Whats is happening to my LR?

[sawdeanz]

I have about 7 pounds of LR in my 25 gal tank, with an additional 7 lbs of base rock. I'm planning to get much more in a little bit. The LR I already have has some spots that are turning white. When I bought it, it wasn't the best quality but it had some purple stuff on it. Is my LR dying? What do I need to do to keep it healthy looking. I want to know so that I can deside whether I should bother with higher quality LR or just stick with the cheaper stuff. I don't want to pay $6 a lb for something where all the organisms are just going to die.
This small lfs near my house sells really nice rock with all sorts of color and life on it. I would like to get a small amount to seed the other LR in my tank? What do I need to do to keep this color?
Right now I have 2 clownfish, standard lighting, no protein skimmer, if this helps.

[bullet_buddy]

The corilline algae is most likey dieing off.Don't worry It will come back,And when it does you will rue the day it ever did.lol

[Rcpilot]

Originally Posted by sawdeanz

standard lighting, no protein skimmer, if this helps.

Actually, that doesn't help--not you anyways.

You need intense lighting for a reef and I don't know very many people who've been succesful at reefkeeping for very long without a skimmer.

Get a GOOD light. Spend MORE money than you want too. You can't do squat in a reef with cheap lights. Ask me how I know.

And get a NICE skimmer. I won't make any recommendations on equipment, because I simply haven't tried all of it.

Nothing about saltwater is cheap. So, get used to it. I am paying twice as much for my filtration and lighting. Why? Because I bought CHEAP 3 months ago. Now I realize that I should have just spent the good money first. I'd be $400 ahead. That'll buy a lot of nice corals.

[BigAl07]

Most all LR has some degree of "die-off" depending on state of CURE and mode of transportation. Even the very BEST LR you can buy will have die-off if you don't transport it IN water from store to house.

Just so you know, BASE rock here is $8.99/lb and quality LR is $13.99 lb


Allen

[bullet_buddy]

I did'nt notice you don't have a skimmer.Before you buy anything buy that.
If you're running PC light IMHO you're going to be very limited in the corals you keep.It is a good Idea to go as "far" as your wallet/Purse will take you when you by equipment,It will be definetly cheaper in the long run ecspecialy when the acrobug bites.
BTW what size is you tank?

[sawdeanz]

Thanks for the replies, I'm not attempting a reef tank yet, but I'm using the LR as biological filtration mainly. I was just hoping that there would be a way to preserve the color that it starts off with. Its a fish only tank, 25 gallon.

[Techno-Vicki]

You can have some nice easy mushrooms in a fish only that will add interest and color to your tank. You don't need a skimmer for them. Or....just go fish only; however, a skimmer is a great addition to any sw tank.

[sasquatch]

do water tests for alc,calc, and mag,if they are where they should be, the color will be right back.Steve