Sealing dry rock for algae control and increased coralline growth

[Chee-tomorpha]

Took a lights-off photo of the newer rock in the 250. This rock is newer and receives less direct lighting. The joints where heavy glue was used is still white whereas the unglued areas are beginning to grow a green coat and some bushes of GHA.

The joints are also exhibiting the same coralline growth as the older rock left of this and to the center of the tank.

I found the info @Randy Holmes-Farley linked very interesting. I will go ahead and seal the top half of the new scape and test if sealing dry rock if will grow coralline better, or in my case, faster than algae.

Will update in a couple months.

 

[Chee-tomorpha]

A little update. Some pics of the growth. GHA receding, fingers crossed they don't come back.

The rest of the rocks hasn't grown any significant coralline, whereas the glued sections are entirely covered.

I hope the experiment in my peninsula goes well and I don't battle with issues due to sealing the dry rock.

 

[Chee-tomorpha]

Also, I finished the new build enough to started cycling using the Red Sea Reef Mature program. I will initially seed the tank with coralline from the gyres in my 250.

A short video showing the results after sealing the dry rock since I forgot to take a picture during the application. YouTube Link

Looking to see if the test will produce more coralline or faster growth and eliminate/reduce algae growth in new tanks.

Follow my build and progress of the RSP500 where I will be doing this experiment.

RSP500 Build Link

 

[SteveMM62Reef]

To me it reminds me of those Round Acrylic Aquariums you see in Restaurants and other Businesses, that have the Fiberglass Coral in the Middle.

 

[HB AL]

And I thought I heard it all.

 

[Chee-tomorpha]

To me it reminds me of those Round Acrylic Aquariums you see in Restaurants and other Businesses, that have the Fiberglass Coral in the Middle.

After the glue was cured, the rocks felt plastic-like.

I'm 8 days into the Reef Mature program and I can see diatom/brown algae/cyano/? developing on the gyres, but the rock is still bone white.

Kind of hard to see with the phone camera but they're bone white, strangely.

 

[Chee-tomorpha]

Update!

At over two weeks I should be expecting some kind of algae growth but I'm in day 20 of the Reef Mature program and the sealed dry rocks are still bone white. I have not seen any growth of algae except for some small specs on the sand and the gyres throughout this experiment.

The last parameter check at day 14 had ammonia drop from 0.2 to 0.1 (could be zero but my test kit have always shown 0.1 for it's lowest tests) and nitrites and nitrates were off the charts. If thing are going in the right direction, I hope to see some kind of reduction in nitrites and nitrates.

I'll be testing parameters on day 21 per the program. It should give me an idea of what is going on.

Some pics of the rocks

 

[Chee-tomorpha]

So I'm at the end of my Red Sea Reef Mature program and unfortunately the program did not work for me.

Follow my build thread to see the daily updates for that.

I have been following the BRS Biome Cycle series and think I will just let it continue cycling as it should. I may have killed the bacteria in the live sand, but today's update on the tank with Caribsea Ocean Direct sand showed a small diatom bloom around week 3 and was gone by week 4, during their dark lighting phase.

Although I have been keeping the lights on at 100% per the Reef Mature program I have also only seen small diatom patches in the sand and gyre grilles. I have 80 lbs of sand @ 50/50 Fiji Pink and Ocean Direct. So this gives me hope as there test tank with Ocean Direct live sand showed a significant biodiversity at week 4.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I may have killed the bacteria in the live sand,

How?

 

[Chee-tomorpha]

How?

I'm not sure. I remember reading a thread here debating if adding hypo salinity water would kill the live sand. I'm thinking that I did, which can explain why the test parameters were so high compared to the Reef Mature program's values. I figured I have live sand, plus cured sump MarinePure cubes, plus added the bacteria-in-a-bottle from the ReefMature program. Something must have died.

Are you thinking the bacteria colonies are safe?

 

[Chee-tomorpha]

Update. It has been over a month with the sealed rocks and no sign of algae growth anywhere. Sand is white, rocks are white. Is this good or bad? Let me know if this is normal for one month. I would have thought if algae were to grow, it would have by now. But I have not seen any except a tiny diatom over the peaks of the sand. I should be happy; however, I'm a bit worried. There has been no significant growth of any algae and it worries me.

Also, I moved all the fish and shrimp from the R250 into the P500 about 5 days ago now. Parameters were within tolerance for the introduction of fish.

I've also added some home-brewed Coral Snow since then and today added a tiny batch of Tisbee pods. I had planned to check the parameters today but will try for tomorrow.

 

[Chee-tomorpha]

Pics of tank during lights out tonight.

 

[xyzner]

Cells are picky about the chemical surfaces they attach to. Petri dishes for cell culture often have coatings to promote attachment. I have always assumed the coralline either likes hydrophobic surfaces of plastics, or more likely, likes the layer of organic matter that would quickly cover such a plastic surface in an aquarium.

