How much is too much?

[Dgilpin22]

Cycling 20 gallon. At the tail end of it. I've gotten quite a bit of growth on my one piece of manado. It looks really good and I've very pleased. What does everyone else think? Is it time to trim it back or should I leave it? Anyone seen any nuances?

 

[cloak]

If your pleased with it then that's all that really matters, but the majority of hobbyists out there try to avoid all that algae on the rock. Growth like that is usually an indication of an abundance of nutrients in the water and this can wreak havoc on some of the corals we try to keep.

Check this out.

http://www.reefcleaners.org/nuisance-algae-id-guide

 

[acolotto]

Manado rock leaches phosphates. Me personally id put a ton of effort towards getting rid the excess nutrients that is likely coming from the rock because as cloak stated once you start gettting into corals you will not want this algae. Plus it does not look that bad right now but if left unchecked it will take over.

 

[LILBUDDHA]

How long has the rock been in the tank .
A few suggestions if you didn't try this .
When u cure live rock you don't want the lights on at all .
When it is cured you can use lights but keep them low or short duration . U will shock the algae but it usually comes back fine .
It's best to use ro/di water yet some ppl suggest tap water that is de chlorinated is fine .
I don't like that approach . I am of the thought that when rock is shipped to you it's gonna dry out a little. It;s going to release stuff at first then suck stuff back in . (like a sponge being wringed out .
If the rock is porous it's going to suck all that high phos tap water right back in only to leach later ...Usually in the DT .
Using some type of phos remover or lanthium chloride nips this in the bud .
Always try to cure in as much water as possible . I think the rule is 1 lb of rock per gallon of saltwater .
I don't always do this but plan to on my new existing build . I will follow the fallow rule in the display tank for 3 months . Just rock n no corals or fish . I may use CC inverts but that's it . The German reefer's still practice this fallow method dry or live rock today .
HTH

 

[Dgilpin22]

Handful of hermits and emerald crabs picked it clean. Thanks!

 

[sprinklerdudes]

I was fixing to say, a twenty gallon tank with that rock full of algae in it, would make a few hermit crab very happy. The first piece of live rock I ever bought looked like that, it was full of feather dusters, algae, micro and macro, I put it by itself in a ten gal tank with a compact florescent screw in 50/50 bulb, and put the tank in my work shop as a nano, could not get any work done because I was always staring at it. I had been a fresh water fanatic since I was ten, that piece of live rock converted me to salt water, I had never seen so much life in one piece or rock before. till this day it still amazes me when I go to feed my tank in the evening, I still find or see something new. welcome to a wonderful and addicting hobbie

 

[Dgilpin22]

Yeah I dropped in about 10 yellow legs and two emeralds. They had it picked half clean over night. It's fun to watch. My emeralds have molted several times since I started and have doubled in since. They will be quite upset once they eat it all. I'll have to find them another rock!

 

[GatorScott]

New pic?

 

[Dgilpin22]

For some reason, the upload service has been disabled on the forum. He is a link to the after pic on imgur. Id say the inverts have been in the tank since last Tuesday or Wednesday.

http://imgur.com/30KQapw

 

[Dgilpin22]

 

[GatorScott]

Cool, almost all gone!!

 

[Dgilpin22]

This is all that remains. My cleaner crew is top notch.

 

[4FordFamily]

Somehow I feel like my life motto "anything worth doing is worth overdoing" does not apply here...