'rust' color on glass?

eva

eva

Large Fish
#1
Oct 18, 2006
168
0
0
burnaby, bc
#1
Hello everybody. My name is Eva and I am new to your forum here and new to saltwater tanks as well!
My dad recently (about a monh and a half ago) purchased a 48 gallon long tank and we have live rock in it, protein skimmer, etc.

I've been noticing a buildup on the glass that is rust in color and yesterday and today I've noticed some of the rocks and pebbles at the bottom at the tank have a rust-colored layer on top of them. I haven't tried to remove any of the 'rust' yet, simply because I'm not even sure what this is! I hope someone can help me here.

Thanks very much!
Eva
 

Joe Fish

Joe Fish

Superstar Fish
#2
Apr 21, 2006
2,126
1
0
Penn State
josy.isa-geek.com
#2
That would be diatoms. Do you use regular tap water? With a new tank this is very common. They will come and go for a few months probably. They are usually common when tap water is used because of the excess nutrients. Once they use it all they will go away, but only to come back. Using RO/DI water is the best way to go. I currently use tap to mix my saltwater and distilled to top the tank off with. Certain snails will actually eat them too.
 

eva

eva

Large Fish
#5
Oct 18, 2006
168
0
0
burnaby, bc
#5
Hey everyone, thanks for the quick replies. I took a look at the link, Salty Waters, and now I have one more question. Can I get the silicate removing compound at my LFS? Any estimates on how much it'll cost me?

Joe: I do use regular tap water. What do you mean by this: "I currently use tap to mix my saltwater and distilled to top the tank off with"? You mix your saltwater mix with tap water and then distilled, or other way around? And what categorizes as actual distilled water?

Once again, thanks to everyone for their answers!
 

SALTY WATERS

SALTY WATERS

Large Fish
#6
Feb 6, 2005
893
2
0
47
Waterloo, ON Canada
#6
Eva, yes you should be able to purches these at your LFS. Not sure on cost.

Can you tell us a little more about the tank like what all is in it (in terms of live stock) and what all your water chemisty levels are at?


Yeah... Joe, why would you use "tap" water for water changes and Distilled for top-ups....???
 

S.Reef

S.Reef

Superstar Fish
#7
Dec 1, 2003
1,830
0
0
36
Michigan
#7
I would check to se whats in your local tap water...I live in the Detroit area and we have great water for aquariums...other places it may differ. Look for silicates and phosphates levels...high levels of this will contribute to your problem and you may want to go with RO water or distilled.
 

Joe Fish

Joe Fish

Superstar Fish
#9
Apr 21, 2006
2,126
1
0
Penn State
josy.isa-geek.com
#9
I forgot about the water nuetralizer. Make sure you use that. Well I use tap water because it's the right price right now. I buy gallon jugs of distilled to top off with. I haven't had a diatom bloom in I don't know how long so I might try adding tap to top off with. I mix my saltwater weeks ahead of time and before I add it I put an airstone and heater in. Then I let it sit for a few days. Distilled water has no nutrients at all. Some salties say not to use it because of this. At least from tap water you get needed nutrients, but sometimes too much.

I want to get an RO unit, but right now there are other things to get. Like a new lighting setup. I just got my new rock so that set me back a bit. Then my coral purchase today that I wasn't expecting didn't help the fish fund. After a few months I haven't had any problems with tap aside from the initial diatoms blooms every few weeks.
 

Lorna

Lorna

Elite Fish
#10
Mar 3, 2005
3,082
4
0
NE Indiana
#10
Some tap water is very good, but unless you are able to test it for tds (total disolved solids) phosphates, and silicates.....these will all add to future issues including algae not just diatoms. I have a well and my water is so bad makes tap water look glorious.....I bought 4 5g water jugs and I go down to the local grocer who charges .24 a gallon for r/o water....though let me tell you that hauling 20 gallons a week is getting old......very old. I am now looking for an r/o (though as my well water is sooooooo hard and contains so much iron I don't know if it is worth it to go that route or not. I think it will eat filters like there is no tomorrow)
 

Lorna

Lorna

Elite Fish
#12
Mar 3, 2005
3,082
4
0
NE Indiana
#12
I do a major change about 15% monthly......as my tank is more mature. I use it for topping off ( my 75g evaps at about a gallon a day) and my 20 about 2 quarts a day. Then I usually end up changing out about 6g just cleaning rocks etc..... about every 3 or 4 days......
 

Lorna

Lorna

Elite Fish
#15
Mar 3, 2005
3,082
4
0
NE Indiana
#15
Well I do a 15% each month then I change about 5% about 3 times a week. So I think that turns over quite a bit of water a month. No it isn't major but then my parameters are stable and I have a low bioload.
 

eva

eva

Large Fish
#16
Oct 18, 2006
168
0
0
burnaby, bc
#16
In my 48 gallon tank, I have a fair amount of live rock. How many pounds I am unsure of but I am including some pictures of the tank so you all can see yourselves. There's also a little clam in there, not a big colorful one (sorry I don't know any technical terms so please bear with me here) but a small, maybe about half an inch squared. It opens at night and a white substance/thing comes out and it always closes when I come near. Can it see me? Lol. Lastly, we have two damsel fish in there as well.

Full tank http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a364/shockette/Camera003.jpg

Left side of tank with my two damsels http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a364/shockette/Camera004.jpg

Right side http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a364/shockette/Camera005.jpg

Anyways, I wish I could tell you specifics about what equipment I have but unfortunately, this tank is a pet project of my dad's and he bought it secondhand from someone who was moving and had to sell his setup.
Can someone tell me what I should be looking for when I check the water levels? ph, kh, nitrite, nitrate? ammonia? Sorry to be confused but I am a total rookie here!

If it was up to me, I would have done all my research before purchasing a SW tank but my dad is old. and set in his ways. He is retiring so out of the blue, he came home with a tank setup one day. It's kinda cute cause he sits in front of the tank forever just watching the fish. I'm guilty of that too. Anyhoo, thanks for everyone's help once again.
 

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