deco rock/diatoms

[sparatus]

I put a 6000 and deco rock in my tank last Thursday... the rock is now rust colored (diatoms, I expect).. everything else in the tank is coraline, sand is white... anyone else have this experience with the rock? I would guess it will go away naturally, but.....

[sparatus]

roger? how about you?

[rvitko]

Never heard of this before. I would expect that ceramics do likely contain silicate, same as glass. Perhaps it is just the diatoms being oppurtunists and taking over a bare substrate where they have no competition or maybe there is a small amount of silicate contained in the ceramic. The company that makes these rocks for us has been making artificial ceramic live rock replicas for a few years and such artificial rocks are normal parts of european reef aquaria as they compare favorably in cost to the real deal. I wouldn't worry about it.

[sparatus]

thanks, roger... Nothing else in the tank shows any signs of the rust color... It should go away fairly quickly and be replaced by coralline (I hope!)

Anyone else use a deco rock?

[Aged Salt]

I experienced a similar scenerio, but after daily toothbrushing for about a mo. coralline did devolop,:) Bob

[sparatus]

thanks, Bob..

[sparatus]

Just in case someone searches and finds this thread... the deco rock is turning purple quite nicely... diatoms going away... will take a while to completely blend in, but every day there's more purple..

[sparatus]

last update....

the rock is completely coralline covered now. blends in nicely...

very pleased with it..