Hairy Orange Stuff - What Is It?

[Jon M]

I've had my first SW tank up for coming on to about a month now. Currently I have 10lb of LR from reefcleaners and 3lb of rubble from the lfs. (the rubble was used for seeding purposes) Over the last week or so I've noticed the rubble is covered with orange like "hair" stuff that blows in the currently. It's spread to the LR and is slightly starting to spread to the substrate. Any idea what this stuff is? It's hard to get a clear shot of it but I'm pretty sure you can make it out. It's the pale orange stuff.

 

[cichlid_king]

If you are still in the cycling process which it looks like you still are, it is a unicellular organism called Diatoms. Diatoms are part of all saltwater cycling. They arent bad and they will go away eventually. It means you are getting close to the end of the cycle. Just keep up on your regular water changes and testing. If they dont fully go away by themselves you can start to buy a "clean up crew" for your tank and they will eat the diatoms that have not gone away.

 

[jworth]

diatoms is my guess too. very common when starting tanks up. If you are adding more LR I would do so while the tank is cycling, without critters in it. much easier and safer.

 

[xEchOx]

Diatoms.

 

[Jon M]

If you are still in the cycling process which it looks like you still are, it is a unicellular organism called Diatoms. Diatoms are part of all saltwater cycling. They arent bad and they will go away eventually. It means you are getting close to the end of the cycle. Just keep up on your regular water changes and testing. If they dont fully go away by themselves you can start to buy a "clean up crew" for your tank and they will eat the diatoms that have not gone away.

Interesting. I wasn't aware of them at all. It's good to know they mean I'm coming to the end of my cycle. It's bad to know that I still had to do a cycle spite buying the rubble that was supposed to already have the BB established. I assumed it would work like using existing media from a fw filter on a new fw tank with new filters. As far as testing the water goes, will I have accurate readings for nitrates, nitrites, and ammonia if I use my fw chemicals? I checked out the api sw kit and it seems they test for the same thing pretty much so will either chemicals work or are they different? I actually planned to start forming a cuc by the end of the month. I was curious about how they eat. Of course you said they'd eat leftover diatoms, but do you need to purchase specific food for them to thrive, or will they just eat leftover flakes from what the stock in the tank doesn't eat? I can't see many leftovers settling on the substrate since I have quite a current in this tank with 2x 1,300gph power heads.

diatoms is my guess too. very common when starting tanks up. If you are adding more LR I would do so while the tank is cycling, without critters in it. much easier and safer.

I'm adding about 20-25lbs more but unfortunately waiting to add stock isn't an option for me. I don't have the money to purchase the rest of the rock first, and would need something constantly feeding the cycle ammonia to keep the cycle in check. I have an adult damsel in there currently that seems to be doing great, and will keep the nitrogen cycle going w/ his ammonia bi product.

Diatoms.

Thanks RuSh. Now why couldn't you tell me that on Ofish when I asked a week ago in my uber long sw thread!? j/k!

 

[Jon M]

bump?

 

[xEchOx]

I believe the chemicals are the same, but the charts are a little different. I don't have any hard evidence to back that up so maybe others will chime in as well.