.. could it be from the shrimp or LR??and will it go away?? there is no light under my tank..well not much anyways...I took the carbon out of the sump and placed it aon the filter above the bioballs..should I put it back?

 

[mjvincent]

Doubt it was Cyano, with the tank being uncycled. What are your test reading? The carbon really isn't doing much at this time... You can leave it or take it out. I personally would take it out as it will trap some of the organic material that you want to break down and cycle.

 

[BillyZ]

I'll second Mike's suggestion. Take out the carbon as it's taking out the stuff you want to help kick off the cycle.

as far as the "rust" stuff, could be any kind of bacteria forming. You'll have lots of strange stuff in your tank for the first few months. Don't be too concerned as long as all your test readings are what's expected. The slime coating around the shrimp is normal. It will go through many changes over the next few days. Eventually, it will completely disapear as the bacteria breaks it down and the tiny life forms in your LR come out and gobble it up.

 

[Oceanicsublimat]

ok.. will do.. thanks.. I had the carbon in there to take out chemicals..I used tap water conditioner..