AquaTricia 40 gal FOWLR

[BigRedsReefs10]

When we first got to the store, we saw a little head sticking out of the rock. Never saw him again. She shook and vibrated and twirled the rock and decided I should take it home and the fish would come out. That was 3 pm yesterday.

The tank is a 40g breeder. I didn't know Chromis would kill each other.

Did you ever put that rock in your tank? And it's not a guarantee on the chromis, but a lot of them are jerks so I would say it's a decent possibility. How about a pair of clowns? They add personality to any tank imo


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[AquaTricia]

The rock was way too big for my tank. It barely fit in the 5 gallon bucket.
They were very nice at the store, but I think they were afraid to cross me. I did get 3 Chromis and will watch their behavior closely per what you said. I now have a credit on my account. Apparently Chromis are a lot cheaper than a Midas Blenny. I'm still gonna get a Blenny, but it will be a while now.
Wanna laugh? The guy put the rock back in his tank. My husband called me over 5 minutes later and the Blenny was peeking out of his hole.

 

[AquaTricia]

Oh. Clowns are cool, but I have 2 designer clowns in the Reef, so I wanted something different.

 

[AquaTricia]

My Chromis and Cleaner Shrimp are doing well. It's funny watching the Chromis learning new things, like picking up pellets from the sand (one got a mouthful of sand trying to do it and blew it all out) and figuring out how to sleep all together in a cave. I now have diatoms. No prob. Will try to get pictures today.

 

[AquaTricia]

I know I said diatoms were no problem, but is your entire tank, walls, rocks, sand...everything supposed to be rust red? Seriously? I'm even skimming rust red. Are fish and shrimp safe in there?


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[Sniperhank]

Can you take a picture? That is very strange...

 

[AquaTricia]

Ok. Honestly, I don't know how to post a picture, so I have to get my husband to do it. I will try to do it late this afternoon. Now I'm really worried. I wondered if this was normal, because it wasn't like this in the reef tank.

 

[Sniperhank]

It sounds like cyanobacteria, but I'm not sure why you are skimming it out like that.

 

[AquaTricia]

I wasn't aware that I could get Cyano so quickly after the cycle. And, isn't cyano more red? This is definately rust brown. The skimmer is picking up small chunks of it. I am skimming hoping to get some of it. A post on AA stated to skim, because the dead diatoms could be skimmed out. I'm really worried about this. I am not home, but when I get there, I will get a pic and feel it to see if it's slimy like cyano. Would diatoms be slimy, too?

 

[Sniperhank]

Diatoms are not slimy. Slimy is either cyano or dinos. Really need to see a picture.

 

[AquaTricia]

Ok. Working on getting them from iPad to forum.

 

[AquaTricia]

Water is cloudy, but see if you can tell...

 

[AquaTricia]

Very more rust colored than pics make it look. All the rocks are completely covered. Not slimy. Won't just brush off rocks but is only on the top of the sand.


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[Sniperhank]

Hard to see...but are their long strings with bubbles coming out of the goo? It looks like dinoflagellates to me.
Here is a read about it:
Problem Dinoflagellates and pH by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com

 

[AquaTricia]

No strings, no bubbles. Powder like on the sand but can't brush off the rocks. The rocks look as if they are permanently that color, but when I pick up some sand and drop it, it appears white again (probably buried the brown stuff...boy, do I sound technical!)

 

[AquaTricia]

Read ALL the articles. Am still not convinced they're Dinos. The stuff on the sand, nor on the rocks is slimy, gooey or plastic like. I haven't used a toothbrush on the rocks but my fingernail didn't disturb it. The sand actually acts like I could just stir it up and it would be white again. Behaves two different ways!


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[Sniperhank]

Then you have a really nasty outbreak of diatoms. Sure looks otherwise, but that is all it can be.

 

[mr_X]

Looks like diatoms to me. I have a massive outbreak as well in my DT. No big deal.

 

[AquaTricia]

That's what I had hoped. I knew what to do about them. Ignore them. Dinos were a whole 'nother thing and that scared me. According to the articles, Dinos could kill my critters and was awfully hard to get rid of. The color on my sand is lighter this morning, but is taking up more room on the glass. I appreciate the help Sniperhank, and I hope I didn't make you mad at me. I wasn't disagreeing with you, just trying to describe the problem in detail. And thanks to you Doug, as usual.

 

[AquaTricia]

Well, the tank is looking better and better. The sand is just a light gold here and there, the rocks are clearing and the glass is clear. The critters are doing well. Things appear to be looking up.


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