Is Everything Looking Normal?

S

Steffen Sieg

New Member
Alright so basically I have a 125 gallon which is strictly for my porcupuffer so I'm not new to the saltwater game. However, when it comes to dealing with live rock and the hitchhikers that come with it I'm lacking quite a bit of knowledge. Plus in my 125 I have never experienced this brown laying on top of the sand I'm assuming it could be a lack of water flow but any input would be nice. I'm two weeks into the cycle and just want to make sure everything is going smoothly water parameters are all fine except I've had a boost in nitrates recently which I'm pretty sure is normal at start up. Also if anyone knows what the small anemone looking things growing off the live rock at please share what they are called! So far I have spotted a hermit crab, bristleworms and these little bugs that creep into the crevices in the rock.
 
Pat24601

Pat24601

Well-Known Member
OK. So, I have good news and bad news.

The good news is the brown stuff on the sand is probably diatoms. Perfectly normal. It'd be a surprise if you didn't have it. It should go away on its own after a while.

Now, the bad news. We'd need a pic to be sure, but there's a real chance the "small anemone looking things" are aiptasia.

IF it is aiptasia, that's bad. It's a pain in the rear to eradicate and spreads like crazy if not kept in check. If I were cycling and found aiptasia, I'd literally take the live rock out and kill it before going forward. I might even replace the live rock it's on and not even use that piece.

As you can tell, I've dealt with aiptasia and I don't have fond memories of it.

Before you panic though, post a pic of it and we can ID it for sure.
 
djpensive

djpensive

Member
I've had brown stuff lying on top of my sand and it ended up being more than diatoms...hopefully you have diatoms though. Came across a couple of aptasia and was luckily able to eridacate them before they became an issue...I've hear horror stories as mentioned in an earlier response...the other things are good, but I migh just take the advise given and get some new live rock. Best of luck I'll be following along.
 
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