Film on LR, please advise.

[StiersM]

My 29gal has been setup for about 2 weeks now. I purchased 10lbs of LR and after 5 days in the tank, it has developed a white film over the LR. They claimed this LR was cured, but I doubted it at the time of purchase. Is this normal, of is there anything I should do? I have 2 powerhead and a fluval 304 on the tank so there is plenty of water movement. Thanks for the help. :roll:

 

[ChrisRD]

I've seen this happen with live rock that is curing before. Keep the circulation high - you can't really have too much - especially during the curing process, so don't hesitate to throw another powerhead in there if you have one on hand. Blow the rocks off with one of the powerheads periodically too. Personally, I'd be running a protein skimmer (if you don't already have one). I would also recommend doing a large water change or two using good quality source water like RO or RO/DI.

 

[brandonberry]

A protein skimmer is definitely a "must have" when adding new live rock. I have a tank that runs fine without one, but it is well established and full of macro-algae. Even cured rock is likely to have some die off just from moving from the store to your house.

 

[Anonymous]

Water changes will be helpful, too. This is assuming, of course, that you haven't added anything like buffers that may not have completely dissolved.

 

[StiersM]

Thanks for the replies. I had avoided purchasing a skimmer since I have many friends who have "established" reefs without them. But, I think in my case it may be in my best interest to buy one now. I will do a water change tomorrow and I did use the powerhead today to clean off the rock. It looks alot better and I think it was just normal die off of sponges I missed.

 

[Reefman150]

Have you ever seen the GUNK that a skimmer pulls out of the water? A skimmer duplicates the cleansing action of the ocean. Have you ever seen foam along the beach? Same thing. In some set-ups, the aireation from the skimmer is almost the only added source of oxygen to the water. I would recommend dropping the money required to buy a good skimmer. Don't skimp and get a cheap one that won't do a good job. Too much money can be wasted in this hobby by buying junk and then later buying what you should have in the first place. Does it sound like I've done something like this before? :lol:
This of course is my opinion that may differ from others here but I've never seen a beautiful reef tank that didn't run one.