Live Sand turning brown

I would remove the red rocks just to be safe. It could be leeching any number of things not ideal for SW tanks, iron, phosphates.......copper.

Try and get some dry base reef rock to replace it.

You're off to a great start.

 

Yes it is dry lava rock, and what is a good rock to replace it with?

 

Any dry base rock sold for the purpose of using in SW tanks. Most LFS sell it and some Petmarts or Petcos, you can also get it on line easily.

 

try reefcleaners.com
marcorocks.com
reefrocks.net
or bulkreefsupply.com

BRS pukani is prob the best but reefrocks.net is prob the cheapest and def worth it

 

ok thanks!

 

Lava rock is loaded with metals; depends on what part of the world it comes from as to what is in them
Get it out..........since I see no coral I would drain the tank and rinse the sand in fresh RO/DI water and then mix up a new batch of fresh salt water with RO/DI water.......you can't use tap water and decloranator.

Also you need proper lighting to get coraline alge to grow and not nuisance algae

What are you using for lights?


I ran a 50 with 2 404's.......left in a top sponge and used the baskets for carbon and phosgard but you have to clean them weekly and replace the carbon and phosgard ot whatever more often due to dietrus build up in the filter bags which allows for deeper penbertration into the media.

Once you have a few softies going and coralines and a few fishies you will want a sump ;D

 

not 100% true, alot of the man made fake lava rock is fine for reefs, i have some in my tank, you just don't want to use the natural kind.

 

True but who wants to guess.....this is not the cheapest hobby and its a shame to let things die that do not need to. We get a bad enough rap as it is.

Just trying to save some heart ache.......heck I accidentally dosed my reef with copper from a new fish I bought at the LFS and wiped out aalmost a grand worth of corals

 

true but if he knows where he got it, he can find out what it is, while, I'd prob rec getting rid of it if there is any doubt about its origins, If he knows its safe, I'd keep it in there.

 

Agreed. What you find in the pet stores is aquarium-friendly. If it is real, it's from the ocean where it's had hundreds or even thousands of years for anything bad to be leached out. I've yet to hear of a single tank crashing from using lava rock for deco.

Furthermore, rinsing live sand in freshwater won't remove anything but the life. If you're concerned about heavy metals, you can use tap water treatment for SW to neutralize them and run GAC.