# Live Rock Question



## xxxJennyxxx (Oct 11, 2009)

Just a quick question, as I have not gotten any reliable answers yet.

I started up my marine tank 8 days ago, it's 16Gallons, has 8KG of live rock, and is doing quite well, levels are quite low which is good, only waiting for my ammonia to go down (it's under 1.2) and then do my 50% water change.

But my question is about my live rock, it has developed this sort of red algae, but it's not like any algae pictures I've seen. It's red, I did have green algae for a while, but it dissappeared when my ammonia went down.

Now it's very hard to describe, but I'm just wondering what is it? Is it harmful? It's like a red covering on the rock, it's only on certain areas as well, and doesn't seem to be spreading.

Here is a picture, I am talking about the red colourant on the rock. It is also only on one side of the tank.

So is this harmful? Just wondering. The green that you will see in that picture is now gone.


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## UnderTheSea (Jun 2, 2008)

Try looking up cyano bacteria.

Move your power heads around to blow the red slime off the rocks.


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## hojimoe (Mar 7, 2008)

like underthesea mentioned, it's cyano....

moving the powerheads help, as does removing the nutrient problems...which aren't very likely if it's a new setup.... typical symptom of a new tank, while you maneuver the powerheads


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## Rui (Jan 29, 2009)

hope that bottom gravel is safe for marine use!!


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## Rui (Jan 29, 2009)

Some cyanobacteria is beneficial, being an important part of the nitrogen cycle. Spirulina, which is hailed as a "superfood," being rich in all of the amino acids, as well as other important nutrients, is a form of cyanobacteria. Others, however, produce various forms of neurotoxins, hepatotoxins, cytotoxins, and endotoxins. All forms of cyanobacteria seem to be somewhere between plant and bacteria. They have a gel-like cell wall (cell walls are usually reserved for plants) and are fed partially by photosynthesis. They also possess bacterial traits. Some are free-floating, some form threads, or sheets, or even hollow spheres. Thankfully, it seems that most of the harmful cyanobacteria take the form of brilliant sheets, making it easy to identify. 

A few things contribute to the beginning of a cyanobacteria outbreak. Too much light, too much phospate, and general poor water quality can begin an outbreak. Introducing plants that have not been quarantined can bring on an outbreak in a seemingly healthy tank. Once it has begun, however, cyanobacteria can be much harder to get rid of than an algae outbreak.

The first is a fairly simple remedy. Dosing the tank with an antibiotic will kill off the infestation pretty quickly. This has several downsides that offset its ease and speed. 

The first is that every use of antibiotics has the potential to create a strain of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. You may get rid of the cyanobacteria only to find that your tank has been infested with a strain of fish TB that doesn't respond to the antibiotics. 

The second is that some fish and inverts don't deal well with certain antibiotics. The third is that dosing a tank with antibiotics is a good way to completely un-cycle the tank. 

A good way to at least partially bypass the loss of your tank's cycle is to pull the media out of your filter and store it in another tank. If you don't have another tank, you can seal it in a bag with some tank water and keep it in the refrigerator. After you have set aside the filter media, treat the tank. Once treatment is done, run fresh activated carbon in the tank for an hour, then replace the filter media. This should leave your tank with a significant portion of its nitrifying bacteria intact. 

Starve the Little Buggers


The second method, while more work and time intensive, has no real negative effects on the tank itself. In fact, it is, in general, good for the fish. The first thing to do is to thoroughly clean every surface of the tank. Second, step up water changes to lower the phosphorous levels in the tank. If your water supply normally contains phosphates, you may want to invest in some phosphorous-removing filter media. Third, kill the lights for several weeks. Fourth, feed your fish less. Most fish food contains phosphorous, which ends up in the water, feeding the cyanobacteria. Combined, these actions should starve the cyanobacteria out of the tank. This procedure takes time, of course, which is its greatest downside. 

During either procedure, it is a good idea to remove the bacteria as it appears. You can often get it with the vacuum if you lightly scrape at the sheets with the edge of the vacuum attachment.

As with most tank problems, the best way to deal with a cyanobacteria outbreak is to not let it happen. Frequent water changes will help keep phosphorous levels down. Quarantining all new livestock and plants for several weeks will minimize the chance of introducing a virulent strain of cyanobacteria to your tank. It is far easier to treat a quarantine tank, or even just break it down, than it is to do so to a fully set up aquarium. Feed your fish only what they can eat in a minute's time to further limit phosphorous as well as waste products. 

Although it is a pain to get rid of, if you know about cyanobacteria, and if you react properly to it, this does not have to be a tank killer. The main reason it is so difficult is that many aquarists don't know how to deal with the issue. Once that hurdle is behind you, it should be no problem to deal with an outbreak of cyanobacteria, if one does happen.


