How to tell between live and dead rock?

[Qun77]

hi there,

Been keeping a small marine tank for 3 weeks liao (after 2 weeks of cycling, testing etc) and thankfully the fishes (2 clown fishes) are still alive. Thanks to the wonderful advise i got from this forum

Just a question; how do we tell the difference between live and dead rock?

cheers

Qun.

[gymbvolka]

dead rock are normally :

white in colour.

do attached with good or bad algae

Do not smell like live rock ( no sea smell )

[liquidnoise]

btw, i heard red patches not considered as live coz it algea. any1 can enlighten?

[Ahhyi]

My rocks are a mixture of live and dead. Very obvious. Dead ones super white. Live ones got colors one. Hoping for the dead rocks to be overgrown with coralline algae soon

[liquidnoise]

My rocks are a mixture of live and dead. Very obvious. Dead ones super white. Live ones got colors one. Hoping for the dead rocks to be overgrown with coralline algae soon

Coralline algae is red? last time i bought some, there are pink and red but also brown. so its live of dead?

[rekian]

All rock are technically dead, there are 'alive' because of the because of the bacteria that grow in it. Bacteria which breakdown ammonia and nitrite.

[Ahhyi]

Coralline algae is red? last time i bought some, there are pink and red but also brown. so its live of dead?

Yah pinkish. Not exactly red lol. It's alive because of the bacteria on the rock.

[Qun77]

thanks all for the advise

[gymbvolka]

dead rock are normally :

white in colour.

do attached with good or bad algae

Do not smell like live rock ( no sea smell )

sorry error , i mean :

Dead rock do not attached with good or bad algae

[liquidnoise]

Yah pinkish. Not exactly red lol. It's alive because of the bacteria on the rock.

wat abt red ones? i heard it is bad?

[Rxcp14]

wat abt red ones? i heard it is bad?

Red slime on rocks is bad. Purplish encrusting hard thin growth is coralline. Very easy to see the difference.

[smartyjones18]

What I've learnt are live rocks are properly cycled and may encrusted with coralline algae ( purple, orange, green, red etc) whilst dead rocks are white or have been out of water for some times with foul smell. Dead rocks can be cycled and turn to live rocks.

[liquidnoise]

Red slime on rocks is bad. Purplish encrusting hard thin growth is coralline. Very easy to see the difference.

I am starting to see like red skin like thing attaching. there is pinkish stuff like icing on cake type. There is also like spot of pink. There is now appearing greensih and brownish. faintz

So coraline is good?

So why red slime bad?

[stevenchia]

Red slime wil cover your corals over time. And corals will not be able to breath.. Red slim and brownish algae on your rock means water condition already not good. Frequent water change and a good flow will help.

[Rxcp14]

I am starting to see like red skin like thing attaching. there is pinkish stuff like icing on cake type. There is also like spot of pink. There is now appearing greensih and brownish. faintz

So coraline is good?

So why red slime bad?

To add on to what mini-reefer said, before u start buying stuff to just remove the slime, go back to the source of problems like what may cause these red slime which usually means high nutrient levels, too much waste, overfeed, etc. Test your water regularly. Before it starts to get worst, solve it when its still not serious. No fun when i had that and covered my exotic zoas and killed it cause i thought killing the algae would help... dont make the same mistake like i did... search up on red slime and cyanobacteria to find ways to stop these.

[liquidnoise]

thx all...interesting..but the problem is i am cycling t he tank with no live stock....i see patches of green and brown as well. maybe shd take pic after my biz trip

[stevenchia]

thx all...interesting..but the problem is i am cycling t he tank with no live stock....i see patches of green and brown as well. maybe shd take pic after my biz trip

Reason also mainly becos its still cycling.. if theres no livestock u should turn off the lights. And u should dose some bacteria

. Wait until the tank is stable then u start adding livestocks.

[liquidnoise]

Reason also mainly becos its still cycling.. if theres no livestock u should turn off the lights. And u should dose some bacteria

. Wait until the tank is stable then u start adding livestocks.

There is no lights as well....now waiting to buy 1ft light. hopefully soon. so far its cycling for 1 wk. so will let it cycle awhile more