what is this!?

[clowninround]

Unfortunately I still haven't mastered posting pics, but I have a pic if someone wants me to email it. I have a dark brown, velvet looking sponge??? blanketing a corner of a few of my rocks...one of them had bubbles that appeared on various parts of it's "blanket". Now they seem to be growing tube like shapes with the bubbles at the top. One of them have a fine dusting of purple on it...corraline maybe? [/url]

 

[steve-s]

e-mail it to my username @aquariumadvice.com

I can alter it and post it for you.

Cheers
Steve

 

[steve-s]

If you are refering to the circled part to the right(?), it's cyano.

Cheers
Steve

 

[Brad]

Yes, Cyano...it's not a good thing to have. The bubbles are just air that gets stuck in it. If you a maintaining good practices, this stuff will eventually disappear. It is pretty common in new tanks.

Next time you're water changing, you can slurp it up with a hose as you withdraw water.

 

[clowninround]

Thanks everybody. Any other suggestions to help speed the process. I have 0 phosphates and my nitrates are somewhere between 0 and 5...I know those need to be controlled, anything else? I do a 10-15% w/c every two weeks.

 

[snapcrackler]

I have found that after a while the stuff sort of "burns out" if you keep after it with sucking it up with your siphon and keeping your phos down etc. I went through it to some degree with all 4 of my SW tanks during some part of their "aging" periods.

Also, aquacultured queen conchs will eat it plus they are fun to watch!