Algae on sand

[skipo99]

Iv had this algae forming on the sand I had thought it was diatoms or some type of cyno it’s been in the tank for a few months now. Comes back the new day after filtering the sand and doing WC

parameters
Kh8.6
Phos 0.2
Nitrate 5
Calc 410
Mag 1250

tank is 10 months old. Any help would be appreciated as I cannot seem to get rid of it!

 

[sixty_reefer]

Pic in whites?

 

[tharbin]

It will be hard to get help with that photo. What color is it? Brown, green or red. Does it look powdery or slimy or grass like? Does it go away at night? Does it get worse after a water change? These types of information and a photo under white light will get you the help you need. The treatments are very different for the various unsightly tank invaders.

 

[tharbin]

Also, don't stir the sand too much. Best to disturb no more than 10-25% of the sand bed at a time. A lot of your beneficial bacteria live in the top few nano-inches of your sand bed. The ones that process Ammonia need oxygen so they live on the surfaces.

 

[skipo99]

It’s brown / red here’s a pic in whites

 

[skipo99]

You cannot notice it as much or it looks better at night only once the lights are on can you see it mainly. Not worse after a water change just gradually comes back. Worse at one side than another too

 

[skipo99]

Also, don't stir the sand too much. Best to disturb no more than 10-25% of the sand bed at a time. A lot of your beneficial bacteria live in the top few nano-inches of your sand bed. The ones that process Ammonia need oxygen so they live on the surfaces.

I have been turning over all the sand during WC cheers for the tip

 

[tharbin]

That looks like diatoms to me. An unfortunately common eyesore in a young tank, any age tank after major changes or really any tank whenever it feels in the mood. The main drivers of diatoms are silicate and nitrate. Stirring the sandbed exasperates it as it brings fresh silicates to the surface. Don't panic unless it truly gets out of hand it does burn itself out. I would suggest you try very small water changes every few days. The goal is not to change the water as much as to disrupt the diatoms. Try to vacuum a small section of the sandbed with each water change targeting the heaviest concentrations of diatoms. You can also trying reducing your photoperiod, increasing flow near the sandbed and adding clean up crew members (Nassarious snails will gently stir the sand but won't eat the diatoms, Trochus, Turbo, Nerite and Cerith Snails all consume diatoms). Good luck and take it slow it is almost always better to do too little than too much in a reef tank.

 

[skipo99]

That looks like diatoms to me. An unfortunately common eyesore in a young tank, any age tank after major changes or really any tank whenever it feels in the mood. The main drivers of diatoms are silicate and nitrate. Stirring the sandbed exasperates it as it brings fresh silicates to the surface. Don't panic unless it truly gets out of hand it does burn itself out. I would suggest you try very small water changes every few days. The goal is not to change the water as much as to disrupt the diatoms. Try to vacuum a small section of the sandbed with each water change targeting the heaviest concentrations of diatoms. You can also trying reducing your photoperiod, increasing flow near the sandbed and adding clean up crew members (Nassarious snails will gently stir the sand but won't eat the diatoms, Trochus, Turbo, Nerite and Cerith Snails all consume diatoms). Good luck and take it slow it is almost always better to do too little than too much in a reef tank.

Cheers, do conch eat it? When you say small what percent are you talking?

 

[tharbin]

Cheers, do conch eat it? When you say small what percent are you talking?

I've never had a conch but my understanding is that they are very prolific diatom eaters. Not really so much a percentage look for the areas that are thickest (not largest area) with diatoms and vacuum them. I would never go above one quarter of the sandbed unless my tank was near collapse.