This has a discussion of cell surface attachment :

https://www.sigmaaldrich.com/US/en/technical-documents/technical-article/cell-culture-and-cell-culture-analysis/mammalian-cell-culture/evolution-of-cell

Late night mindless thought: Is there anything hydrophilic and reef safe we can put on, say starboard, that will deter coralline growth? I’d love a nice artificial sand bed that wouldn’t get covered in coralline algae…

 

[Delatedlotus]

I don't really believe that this is any kind of a good idea... But with that said, I would get some clear liquid acrylic - of some sort and just dip the whole rocks in it.. Via 5 gallon bucket. I don't know why you would ever totally seal any rock at all. Maybe dead coral white rocks that have been aqua caped into a pristine aqua cape. Nothing much will grow on it at all. Oh but you could then dust it off... for awhile that is. Because I know that over time and with the elements in a tank.. It would just flake off..! Promise... anything will. My 350 gallon system has been up and running non stop for 29 years. And it will thrive another 20 years... And I mean thrive. Its not the best looking I admit that, but it's mine and I love it. It takes a lot of my free time, but again I love this hobby to the max. With 260 lbs purple coralline 27 year old live rock. The rock that you can't hardly get any more as well. I would never do anything like this.. Even in a new tank with dead or live rock. Just sayin... Good Luck!

 

[EricR]

Update. It has been over a month with the sealed rocks and no sign of algae growth anywhere. Sand is white, rocks are white. Is this good or bad? Let me know if this is normal for one month. I would have thought if algae were to grow, it would have by now. But I have not seen any except a tiny diatom over the peaks of the sand. I should be happy; however, I'm a bit worried. There has been no significant growth of any algae and it worries me.
...

I did a tank transfer last year and used half dry/white rock (relegated to one half of the tank).
At one month, the dry rock was still pretty white.
By 3 months it had gone through some different colors of algae and was pretty covered in coralline.
Hair algae pockets started to pop up many months later, but that's a different story.

...just one sample

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Late night mindless thought: Is there anything hydrophilic and reef safe we can put on, say starboard, that will deter coralline growth? I’d love a nice artificial sand bed that wouldn’t get covered in coralline algae…

As a science exercise, there are surface coatings that do a great job of preventing attachment of organic matter or whole cells for some period of time. Things like a pegylated surface or ones with microscopic texture or even liquid coatings that work on boats.

But these will not last forever and there’s no easy way for a reefer to put them on a material to be used in a reef tank.

 

[Chee-tomorpha]

I don't really believe that this is any kind of a good idea... But with that said, I would get some clear liquid acrylic - of some sort and just dip the whole rocks in it.. Via 5 gallon bucket. I don't know why you would ever totally seal any rock at all. Maybe dead coral white rocks that have been aqua caped into a pristine aqua cape. Nothing much will grow on it at all. Oh but you could then dust it off... for awhile that is. Because I know that over time and with the elements in a tank.. It would just flake off..! Promise... anything will. My 350 gallon system has been up and running non stop for 29 years. And it will thrive another 20 years... And I mean thrive. Its not the best looking I admit that, but it's mine and I love it. It takes a lot of my free time, but again I love this hobby to the max. With 260 lbs purple coralline 27 year old live rock. The rock that you can't hardly get any more as well. I would never do anything like this.. Even in a new tank with dead or live rock. Just sayin... Good Luck!

I appreciate your input.

I didn't seal everything, mainly the top portions where it receives light - but that became a significant area. I would say about 80% of the rocks are sealed and any that didn't get sealed are under the sand. The experiment seems to be doing well as far as keeping algae from growing and attaching. However, I expected coralline to get a foothold. I may need to seed coralline heavier due to the size of the tank IDK.

I also used the ReefMature program in the tank and it took about two additional weeks to see parameters drop to acceptable levels. I speculate this is due to my use of dry rock vs. live rock per the program's recommendations.

My worry is more so about microfauna establishing themselves. There is life in the tank since the parameters have come down. It's just not normal to see bone white on everything since I am so used to seeing algae everywhere in my tank by now.

If it doesn't grow anything. The unexpected results may still be useful to @xyzner. The hydrophobic properties could help make bare bottom tanks clean and clear. Nothing ventured, nothing gained right?

 

[Chee-tomorpha]

I think the tank is at 3 months old now with the sealed dry rocks. It is still bone white with no growth of anything, including coralline.

The tank has had inhabitants for a little over month. Even with the fish waste, heavy feeding, and lights on at 100% for 12 hours. I have not seen any nausense algae except for a patch of diatom on the sand at the front corner of the peninsula.

The sealed rocks have prevented algae growth so far. I have not blown the rocks either in hopes something builds to allow coralline to catch. Maybe I need way more seeding than the two times I've scraped coralline off a gyre pump from the R250.

I placed two frag plugs with some coralline growth onto the front cove rock in hopes it'll take hold. Maybe I'll see more coralline now that there are known coralline growth from the two plugs.

 

[Chee-tomorpha]

Experiment update:
I have yet to see any issues with algae growth except the covering from the diano which my CUC have cleaned up, minus the crevices they can't reach.

The biggest news is that I FINALLY can see some coralline growth in the tank!

They're small and most are on the Gyre pumps but there's a couple faint spots on the sealed rock that has started. The one pictures below is the largest and most noticeable among those growing on the sealed rock surface. The cool part is it is growing on a fossilized shell I had uncovered while breaking and shaping my rock.





And here are the ones on the Gyre. Left and right side.

 

[Chee-tomorpha]

Overall tank. No algae, a little hazy due to working with new additions.