Dark Stuff All Over Rocks

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tdgates10

Designer Reef
Joined
Aug 22, 2007
Messages
473
Location
Spokane
I just got home from being gone over the weekend and I have dark crap all over my rocks. It looks like they did when I first set up the tank. Anyone have any ideas?
 
When the lights come on I can take some. I just did some tests and all are normal from the tests that I took. Ammonia 0, Nitrate 0, Nitrite 0, Kh 250 ppm, and ph is 7.8. One thing that I just added was some Chaeto and put lights on my refugium that run all night when my other lights are off. I don't know if that could have started some new cycle?
 
Pictures

Here are some pics of it. They look like diatoms but much darker. I haven't had this kind of breakout before.
 
it looks like cyno to me. We got some of that after adding large amounts of life, or something gets out of wack, like parameters. But yours looks good????

Thats wierd.
 
The reason I don't think it's cyano, which it still could be, is cuz I haven't added any life, except for Chaeto, in the past month. My tank is 180g with around 4000 gph, so I have good flow, and I don't over feed. But I'm stumped. It looked great before the Chaeto so I might pull it out and go back to no lighting on the sump.
 
Slowed way down. I started to skim really wet and I'm still not getting a lot of skimmit.
 
I transfered from my 50g about 5 months ago. I have one remora and one remora pro, until I can afford a bigger one.
 
So you are running 2 skimmers on the tank?

It doesn't look like cyano to me either. Like I said before, I wouldn't go flying off the handle just yet. Give it a couple of days of some of that good old TLC, and see what happens. It may go away as fast as it showed up.
 
Yes, I'm running two skimmers, in two different compartments on my sump. It doesn't look awful when the lights are on, but it still isn't right. I will do a larger water change and see what happens. You think I should keep the Chaeto and the lights on the ref though?
 
The water change is a good idea!!!! And, yes, I think you should keep the chaeto. In the long run, it will outcompete the problem algae, but again, it takes time. Do your water change, clean both of your skimmers and sit back and see what happens.

How often and how much water do you change?
 

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