Live Rock is turning brown

[mcgyver74]

Hey Everyone,
So I'm in the 3rd week of my cycle , I currently only have 30lbs of live sand and 22 lbs of live rock in my tank. But It's acting wierd. Over the last few days, most of the live rock in my tank has started turning brown.

Is this normal? The rock I bought had such nice coloring, and now it's all turning black... :(

[reefnetworth]

yes its normal, but you need to watch the amonia and test everyday. im guessing it was uncured, this is part of the cycle. you need to blow it off with a powerhead or shake it in the tank to release it. after the cycle vaccume it out to avoid algae outbreak. and you should see corraline start to flourish if calcium, alkilinity & flow are good. good luck and REEF-ON!!!

[kfisc]

It sounds like an algae/ cyano outbreak, very normal part of cycling, just keep your water changes going and wait it out- good luck-

[reefnetworth]

dont do water change until amonia spike, if you change water without spike you cycle longer.

[reefnetworth]

i spelled it wrong twice"ammonia" lol! sorry, if you change H2o before you cycle you also loose all the bactieria you are trying to accumilate. all will come in time, be patient, the natural reef wasnt built in a day. good luck & REEF-ON!!!

[mcgyver74]

Whew so it's normal. I was getting worred that mabye I had ruined all that nice LR :)

I'll test the water when I get home tonight and see what's happening.

Out of curiosity, it's ok to do water changes while it's cycling Once I see the ammonia spike? The only reason I ask is because with all the Freshwater tanks I've had, I was always told not to change water until Ammonia and Nitrites went to 0. Then do a massive water change..

I have to get a better test kit (Salifert here I come ;) ) I've been using the kit that I bought for my freshwater kit to meausre the ammonia (The LFS told me that it woould be ok for Ammonia testing only, it's a freshwater master test kit with all the bottles fo reagents......)

Also, is it ok to mix different types of salt? (Instant ocean and red sea for example) I can get red sea for cheaper, but I started with IO....or should I keep it all the same?


Thanks in advance!! :)

[kfisc]

It seems you've walked into one of the areas of philosophical difference that has reef keepers debating, sometimes heatedly. My hunch is both answers are right, that is, it will take longer to cycle with water changes vs. my point, which is slower is better, the idea being that other variables are more contollable.

[mcgyver74]

Ok cool,
i'll just test my water and keep an eye on it. Once the cycle is done I'll do a massive water change...but not until :)

Thanks again.