why is it....

[marlin06]

i went to the dr.s officf the other day.they had a salt water tank there and it didnt have any red algae(cant remember the name)the hard stuff.i see pics on here sometimes too.the tanks look like they are brand new.my tank has so much in it.does it have to do with them having fake rocks and corals

 

[tike]

No...it has to do with it being professionally maintained.

 

[TWallace]

Sounds like you're talking about coralline algae. The lack of that is caused by not having any live rock in the system. Sounds pretty typical of the kind of tank you'd see in a doctor's office. I saw one in Seattle a few months ago like that. Completely barren and bleached looking. Like a saltwater tank you'd see in the 70s. Even worse it was in a brightly lit area, so the fish were swimming around all day and all night.

 

[Herefishyfishy]

Dr's fish tanks looks that way from being scrubbed weekly

 

[TWallace]

They scrub coralline off the rocks? That sounds tedious.

 

[DonW]

They scrub coralline off the rocks? That sounds tedious.

Nobody would take the time to scrub coraline off of rock. If they have no coraline it just means it was never introduced.

Don

 

[Herefishyfishy]

.does it have to do with them having fake rocks and corals

Yes, and they periodically go into the washing machine. Most of these are not real tanks, more like QTs

 

[treehugger]

most of the companies that take care of those tanks actually bleach the rocks, dead coral heads and plants on a regular basis to keep them looking pristine...

 

[marlin06]

yeah ,its all fake rocks.even the overflow is clean.i thought coraline algae is good for a tank,and is a sign of good health

 

[chend2]

You are talking about a tank that is not a reef tank. Fish only tanks usual gain the mechanical and biological filtration elsewhere. ie Wet-dry filter, skimmer, normally hidden underneath the tank. The lack of algae requires that all items are taking out of the tank on a weekly or bi-monthly basis, being both scrubbed and bleached. If you want to go that route remove everything in your tank that will grow and type of visible micro-organism and
stick with just fish.

Cheers,

 

[marlin06]

i like the red algae myself.looks more real