brown algae? or what is this

[Jisko]

I recently doubled my tank size and added 20lb of dry base rock to the tank. When i upgraded I decided to replace the sandbed with dry sand and just use the live rock I had along with the new 20lbs of base. It has been around 2 months now and I've found myself seeing a lot of brownish crap all over and it has stayed for a week or two now. I purchased a kenya because the tank was doing fine then it seems like over night the tank went poof. The ammonia is really low and i'm treating it now but I still cant get the kenya tree to open all the way up or for this brown crap to go away.

Secondly why is some of the sand like a dark grey when I stir it up?

 

[Reefer1978]

Looks like diatoms to me. But if it develops longish strings, could be dynoflagelates.

 

[Jisko]

Looks like diatoms to me. But if it develops longish strings, could be dynoflagelates.

how can I get rid of it though haha

 

[Reefer1978]

If it's diatoms time, as tank matures they should go away.

 

[Speedy]

Hi looks like a diatom algae . Happens a lot when you put new rock or sand . Feeds on silica mostly which can leach out from new additions . As well as tap water . Clean and scrape the glass stir the sand up and crank the skimmer up. Seachem phosgard rids silicates from the water . I did a test on tap water and retested after phosgard on 20l of water and it took all the silica out in 15 mins . Check out this link on algae cheers mate from australia
https://www.reefcleaners.org/nuisance-algae-id-guide

 

[Jisko]

Hi looks like a diatom algae . Happens a lot when you put new rock or sand . Feeds on silica mostly which can leach out from new additions . As well as tap water . Clean and scrape the glass stir the sand up and crank the skimmer up. Seachem phosgard rids silicates from the water . I did a test on tap water and retested after phosgard on 20l of water and it took all the silica out in 15 mins . Check out this link on algae cheers mate from australia
https://www.reefcleaners.org/nuisance-algae-id-guide

I use RO water so it must just be the new additions :) I'll try to stop by and grab a bag of phosgard thanks!

 

[Speedy]

Also check your ro is still taking out silicates . Buying a test kit is worth it for sure . Most of the time the diatom will settle with time and good husbandry. Check your tank is getting proper lighting too as poor lighting can increase algae growth (: let me know how you go