What is this on the picture? Should I clean it? How?

[Gabbone]

Hi guys,

I am cycling my tank (dry rock - day11) and I saw on the black back part of my tank (see pic), some dirt(?) I don't really know what is that. It could also be salt?

What should I do? Scrape it?

Ciao, Gabri

 

[Nano_Man]

Don’t worry and let your tank cycle wait until you hit the ugly stage then you see stuff growing

 

[Gabbone]

Don’t worry and let your tank cycle wait until you hit the ugly stage then you see stuff growing

Thanks a lot! I am curios tho what is that?

 

[shakacuz]

Thanks a lot! I am curios tho what is that?

bacteria/algae forming likely

 

[Joe31415]

Are you looking at that white scum on the back wall? I would guess it's just some algae. Is the sun hitting it? Are your lights on?

If you're cycling the tank and there's no livestock (or at least no photosynthetic corals), you can keep the lights off and that'll reduce the algae. However, as Nman alluded to, at some point (though not at 11 days) you'll go through the ugly stage. If you can get it over with now, might as well let it happen.

Did you happen to use any of that coralline in a bottle stuff? You may be seeing that take hold. That appears to be an AIO tank with a black plexiglass back wall which very well may be the first place coralline starts showing up.

 

[Gabbone]

Are you looking at that white scum on the back wall? I would guess it's just some algae. Is the sun hitting it? Are your lights on?

If you're cycling the tank and there's no livestock (or at least no photosynthetic corals), you can keep the lights off and that'll reduce the algae. However, as Nman alluded to, at some point (though not at 11 days) you'll go through the ugly stage. If you can get it over with now, might as well let it happen.

Did you happen to use any of that coralline in a bottle stuff? You may be seeing that take hold. That appears to be an AIO tank with a black plexiglass back wall which very well may be the first place coralline starts showing up.

Yes, I am talking about the back wall; and yes, it's a AIO.
My lights are on at very low intensity for about 10 hours a day. Should I keep it off? Atm there's no livestock.

I haven't used any buffer for coralline since I am using red sea coral pro salt which makes your dkh at 11.5

 

[FMF0331]

Since you have no livestock, I would keep the lights off

 

[Joe31415]

My lights are on at very low intensity for about 10 hours a day. Should I keep it off? Atm there's no livestock.

The bacteria doesn't need it and it'll promote algae growth (and you'll pay for the electricity) by keeping them on. However, I also understand that you have a brand new tank and want to look at it, even if it's empty. Every one of us have been there.
To be fair, it probably won't make a big difference one way or the other, but a compromise would be to turn them on when you're home and off when you're at work/school.

 

[Tired]

The "ugly stage" is when algae starts to get established in your tank. As your rock is bare, any algae spores that arrive will have free run of the place, and will take advantage of that. You'll see a lot of pest algae running amok all over your rockscape. Don't freak out- this is normal.

Don't scrape, don't scrub, don't poison, don't mess with it. Keep some nutrients in the tank, add the beginning of your cleanup crew, and wait it out. Eventually, slower-growing, beneficial algae species will cover your rockwork, leaving no free space for the pest algae to run rampant.

 

[Gabbone]

Thank you very much all of you guys! This community is so nice!