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## Big Ray (Dec 8, 2009)

the tank is really new, and still going through cycle, 
your ammonia will change into nitrite and then nitrate which is exactly what Cyano needs to feed on! 
ways to export Nitrate is through water changes, or a live sand bed, the gravel that you have looks like crystals and nothing can grow on their surface, feed and animal waste can go through it and lay at the bottom causing high nitrates. Id say remove that. 
Cyano bacteria from my experience is easy to remove, but will come back !, I have been dealing with mine for the past couple months. 

Lawnmower Blenny's eat Cyano bacteria ! mine does at least


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## xxxJennyxxx (Oct 11, 2009)

Rui said:


> hope that bottom gravel is safe for marine use!!


Apparently it is meant to keep my pH unstable .. it's been 8.2 for 6 days now, I reckon it's safe enough! I'm testing pH every second day now.


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## xxxJennyxxx (Oct 11, 2009)

Rui said:


> A good way to at least partially bypass the loss of your tank's cycle is to pull the media out of your filter and store it in another tank. If you don't have another tank, you can seal it in a bag with some tank water and keep it in the refrigerator. After you have set aside the filter media, treat the tank. Once treatment is done, run fresh activated carbon in the tank for an hour, then replace the filter media. This should leave your tank with a significant portion of its nitrifying bacteria intact.


I'm sorry I'm going to sound like such a noob haha but what sort of treatment should I do? Like what should I put into the tank? See my local pet shops arn't really helpful when it comes to problems (they only seem helpful when it comes to me spending my money!)
I will probably do that option, as I have no fish in the tank, it wouldn't really matter to me as to how long it will take. 
And sorry one more question(You all must be thinking "Why on earth is she starting a marine tank?" sorry), what is fresh activated carbon?

Sorry for all the questions, I've done months of research before I started, it just seems that loads of things keep cropping up that I wasn't aware of!


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## Big Ray (Dec 8, 2009)

xxxJennyxxx said:


> I'm sorry I'm going to sound like such a noob haha but what sort of treatment should I do? Like what should I put into the tank? See my local pet shops arn't really helpful when it comes to problems (they only seem helpful when it comes to me spending my money!)
> I will probably do that option, as I have no fish in the tank, it wouldn't really matter to me as to how long it will take.
> And sorry one more question(You all must be thinking "Why on earth is she starting a marine tank?" sorry), what is fresh activated carbon?
> 
> Sorry for all the questions, I've done months of research before I started, it just seems that loads of things keep cropping up that I wasn't aware of!


Scrape off the algae with a tooth brush, dont let the pieces settle and pull them out with a siphon.
goto Dominions (they have a new name now) and buy a 5 G Reverse osmosis and Ozonized water, mix with salt and replace the water siphoned out. 
use the same water for top offs.
wait a day or two and wait for it to return ( it will return) and do the same

I did the same thing for my 20G, and I already have fish and corals in there, so feeding them meanwhile as well, and now Ive been Cyano free for a week and on watch for it to return.

basically they apear due to : 
nitrate and phosphate in water which are what they feed on
low water movement
old or light of wrong spectrum (I placed a walmart light on my refugium, and cyano started growing in there like crazy so changed it to 10K light now)

u also need to siphon the gravel, as its big pieces and dead organisms can rot there and cause nitrate and ... . which u dont want.


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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

8 days is a really new tank - cycles can and will take weeks and months to complete fully. 

My advice is to let the tank take it's course and let it cycle through fully. 8 days is not enough for the cycle to complete, and the appearance of different macroalgaes and cyano are all part of the cycle. If you don't like it, I'd just siphon it out like was recommended - but I'd just let it be. As unsightly as it may seem, it's consuming ammonia, nitrites and phospahtes right now, helping your cycle. 

Also, I'd replace your gravel to a natural substrate - do it later and you risk another cycle, which might kill any livestock you have at the time.


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## xxxJennyxxx (Oct 11, 2009)

I am going to change the gravel, it was gotten with the tank, just put it in because it looked nice! I can see now how it could be a mistake, all I was told was that it could make my pH unstable, which is hasnt, didn't even consider waste products and such there.
What if I were to get smaller gravel or even sand and mix it with the gravel I already have? Or should I just get rid of it altogether? (I just love the colours haha, but it's not all about what I like it's about the health of my tank after all!)

The tank is due a big clean anyway, just wanted to let it settle for a while, I will be changing the water soon and giving it a proper clean in a few days hopefully, and I will definitly take the advice given to me to deal with as I've started to call it "The Blob". I'm happy that I at least know what it's called now so I can fully research it and learn more about it!


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