What in the world happened to my rock

[snizzy]

So I have a new fish tank that I set up. I'm really new to the hobby and have no clue what happened to my syrian stone. The tank has been set up for 1 - 1 1/2 weeks. but all of the sudden I have what appears to be an orangeish/brownish algae all over it

This is a 10 gallon tank and the inhabitants in this tank are 2 panda corydoras and 1 assassin snail. I have some bunches of baby dwarf tears planted as well. I keep the light on about 8-10 hours a day, it is a 15w fluorescent light bulb i believe. The temperature in the tank is roughly 76-78 degrees.

Have any of you guys experienced this before?
What can I do to get rid of it and prevent it from coming back?

Any help would be appreciated!

 

[librarygirl]

Hi and welcome! Looks like diatoms; normal in new tanks, nothing to worry about. You could try reducing your lighting time a bit, see if that helps.

Just FYI...a 10 is a bit small for panda corys; also they like larger groups. Being a new tank with fish it likely is still cycling, so you may want to read up a bit on that too:
I just learned about cycling but I already have fish. What now?! - Aquarium Advice
Guide to Starting a Freshwater Aquarium - Aquarium Advice

 

[mrvincent]

That seems to be diatoms, I don't think the problem'll solve overtime. Whites rocks will always change coloration to brownish under a med/strong lighting.

 

[Khuligirl93]

I agree diatoms. It's normal in new tanks, not harmful, and should go away on it's own soon. Reducing your lighting time to 6 hours may help though.
Sorry to break it to you but I don't think you'll have much luck with the baby tears with your lighting. It's one of the hardest aquarium plants to grow and need high lighting, fertilizer dosing regimen, and injected CO2. Even then some experts have trouble with it. I've never been brave enough to try it!
Some other plants you will have better luck with would be anubias, java ferns, and java moss (all of which need to be tied into a rock or wood, not planted with roots in the substrate). If you have any more questions don't hesitate to ask us in the planted tank forum!
Oh I also agree that your corys would enjoy more company, and a bigger tank would be ideal, but you could get away with having 4 in a 10g if there are enough hiding places for them.

 

[mrvincent]

Lol for growing HC like this you need at least CO2 for sure. I personally have a highlighted tank with pressurized CO2, and the algae battle is hard.

I prevent you, to grow this carpet plant, add undersubstrate ferts, or it won't work... It didn't worked for me with liquids fertz, only undersubstrate ferts do the job. Anyways 15w T8 lighting for a 10g is not enought for growing med/high lights plants like this. You can try anubias or java fern, that will work, as it worked for my in the past in my first 10g.

But you know, diatoms are common in new tanks. New sillicone release sillicates to the water and diatoms feed on this under bright light.