rust!!!! ohhhh no bad rocks.

[kissez_61]

hey guys i JUST got my tank set up. its a 20 gallon with 4 corys(am geting 2 more soon) 6 neon minnows and one blue groumie(sorry 4 the spelling) its been cycled for 3 weeks so i got the fish and the dector at the same time i bought river typ rocks from the pet store to have insted of gravel but now it liiks like it has spots of rust in it. this cant be good for the tank. what will it actualy do to my fish? one groumie died so i only have one left i can get another because they have a 30 day garentte on fish but i dont want to intill i figure out wut to do.

 

[clutterydrawer]

Are you abosultely sure it's rust? not some kind of reddish brown algae?

Incidentally I was cleaning out a friend's tank the other day and found a big chunk of rusted metal that had been there for years. her fish are fine. however her fish seem to survive whatever happens to them so I wouldn't take em as an example.

 

[Richard]

i have some rocks that look rusty but never lost a fish over them i believe it is trace iron elements in the rocks but unless its excessive i cant see it doing to much harm

 

[ryan]

Brown algae is almost always actually a diatom bloom the is caused by insufficient light. Sufficent lighting for a planted tank should be 10-12 hours a day with a average of 2 watts for each gallon. Fish from the genus Ottocinclus, such as the common Otto are very good at eating this form of algae IME. It is also quite easily scraped off or removed. It also often occurs in newly set-up systems.

 

[kissez_61]

i thought it was algea too at frist but i took one out and it was rust. not it isnt vey much just dots of it hear and there. is there a glaze or somthing that i could put on them that wouldnt harm my tank.? should i just leave the rocks in there?

 

[Tropjunky]

well u could try coating it in silicone but i would get new rocks.