Bad Live Rock???

[Dana Jackson]

Ok, so I bought some live rock from a friend when I started my tank and its not growing anything except green hair algae. .. None of my other rocks have hair algae and my other rocks have coraline algae growing on them. But these other rocks don't. They are bare except for the hair algae. What is the deal with them? Should I take them out and replace them with some nice rock? I think they may be contributing to my somewhat high phosphates. ... Any thoughts, suggestions?

 

[don_chuwish]

Do you know what kind of rock they are? And what your other rocks are? I have a mix of Fiji (bought dry) and 'Reef Saver' rock from 3 different sources. There is also Pukani, various man made options, etc.
One thing you could try is taking those rocks out and putting them in a container with enough saltwater to cover them, a little flow and a heater. Cover it so they are completely in the dark, then do weekly water changes, scrubbing off as much dead stuff as possible each time. Give it a couple of months if you have the patience.
That's basically how I prepped my Fiji dry rock - it had a bunch of dried up dead stuff on it that needed to decompose and go away. Eventually there was nothing left to scrub off and the water stayed clear & clean between water changes.

 

[Untamedrose]

Id guess they are trying to control your high phos levels hence the hair....and cant keep up. Time for a serious pause button reef keeping isnt hard, but you do have to learn a bit.

 

[Dana Jackson]

Don, the guy I got them from said his brother in law goes diving in the ocean and picks up rocks. In not sure where in the ocean they came from. They are about the size of a baseball.. ( I have a nano tank) . As for scrubbing them and doing that for a month.. Ill pass. Lol. Im not that attached to those rocks! Ha ha.Im bidding on a great piece at auction that has mushrooms, palys and blue clove polyps on it. It would fit in perfectly! I hope I win.. (I usually do, lol.) Ill try to get some good pictures tomorrow and post them.

 

[Dana Jackson]

Untamed, Im not sure what you mean. Im not really new to reefing, just have never comes across this situation before. I searched for information on the subject before I decided to post. I didn't find much info on rocks like this.

 

[Frop]

Bummer. I had some hair algae for a week or something. Started to scrub it with a tooth brush. It would grow back overnight. Not sure what I did but it eventually went away.

 

[Dana Jackson]

Bummer. I had some hair algae for a week or something. Started to scrub it with a tooth brush. It would grow back overnight. Not sure what I did but it eventually went away.

I may try that! I have been grabbing what I can and pulling it off, but that isn't doing much!

 

[don_chuwish]

Less food should mean less algae, but some people swear that some kinds of rock leach out phosphates, fueling algae growth. Yeah if you're not committed to a long term relationship with those rocks, break up with them now!

 

[Dana Jackson]

Less food should mean less algae, but some people swear that some kinds of rock leach out phosphates, fueling algae growth. Yeah if you're not committed to a long term relationship with those rocks, break up with them now!

Aha! Yeah, I think we are through. They let me down big time. Im pretty sure Ill win that auction for that great rock. The auction ends tomorrow, so Ill know then! Im really excited to get them out of there.. They are uuuugly!

 

[Dana Jackson]

Here are pics of the bad rock!

 

[Flippers4pups]

It doesn't look very porous, so I can identify what type of rock it is. Very questionable to keep in your tank if you can't confirm where it came from. Could very well be leaching other things, like metals etc... as well as phosphorus. I'd remove it.

 

[Frop]

Here are pics of the bad rock!

Doesn't seem that terrible. Not great . Idk I was expecting thicker algae.

 

[Donovan Joannes]

That is quite normal for a fresh wild rock to grow some algae due to die off. This is 100% true if the rocks are never being treated or at least dried under the sun and rain for good amount of time. Happens to me all the time. It will be gone once the nutrients in the rocks are used up. Hopefully you have some CUC to keep it trimmed in the meantime.

 

[Dana Jackson]

My new replacements! !! Out with the ugly, inter beauties stage left! Lol...

 

[Frop]

My new replacements! !! Out with the ugly, inter beauties stage left! Lol...

Large colony. That tank is filling up quickly.

 

[Dana Jackson]

Large colony. That tank is filling up quickly.

Haha. Justifies the reasoning for a second tank! ! But yeah, im done buying for a while.

 

[40B Knasty]

I am having the same problem right now. Right side covered. Left side not really much to complain about. It is like having 2 different tanks. Just going to buy a sea hare on Tuesday and let it destroy the GHA and adjust from there.

 

[Dana Jackson]

I am having the same problem right now. Right side covered. Left side not really much to complain about. It is like having 2 different tanks. Just going to buy a sea hare on Tuesday and let it destroy the GHA and adjust from there.

Nice tank! I love your candy canes corals! Anyway, mine wasn't right side left side, it was certain rocks that I got all from the same source.. When I got them the guy said he had then in his sump. Idk, I guess with the light, it grew the algae. And sponges for days!! I stopped counting how many sponges were on it! But buh- bye bad Ole rocks! Love my new rocks! I think I paid $12 for the paly rock and $8 for the other... Couldn't pass it up!

 

[Frop]

This is my 10 gallon for the moment. Nothing is attached to the main rocks since I'm about to move everything in a couple months to a new tank. Also why I don't have as full of a tank. Buying hardware for the second tank.


Restaining the used stand. Next is the doors and then the gloss.

 

[40B Knasty]

Nice tank! I love your candy canes corals! Anyway, mine wasn't right side left side, it was certain rocks that I got all from the same source.. When I got them the guy said he had then in his sump. Idk, I guess with the light, it grew the algae. And sponges for days!! I stopped counting how many sponges were on it! But buh- bye bad Ole rocks! Love my new rocks! I think I paid $12 for the paly rock and $8 for the other... Couldn't pass it up!

Right side was all from one place. Left side was from my 20g that I nuked literally because of aiptasia.
And thank you about the compliment about the tank. That candy cane is a beast! I dropped it when I was pulling all the LR. Looked like a truck ran over it. 2 weeks later it looked even better and has about 9 bells. Think it had 3 when I got it 7 months ago.