Unhealthy Live Rock

[JPR1212]

Hi all,

Hope everybody’s having a good weekend. I wanted to reach out about something that’s been on my mind for a little bit. I’m curious to see if there’s such a thing as live rock being unhealthy or doesn’t have the correct bacteria or something along those lines. My tank is 175g has been up for 2 1/2 years and has a beautiful mixed reef. However, there is one or two pieces of rock that will never grow Coraline and all they can harbor is nuisance algae whether it’s cyano, hair algae, etc. Every week I go in and do the water changes and I have to toothbrush these pieces of rock because they just get covered. So I’m not sure if there’s such a thing as unhealthy live rock but I’m starting to think that these pieces of rock that I have might fall in that category. Opinions and thoughts are appreciated. All parameters are good- I can list them if need be.

 

[Reefer Matt]

They may be in a low flow area and allow detritus to settle on them and grow algae. Increasing flow in those areas can help after the algae is removed manually. Also, regularly blowing off the rocks with a turkey baster can help.

 

[rayadog]

^ Along the lines of what I was thinking but made better sense of it. I’d reckon the bacteria isn’t largely “unhealthy.” At best it’s not the most ideal composition. But I assumed the bacteria was more contained within the nooks and internal surfaces of the rock; certainly by 2.5 years. The surface would just also contain more macro organisms that would be experiencing a different level of competition and environment than the bacteria contained in and on the rock. Hence flow and such.

That’s just what I imagine. If you’re trying to deal with invasive plants in a terrestrial environment, they’re likely always going to be quick and more successful to colonize an area. In musical chairs, if someone’s already in a seat it can’t be taken. So we would try to remove the invasives in attempt to give the native or desired species a chance to take hold or proliferate; often supplementing or planting. Ultimately you can’t exactly make something grow or not grow somewhere only influence the opportunities that afford it to do either. And that, is my hot air.

 

[martin.a]

Yeap. Exactly as you described. In my case those were coral rubble pieces looking otherwise exactly the same as the 'healthy' rocks. After 6 months I took them out and converted into windowsill ornaments.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Not unhealthy, but rocks can become clogged with detritus, which I think decreases their overall effectiveness.