Sherri F.
New Member
Hi there! I've read a few things here and there since signing into the Reef2Reef forums, and this is my first time to post. I'm not a brand new newbie to reef and saltwater, but my last endeavor was about 20 years ago. I had some live Fiji rock, a few fish, a few corals, and a few seahorses. Left that behind with the divorce. Recently my adult daughter expressed some interest in getting some fish. LOL. So, here we are now, about 8 months later. We started with an itty bitty tank, and a pretty chunk of live rock. Progressed as is the typical process. Fast forward, I made the mistake of NOT having a quarantine tank and introduced bubble algae, hair algae, and some weird encrusting killer algae that the local LSF who sold me the carrier frags had no clue what it was.
SO! That itty bitty tank is now a sick tank with just a tiny piece of live rock I got from someone local with an established aquarium that he was selling off. Plus the 2 remaining frags that are still limping along after my surgical removal (3 times) of as much of the crusty algae that I could get off each time. There are 4 polyps left of the pink Goni, and a small chunk of Chalice. The original rock is in its own sick tank with the Trochus snail that also acquired a bad case of shell algae. That tank is getting no aquarium light and I turned the rock upside down. Phosphates had been high, while all else was pretty on point. So I'm using a tiny bit of RowaPhos in there and phosphate is looking good. I'm just riding that one out now to see if any of that crusty algae starts to die off.
Meanwhile, I'm getting a 55 gallon and a 20 gallon ready. The 20 will be the quarantine for new coral frags coming in, soon. Both tanks have had live rock, etc, running for a few weeks and I'm testing water constantly. Added some bacteria stuff and a few pieces of dried mysis. All is good with nitrate, nitrite, and ammonia. The QT tank and it's small amount of rock from the same aquarium that I mentioned earlier has not spiked on anything. The rock was well established and I transported it in tank water. HOWEVER, I recently noticed 2 Vermetid snails, and yesterday I removed the rock and put it in a bowl of the tank water to use toenail clippers to cut the work tubes off. When I had the rock in my hand and briefly lifted it out of the water to look closely for any remnants, I noticed weird slime that I've never seen on any of my rocks, this time around, or 20 years ago. I knew the rock had some algae on it that wasn't hair algae, (based on the green color on the rock, and it turns red under a 365nm flashlight) which is one reason I put it by itself in the tiny QT/sick tank with the 2 coral frags that probably aren't going to survive anyway. So, now after taking a close look at this little rock, it's looking pretty scary.
Can anyone tell me what the heck this slime is? There's a green slimy area, but also a yellow part that didn't look slimy and I thought it might be a sponge, until I saw it out of water. It's also slimy looking. Plus some little areas that look black, but I couldn't tell if that was a slimy texture or not. It's down inside crevices. The entire rock is approximately 2" x 4" x 1.5". I attached some photos of the rock in natural light, and then some with the 3so a ti65nm flashlight bringing out the red areas.
BTW, I've never had to deal with dinos or cyano before, so I wouldn't know it if I saw it. Really, I've only ever had to deal with hair algae. Aside from the weird crusting algae that the LFS couldn't even identify. And that algae has won the battle, so far.
Please help, if you can!
SO! That itty bitty tank is now a sick tank with just a tiny piece of live rock I got from someone local with an established aquarium that he was selling off. Plus the 2 remaining frags that are still limping along after my surgical removal (3 times) of as much of the crusty algae that I could get off each time. There are 4 polyps left of the pink Goni, and a small chunk of Chalice. The original rock is in its own sick tank with the Trochus snail that also acquired a bad case of shell algae. That tank is getting no aquarium light and I turned the rock upside down. Phosphates had been high, while all else was pretty on point. So I'm using a tiny bit of RowaPhos in there and phosphate is looking good. I'm just riding that one out now to see if any of that crusty algae starts to die off.
Meanwhile, I'm getting a 55 gallon and a 20 gallon ready. The 20 will be the quarantine for new coral frags coming in, soon. Both tanks have had live rock, etc, running for a few weeks and I'm testing water constantly. Added some bacteria stuff and a few pieces of dried mysis. All is good with nitrate, nitrite, and ammonia. The QT tank and it's small amount of rock from the same aquarium that I mentioned earlier has not spiked on anything. The rock was well established and I transported it in tank water. HOWEVER, I recently noticed 2 Vermetid snails, and yesterday I removed the rock and put it in a bowl of the tank water to use toenail clippers to cut the work tubes off. When I had the rock in my hand and briefly lifted it out of the water to look closely for any remnants, I noticed weird slime that I've never seen on any of my rocks, this time around, or 20 years ago. I knew the rock had some algae on it that wasn't hair algae, (based on the green color on the rock, and it turns red under a 365nm flashlight) which is one reason I put it by itself in the tiny QT/sick tank with the 2 coral frags that probably aren't going to survive anyway. So, now after taking a close look at this little rock, it's looking pretty scary.
Can anyone tell me what the heck this slime is? There's a green slimy area, but also a yellow part that didn't look slimy and I thought it might be a sponge, until I saw it out of water. It's also slimy looking. Plus some little areas that look black, but I couldn't tell if that was a slimy texture or not. It's down inside crevices. The entire rock is approximately 2" x 4" x 1.5". I attached some photos of the rock in natural light, and then some with the 3so a ti65nm flashlight bringing out the red areas.
BTW, I've never had to deal with dinos or cyano before, so I wouldn't know it if I saw it. Really, I've only ever had to deal with hair algae. Aside from the weird crusting algae that the LFS couldn't even identify. And that algae has won the battle, so far.
Please help, if you can!
