[Vorteil]

New tank started this May. Wanted to keep it plain and simple. I would say more than half the shrimp hide in the back of the tank. Once I feed dried spirulina they all come out.

Started May 2, 2017
200 Opae Ula
Size 3G/11L
No heater
No filtration
Gutted rear of tank & filled with lava rock
CaribSea Ocean Direct Live Sand
Berried females spotted July 3, 2017

[odin]

This looks very nice indeed, i wanted to ask do you have any issues with ammonia or nitrates when using the live rock and live sands? From what i have read you can get alot of dye off from the marine life that doesnt do well in brackish conditions which in turn produces ammonia. Either way man it looks lovely.

[Vorteil]

So far no issues and losses so far. Nitrates & nitrites are high as the tank is still cycling. I used BioClean in my other tank and will use that on this one. The live rock in this one looks man made with some sort of purple coating on it. I'll probably swap it out for real live rock sometime this week. It doesn't seem to grow algae on it. I had the rock outside in a tank for a few months and nothing grew on it. I used it to cover up all the holes and hack job I did to the rear of the tank which allows the opae ula to come and go and access the lava rock.

[odin]

Prodibio make good products, i use their biodigest if i get any nutrient spikes.

[AdeDunn]

The purple coating could be coraline algae. Purple live rock actually sells for a premium here in the UK thanks to the purple coralline algae. There's even a product on the market called PurpleUp that claims to enhance the growth. linky

[Vorteil]

I bought this rock thinking it was coraline algae. It isn't. Take a look. I just pulled it from the tank yesterday & replace it with some live rock.

[AdeDunn]

I see what you mean. It looks more like coated construction foam than rock.

[Vorteil]

Exactly. Like I said nothing seems to grow on the purple areas.

[odin]

i wonder what it could be, strange they would use something that has that effect.

[opae ula related]

I see what you mean. It looks more like coated construction foam than rock.

Construction foam would be light and not heavy.

Vorteil, is it light?