old live rock

[eric faatz]

I've been looking at my live rock today and it looks like there's no color to it if you know what I mean.it don't look like when I first bought it.just a rock with no life to it,dark and to me a real eye sore to the the tank.oh buy the way i'm still battling hair algae thinking of going with dino-x anyway I would like to switch it out with some new live rock but don't want to start a recycle. I wish I could post some pics but not sure on how to using my tablet or uploading to lap top to here.i had the lr for five yrs would this be ok?




eric

 

[meknudson2]

How much live rock do you have? Is there a lot of stuff in your tank? It just depends on what you have going on and how much life might actually be in your tank. I would wait until the lights go out and see what is going on after a while, maybe there is life that you don't even know is there.

 

[Wet Nerd]

Emerald crabs are great for hair algae. Try some bio spirinula for beneficial live rock algae growth. Hope all goes well.

 

[DaveK]

I do not recommend the use of chemical algae control products such as Dino-x. The do work, but unless you fix the actual issues in the system, all you'll end up doing is replacing one kind of problem algae with another one. Algae control is a constant battle in SW systems, and usually you need to do multiple things to keep your system more or less algae free.

I have posted this before, but it's worth repeating -

DaveK's Standard Lecture #2 - Algae Control

Algae control comes down to controlling nitrates and phosphates. If you have a problem with algae it is because these two nutrients are out of control. Do not think that just because your test kits read zero or low values that you do not have a problem. In many cases the algae is removing the nutrients and growing. This is why there is a problem.

Here are possible sources of nitrates and phosphates -

Feeding, especially flake food and not rinsing frozen foods before feeding.
Using tap water to mix salt. Always use RO/DI water for this.
"Dirt traps" and "nitrate factories" in the system.
Low quality carbon can leach nutrients.
Low quality salt can sometimes add nutrients. This is unusual today.
Livestock load on the system

Here are possible ways to remove nitrates and phosphates -

Water changes. Change 1/2 the water and you reduce the nutrients by 1/2.
Skimming. Remove the waste products before the biological filtration need to break then down.
Nitrate and phosphate removal products.
Deep sand beds.
Refugiums.
Algae Scrubbers.

Each of these has advantages and disadvantages. Most people that control algae well use many of the above methods.

There are also other items that can effect algae growth rates.

Good clean up crew.
Other livestock that eats algae.
Low general water quality, especially when the readings are off.

Lighting, sometimes you can reduce it, especially in FO or FOWLR systems.
Old light bulbs. Colors change as they age and this can be a factor.
Water flow. More flow will often help keep algae down.
Manual removal. Very important, especially when there is a big problem.

 

[soco]

I do not recommend the use of chemical algae control products such as Dino-x. The do work, but unless you fix the actual issues in the system, all you'll end up doing is replacing one kind of problem algae with another one. Algae control is a constant battle in SW systems, and usually you need to do multiple things to keep your system more or less algae free.

I have posted this before, but it's worth repeating -

DaveK's Standard Lecture #2 - Algae Control

Algae control comes down to controlling nitrates and phosphates. If you have a problem with algae it is because these two nutrients are out of control. Do not think that just because your test kits read zero or low values that you do not have a problem. In many cases the algae is removing the nutrients and growing. This is why there is a problem.

Here are possible sources of nitrates and phosphates -

Feeding, especially flake food and not rinsing frozen foods before feeding.
Using tap water to mix salt. Always use RO/DI water for this.
"Dirt traps" and "nitrate factories" in the system.
Low quality carbon can leach nutrients.
Low quality salt can sometimes add nutrients. This is unusual today.
Livestock load on the system

Here are possible ways to remove nitrates and phosphates -

Water changes. Change 1/2 the water and you reduce the nutrients by 1/2.
Skimming. Remove the waste products before the biological filtration need to break then down.
Nitrate and phosphate removal products.
Deep sand beds.
Refugiums.
Algae Scrubbers.

Each of these has advantages and disadvantages. Most people that control algae well use many of the above methods.

There are also other items that can effect algae growth rates.

Good clean up crew.
Other livestock that eats algae.
Low general water quality, especially when the readings are off.

Lighting, sometimes you can reduce it, especially in FO or FOWLR systems.
Old light bulbs. Colors change as they age and this can be a factor.
Water flow. More flow will often help keep algae down.
Manual removal. Very important, especially when there is a big problem.

Lol I love your lectures man u should put them in a book.

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk

 

[nanoreefing4fun]

+1 davek great post ^ this is the key

once you get the nitrates and phosphates under control, you could add or swap out some new dry rock if you want...

http://www.marcorocks.com/faq/

Can I add rock right into my established tank?

We do not recommend our rock or any other rock right into an established tank without testing first.

However you will find our Key Largo rock 100% free of organics or "pre cured" this makes it safe to tank in an established system without fear of an ammonia spike

 

[DaveK]

Lol I love your lectures man u should put them in a book.

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk

Thanks. I don't know about a book, but maybe I'll post them in a single thread.

My goal with writing the "standard lecturers" was to have something that could quickly be read and understood, and is only a page or so long. I'm not trying to make them the definitive work on the on the subject. They are more a quick check list of common things you might want to do.

 

[eric faatz]

thank you for the info,but dave did we not go over this the last time I posted about the hair algae.I stated that all my parms are good,i have leds 3yrs old,put on a stronger water pump for more flow.we started to go through things then you bailed out on me I feel that telling me something that you already told me is a waste of time sorry.the hair algae is getting better.its going to take time. I don't mean to be ungrateful the info is helpful.

 

[Mellwood]

Algae scrubber will resolve most of your issues.

 

[Paul B]

+1 davek great post ^ this is the key





However you will find our Key Largo rock 100% free of organics or "pre cured" this makes it safe to tank in an established system without fear of an ammonia spike

Key Largo Rock? Here I am in Key Largo. If I knew the rock was good, I would have filled my pockets with it. I am going back in a few weeks, maybe I will do that, and no one on the plane will notice.

 

[DaveK]

thank you for the info,but dave did we not go over this the last time I posted about the hair algae.I stated that all my parms are good,i have leds 3yrs old,put on a stronger water pump for more flow.we started to go through things then you bailed out on me I feel that telling me something that you already told me is a waste of time sorry.the hair algae is getting better.its going to take time. I don't mean to be ungrateful the info is helpful.

We may have. Consider though that algae problems are among the most common problems asked about here.

Not to put too fine a point on it, but why not add to the original thread, rather than starting a new one? That way I would have been able to quickly see my prior post, and not have to waste my time reposting. Note also that I told you my opinion about using algae control products in addition to the "standard lecture".

 

[eric faatz]

the reason I started a new post was I wanted to comment on the way my l r looked.that it didn't have any color to it,it just looks black and lifeless there is no don't that living things in the rock.i already knew what to do with the hair algae.