live rock going white

[slagger1]

hi, can anyone tell me why my live rock is going white, its fijian rock and its been in my tank about a week, not all of it is white, its just in patches on different pieces, is this a sign that my rock is dying or is it normal, if it is a bad sign what can i do to sort this out thanx.

[jojo22]

Please post pics!! Have you tried to touch it to see if it is a growth?? Did the rock have coraline algae on it when you got it??

[Fishieness]

the coraline is probably dieing because of poor lighting or lack of minerals/off pH, Ca, or ALK levels.
is jsut the color disapearing or all life on it? was it fully cured when you got it?

[Germanman]

the coraline is probably dieing because of poor lighting or lack of minerals/off pH, Ca, or ALK levels.
is jsut the color disapearing or all life on it? was it fully cured when you got it?

yup i agree with him but a pic would help.

[jojo22]

hence my coraline algae question

[Germanman]

hence my coraline algae question

we know that lol...silly jojo

[Mr.Firemouth]

The lack of corallines is relatd to the level of phosphate. I bet if he takes a phosphate reading it will be high. Corallines recede quickly and turn white then, micro algae in either brown or green appears and smothers everything. Source water is almost always the problem, sometimes too much flake food without water changes and phosphate resins being used.

Please test the water for nitrates, phosphates, calcium, and Alkalinity. Poor lighting will create very dark purple corallines and intense lighting will create very bright pink corallines. Therefore, I suspect it is a phosphate issue.

[slagger1]

ive done all the tests and they are spot on, there is no phosphate what so ever, ive nmanaged to take a few pics, so take a look at these

[Reefscape]

i would suggest it is just die-off...with good circulation, the white will eventualy get blow or flake off the rock and eventually new coroline algae will grow over it...

Just out of interest, how long has the tank been running? i know you say the rock has only been in a week and could you post your latest water results for us?

Welcome to the Reef my friend..

Niko

[slagger1]

hi, thanx for that, i was getting a bit worried that i had spent a lot of money to see it go down the drain, the tank has been running for 3 months.

the test results were

amonia = 0.1
nitrate = 10
nitrite = 0.1
phosphate = 0.25
calcium = 420mg
PH = 8.1

all these tests were done with nutrafin test kits

[Reefscape]

you may find that your ammonia starts to go up as it looks, in my opinion, that the live rock will need curing and so you may start to experience another cycle..Is there any live stock in the tank?

Niko

[slagger1]

no theres no livestock just the rock at the momment, so how long will the rock take to cure and is there anything i can do to keep the ammonia levels down apart from water changes

[Reefscape]

to be honest, i would imagine you ARE gonna get a new cycle, which could last up to a good few weeks..The rock i would suggest is not fully cured, hence the white which is classed as die off..what you could do is take the rock out and scrub it, in some RO or salt water, with a hard nylon based brush, like a nail brush..nothing metal though and the get it back in the tank and wait the cycle out...

Niko

[slagger1]

thanks for the info, i was thinking of taking it out and cleaning it myself, so i will get stuck into it now, and thanks again for your help, its much appreciated

[Reefscape]

anytime mate, thats what i am here for...post some more pics when its been scrubbed so i can see a comparison....

I know that corroline algae is an absolute raver by marine keepers, but, dont worry, with good lighting and water parameters, it will grow back a nice colour...

Niko

[Mr.Firemouth]

OK guys let me explain a few things about corallines from 25 years experience.

Here are your water params that you posted...

amonia = 0.1
nitrate = 10
nitrite = 0.1
phosphate = 0.25
calcium = 420mg
PH = 8.1

1. Ammonia is present because the live rock is cycling/curing. This has no real effect on things at this level. The ppm would need to be higher to be a threat.

To answer your question about lowering the level, you can add several air stones to the tank to aerate the ammonia level down. This is called ammonia stripping. It works well when cycling LR in tanks without other livestock. Just keep an eye on evaporation levels and salt creep by adjusting/cleaning each day.

2. The same above stands for the nitrite level.

3. The nitrate level indicates that the necessary bacteria have formed to breakdown nitrogenous waste. It will continue to rise until the cycle is complete. Water changes will keep it at acceptable levels.

4. Calcium and pH are fine. An alkalinity test is still required. Try for a meq/l reading.

5. The phosphate level is high. Anything above 0.1 retards coralline algae growth. The acceptable level is below .02ppm on a quality test kit. Because many test kits use varying shades of green for the test results it is best to strive for a zero reading thru the use of iron oxide resins. I recommend you use a product like Pholock/Pura-lok as soon as possible.

The addition of Kalkwasser to your make up water will help precipitate phosphates and increase coralline growth. Please keep an eye on alkalinity when using kalkwasser products.

There are no visible signs of coralline disease on your rock, which is indicative of a yellow/orange band 1/4" thick destroying the corallines. Your photos indicate the classic fade/bleaching of corallines that are usually associated with higher phosphate levels.

I hope this helps you understand why the corallines are bleaching. If you need pics of rocks before and after phosphate removal I may have them in my pics somewhere. I have several dozen albums so it will take awhile top find them.