# My poor live rock color



## Ocarius (Jan 6, 2009)

I bought cured live rock from the fish store and its beige in color, its very unique in the holes and shape of it, but there is no purple coloring to it.. right now its got a rusty looking color "stuff" growing on it, but what i was wondering is if the rock will never change its colors and be boring to look at. I wasn't familar with live rock when i got it, and was told it will change.

I went later and got a 3rd rock, this one is got some grey,beige in it also.. lots of holes its almost like a spong.. but it also has some purple on it too.. and some of the purple since putting it into the tank seems to have lighten up and looks diffrent than the rock just being purple.

My question is, will i have to replace that rock, or give it more than three weeks in my tank to make some changes.

Thanks Guys


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## onefish2fish (Jul 22, 2008)

take your time. if anything the rock will turn brown before it turns pretty.
coraline algae grows when conditions are right, meaning your alk, calcium and magnesium. 

has your cycle started yet?


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## Ocarius (Jan 6, 2009)

Im getting the rust color stuff now, and its all over the rocks, the live sand, and now on the lower walls of the aquarium. The tank has 0 ammonia and 0 nitrites, 10 nitrates. I was told to wait a week and retest the water.. with it being a new tank the nitrates should drop.

I also have a move coming up, taking this stuff out of my 46 bow and putting it in my 55, so not sure what that will do.. i plan to keep as much water as i can or at least half.


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## onefish2fish (Jul 22, 2008)

sounds like an algae bloom which is normal for new tanks. it should eventually disapear. what kind of water do you use?


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## Ocarius (Jan 6, 2009)

RO


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## onefish2fish (Jul 22, 2008)

you just have saltwater and live rock in the tank at the moment? how long has this been up and going?


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## Ocarius (Jan 6, 2009)

one striped damsel also, the tank and fish a month,with the rock 3 weeks.


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## onefish2fish (Jul 22, 2008)

sounds like its time for snails/clean up crew

i would not add to many at once but a mixture of kinds is always nice. 
some snails include:
turbo snails (aglae)
nerite (aglae)
cerith (aglae)
nassarious (left over meaty foods)
stomatalla (algae)
mexican turbo (algae)

i personally would start with 5 turbos, 5 nerites, 5 ceriths, 5 nassarious and 1 mexican turbo snail.


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## Kellsindell (Sep 15, 2008)

It's odd that your LR isn't purple to begin with. It kinda sounds like it may have just become live and it used to be base rock. I don't recomment buying rock that looks like that. You don't really have a good idea about anything in rock like that and LR is way to expensive to get some that isn't going to do any filtration for the tank.

The coloration of the rocks will come in time. If the rock they sold you is indeed LR that's been established for a long while, then it'll color more quickly if it's LR that just started to become LR, as i'm suspecting.

It's time for a CUC, i might add that you may want to get some hermits or crabs too. The hermits will stir up the sandbed surface and will aid in puting the stuff into the water column.


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## onefish2fish (Jul 22, 2008)

IMO i hate hermit crabs. yes i have some, but theyre in the sump for a reason. i have plenty of different size empty shells around my tank yet they still kill snails. 
research the different cleaners. def. avoid harlequiun shrimp as their only diet is starfish, green brittle stars, choclate chip stars as they are predatory and linkia stars as theyre more difficult to keep. im sure there are a few more to avoid from the start but thats why research before you buy.
and CUC = clean up crew


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## Kellsindell (Sep 15, 2008)

Again that's why i said hermits, or crabs. I know some love them and i know other don't. It's all down to preferance. I buy my snails at $.36 a piece so i'm not hurt over losing a few. i have 60 in my tank now and i'll get more if i need to.


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## Ocarius (Jan 6, 2009)

There are some redish looking pods on my live rock, as well as some white looking sticks with balls on the end and then lil sticks coming out of that.. it may be base rock, where i got it from was pretty credible, but who knows.


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## onefish2fish (Jul 22, 2008)

red bugs?!! :shock:


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## Ocarius (Jan 6, 2009)

not bugs lol


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