Small bubbles forming on the rocks?

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Nich

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Jan 4, 2011
Messages
30
ok i got a question!
there's lots of small bubbles forming on the rocks in my tank but only were stuff grows, i also have this on the sane too.
is it good, bad or just natural?
 
So this tank is still cycling, or have you completed the cycle yet?
This is a 12 gallon tank, correct?

Bubbles are nothing to worry about. It could very well be air from the sand and rocks that is being released in a new tank.
 
hi yes it's a 12 gallon tank and it's in the 3rd week of cycle, so nearly there hopefully. I've had lots of growth on the live rock and also on the live sand in patches.
the bubbles only form were there is alge, it really looks like air or gasses are being released from the alge.
 
update:
bubbles on the live rock have calmed down and waters parameters are great so in go a couple of creatures.........
 

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Did you do a 30% pwc, wait a week and retest before add the livestock?
If not you should do one asap..

Congrats on the clown and shrimp.
 
pretty much exactly that thanks, fingers crossed!
 
so what now? it's been a week and all is well with the clown and shrimp.
got plenty of algae on the sand and rock, do I go for a turbo snail yet?
 
just ten minutes after adding my snail he's made a path! after an hour he had done a lap...... legend!
 

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Is that just brown diatoms that blow away easily or is it forming sheets like cyano algea?

Diatoms will burn out naturally.

A turbo snail is more for hair alage.

Astrea Snail-most common of all saltwater tank snails. They are excellent algae eaters and will forage all over the rock, sand, and glass. They fall very easily and can not right themselves up and then die unless you right them.

Banded Trochus Snail - Large snails that are excellent algae eaters although are very slow about it. They guys have a hard time picking themselves up if stranded in the middle of the sand.

Bumblebee snails- Not very hardy. Marginal algae eaters, but more of a detritus grazer. They can prey on other snails and sand bed critters.

Cerith Snails (Cortez) - Good algae and detritus eaters that forage rock, glass, and sand. Some can pick themselves up and some cant.
Cerith Snails (White)- Good algae and detritus eaters that seem to stay in the sand more than the cortez, but can be found on the rock and glass. Once again, some can pick themselves up and others cant. They are good sand bed snails to shift the substrate around.

Conch Snails - These are all about the sand bed and are very cool to watch. They usually dont get flipped over, but if they do, they can kick around and turn themselves back upright.They very hardy too.

Mexican Turbo Snails - super fast grazer that will knock out some algae in no time. They mostly stay on rocks and glass, but will work the top of the sandbed too. These may be cold water snails that dont do so well in a reef. But, once they are adjusted... they seem to be very hardy and active. Mine are going on two years and are huge now. I originally got them for a hair algae problem. They do tend to knock over anything that is not glued in place (corals, clams, rocks, etc.)

Nassarius Snails - They mostly stay in the sand, but will sometimes make short trips up the glass. They are mainly detritus eaters and do an excellent job cleaning and shifting the sand. I think these are also some of the most hardy snails out there. These guys can flip themselves upright very easily and quickly. They are fun to watch as they come bursting out of the sand bed at feeding time.

Nerite Snails - Nerites feed on filamentous and film-forming cyanobacteria, and filamentous green algae, but the main diet of most nerites is diatoms. These guys like to crawl out of the water some. I recently found one that "jumped ship" and was on the outside rim of the tank. These are great snails, but also have trouble turning themselves back over. Mine usually end up in the sump where they can get above the water line and come back down when they want to.

Stomatella Snails - They are supposed to reproduce very well. No personal experience w/ them.

Strombus Snails (Strombus maculatus )these are excellent snails that reproduce very well. They seem to be mostly sandbed snails and will occasionally make there way up to about the 1-3 inch line of rock work.
 
it's definitely forming sheets like a carpet over the sand, it get patches appearing on the glass too.
 
At this point considering the early stage your tank is in its probably the diatoms the Cmor mentioned above. Did you try blowing it by waving your hand at it?
 
Yes, you need to wave over them to make sure it blows away and is not stuck in a mat. That's a rather large bloom for diatoms, but hopefully that's all you have.
 
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