LOZReefer
Active Member
Hello all! New reefer here.
My tank is 5 weeks old. Started with dry rock and live sand - tank has been cycled for about 3 weeks. I've added 4 fish (2 cardinals, 2 clowns) and don't have cleanup crew yet because I haven't had algae growth or anything yet and my LFS is currently out. I've got a couple frags of GSP and some Zoas. My lights are just cheapo CurrentUSA lights, that run for approximately 10hrs a day - these will be switched out soon. My wavemakers are also cheap CurrentUSA pumps, but the flow seems to be okay for the most part. I do have a protein skimmer that I haven't added yet but can add at any time if I need to.
Here are the numbers (Nitrite and Nitrate are tested with the API master kit so take it for what it's worth, everything else is Hanna checkers).
150 gallons (120 DT, 30 Sump)
Temp 78*
Salinity 1.025
Ammonia 0.05
Nitrite 0.00
Nitrate 5.00
Ph 8.0
Alk 7.8
About 2 days ago I noticed I've got some brown buildup on a couple frags of Zoas that were cut and introduced to my tank about 3-4 days ago. I took the frags out and blew them off with a pipette, dipped them and returned them to the tank. One singular SBB head seems to be doing okay, but the Utters don't look like they'll make it. It looked similar to BJD - but I don't believe Zoas are susceptible to this as far as I have learnt in my research. It looks like it has spread to the rock and substrate now. Seems like it might be photosynthetic as the spots are lighter in the morning and start to darken up after the lights have been on for a little. I noticed today that they are starting to collect some tiny bubbles on them as well.
Any ideas on what it is and the steps moving forward? My thought process was to just let it ride as some of these things are expected in the early stages of the tank. I plan to maybe go to a franchise pet store to pick up some crabs/snails - would this be recommended? Tank is pretty spotless other than these red/brown spots (see pics). I appreciate anyone's input!!
My tank is 5 weeks old. Started with dry rock and live sand - tank has been cycled for about 3 weeks. I've added 4 fish (2 cardinals, 2 clowns) and don't have cleanup crew yet because I haven't had algae growth or anything yet and my LFS is currently out. I've got a couple frags of GSP and some Zoas. My lights are just cheapo CurrentUSA lights, that run for approximately 10hrs a day - these will be switched out soon. My wavemakers are also cheap CurrentUSA pumps, but the flow seems to be okay for the most part. I do have a protein skimmer that I haven't added yet but can add at any time if I need to.
Here are the numbers (Nitrite and Nitrate are tested with the API master kit so take it for what it's worth, everything else is Hanna checkers).
150 gallons (120 DT, 30 Sump)
Temp 78*
Salinity 1.025
Ammonia 0.05
Nitrite 0.00
Nitrate 5.00
Ph 8.0
Alk 7.8
About 2 days ago I noticed I've got some brown buildup on a couple frags of Zoas that were cut and introduced to my tank about 3-4 days ago. I took the frags out and blew them off with a pipette, dipped them and returned them to the tank. One singular SBB head seems to be doing okay, but the Utters don't look like they'll make it. It looked similar to BJD - but I don't believe Zoas are susceptible to this as far as I have learnt in my research. It looks like it has spread to the rock and substrate now. Seems like it might be photosynthetic as the spots are lighter in the morning and start to darken up after the lights have been on for a little. I noticed today that they are starting to collect some tiny bubbles on them as well.
Any ideas on what it is and the steps moving forward? My thought process was to just let it ride as some of these things are expected in the early stages of the tank. I plan to maybe go to a franchise pet store to pick up some crabs/snails - would this be recommended? Tank is pretty spotless other than these red/brown spots (see pics). I appreciate anyone's input!!
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