Help me threw the uglies please!

[Davisc1293]

So I've been seeing brown spots on the sand the past couple days to a week now but today hit hard. The rocks themselves seem to be clear or most algae but the glass and sand in particular is covered. Should I be trying to get it out with a syphon or just let it do its thing? the tanks been running a little over a month and levels are ok nitrate around 5 phosphate is detectable but even hard to read with the low range kit.

 

[blaxsun]

Get some hermits, a nassarius snail or two, a small urchin, a conch... They'll make short work of that in no time flat.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Typical diatoms which is a brown algae that typically appear in a reef tank that has just completed its cycle but they can also appear in an established reef tank. They can cover sand, rock, pumps, glass, you name it. Diatoms look ugly but in most cases they are harmless so the key is to not panic when they appear.
Diatoms feed mainly off of silicates but also consume dissolved organic compounds, phosphate and nitrates. Unfiltered tap water can contain silicates and is a good way to jump start a bloom if you use it to mix salt or to replace water that evaporated from the tank. The best way to prevent this from happening is to filter water through a RODI unit, although you can still get a diatom bloom when using RODI if the cartridge that removes silicates expires.
diatoms are typically harmless to a captive reef and can be beaten once their food source expires. Once you put the kibosh on the source, the outbreak should last a couple of weeks so just be patient and it will pass. For major outbreaks you may want to consider the three day blackout. Diatoms are easily wiped from the glass with a mag float, a turkey baster or a toothbrush can access other areas of the tank. Be prepared for them to re-establish themselves quickly, they are likely to be able to resettle and have exponential growth rates.
To prevent their return, practice good aquarium husbandry by doing regular water changes, keep the substrate clean, don’t overfeed the fish, ensure your skimmer is running at an optimal level and rinse out filter socks and sponges on a regular basis.
Some cleaner crew to help control it are : Cerith snails, Nerite snails and Trochus snails and also Astraea snails are effective at removing diatoms.

 

[Davisc1293]

My LFS told me to add and sold me 2 crabs, a few different types of snails 3 huge guys you can see one in the top left of on of the photos, a few that bury themselves and poke a periscope looking thing out of the sand, a few small pointy guys and a bi color blenny. added over 2 weeks. Nothing seems to pay any attention to it.

 

[melonheadorion]

My LFS told me to add and sold me 2 crabs, a few different types of snails 3 huge guys you can see one in the top left of on of the photos, a few that bury themselves and poke a periscope looking thing out of the sand, a few small pointy guys and a bi color blenny. added over 2 weeks. Nothing seems to pay any attention to it.

if you want a fish that will actively help the substrate, i would say a diamond goby. other than that your snail is one of the next best options. any of the smaller critters wont make a huge dent in a small amount of time. they will make a difference, but it will be over time.

 

[Davisc1293]

Should I be trying to remove it manually and will cleaning the glass just make it come back worse?

 

[HeyLookItsCaps]

Should I be trying to remove it manually and will cleaning the glass just make it come back worse?

Let your snails feast, they’ll appreciate it and so will you

cleaning your glass is fine, it’ll get picked up in your filters

 

[blaxsun]

My LFS told me to add and sold me 2 crabs, a few different types of snails 3 huge guys you can see one in the top left of on of the photos, a few that bury themselves and poke a periscope looking thing out of the sand, a few small pointy guys and a bi color blenny. added over 2 weeks. Nothing seems to pay any attention to it.

Without specifics that doesn’t really help.

Nassarius snails will stay buried and only come out at night, cruising the substrate. Cerith snails will spend most of their time under the substrate. Orange lip conches will also cruise around on top and under the substrate. Sand sifting starfish will spend all of their time under the substrate except when they occasionally come out at night (not recommended until you have an established tank).

If you have some of those, then you’re off to a good start. If not, consider one or more of these types.

 

[BoneDoc]

I’d say be patient. Sounds like you have enough cuc. Just make sure your phos and nitrates are good and give them a few weeks to clean it up. You can do water change and siphon them out

 

[Davisc1293]

My nitrates have been around 5 for the past week its tough to be precise with this salifert kit but its closest to 5 i was told to wait until about 15 to do a wc.