First SW Tank :)

I've found 2 new sources of live rock in my town. One I've just checked yesterday and the rock looks better, it has deep purple coraline growth on it, but it is covered by green algae which is not slimy...in fact it looks like moss growing on rocks. What is your oppinion on this one?

 

fyi. there is also green coraline algae. may want to snap a few pics. You may be better of purchasing dry base rock. as long as you have live sand yyou should be fine to start your fowlr with base rock and let it turn lve on its own. purchase 1 small piece of the live rock with coraline and it will spread it to the rest of the rocks.

 

Thanks for the reply. I don't think it is coraline, beacause it looks like a small forest growing on the rock...maybe it's macroalgae... it looks like I can pull it off the rock with my fingers, like you would pull off moss from a rock or tree. The base rock with live sand idea sounds great, but I can't find base rock in my town...only limestone or lava rocks and from what I've read using google and wikipedia, there's no way of knowing if those would be reef safe, even if my lfs guy will probably tell me hey are. I will definitely get some pictures of that live rock and post them, and next week I'm checking out my third and last source of live rock in town.

 

Could it be GSP on the rock? (green star polyps)

 

Looks very similar to GSP. I'll ask the shop.

 

i personally woulndt use sponges for filtration they will turn into a nitrate factory and cause more problems than solutions. i would definatley buy a skimmer they shouldnt be very expensive for such a small tank

 

Thank for your reply. I'll definitely get a skimmer later on, after I buy my damsel fish. I've read about sponges use in reef aquariums, however, the one I'll use is designed for nitrate reduction (or at least it says so on the label), it will be a very small sponge used only for mechanical filtration, and it will be thoroughly rinsed with every water change, and replaced every other month. Another question of mine would be regarding substrate. I've found small granulation substrate (<1mm) in 2 forms: aragonite and crushed coral. Most aquarists I've found on forums recommend aragonite, but their argument is based on the fact that coral has bigger granulation and will trap detritus. However, I've found very fine aragonite sand and very fine crushed coral sand. Which should I use?

 

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