HELP! Grey growth

eric w

Active Member
Hi I have this grey growth that is mostly on the underside of my rocks... Any ideas of what it is? Thanks.
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eric w

Active Member
I will see if I can get a better pic.. That is what I was thinking.. A type of sponge..


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eric w

Active Member
It is pretty well spread too.. Most of my rock has it..


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mtsully71

Well-Known Member
Eric

I realize you do not have new rock but, check this out

IMO It's die-off: rotting dead organic material like sponges, macroalgaes, etc.

White areas on new liverock that is going through the cycling process appear that can look like "cobwebs" or "fungus". This is due to benthic organisms, such as sponges, corals or ascidians, dying. The death is likely to be due to the stress during the shipping of the liverock (which the hobbyist has no control over) or due to the high levels of ammonia / nitrite during the cycling process (which the hobbyist has control over).

Bacteria most likely. You could take the rock out and scrub it off in some used tank water. Or syphon it out.

Might check your water parameters etc. I would spend some time give the tank and rock some scrubbing love :thumber2:

GL

Sully
 

eric w

Active Member
Hi suly.. Thanks.. My tank is a year old.. And I started with dry rock... I hear what you are saying.. But this stuff is not white.. It is grey.. Looks almost like a mold or something.. Brushes off real easy.. I'm at a loss of what it can be.. Strange.. Thanks for the input..


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Oxylebius

Well-Known Member
On the underside on your rock is either a bacterial mat or a fungus mat. If you google fungus on reef rock you will find all kinds of similar posts on forums. Pretty common in most tanks. It doesn't look like a sponge or a colonial tunicate. As for the stuff on the top of the rock, it looks to be a mix of encrusting organisms.
 

eric w

Active Member
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I scrubbed it all off and it just comes back.. If it is bacterial or fungal how do I know and how do I get rid of it??


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mgreenough

New Member
I have quite a lot of it, it does not bother me much as it only grows in the shadows

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DaveK

Well-Known Member
I would leave it alone and go out and have a nice dinner. Maybe a glass of Merlot.

This is the best advice.

What you have is obviously something that likes dark areas of the tank, so it's unlikely to be a problem algae. This is also in an established tank. Offhand I'd say this is sponges, and that's usually a good thing.
 
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