Hi guys, I've been reading this group for many months.
6 weeks ago I started my cycling of a 43 gallon tank without fish and with dry rock and live sand. There is no longer ammonia or nitrites and nitrates are at 100 ppm (Red Sea) and phosphates are barely detectable, 0.01 (AF) or zero. For at least 2 weeks a reddish brown film has been growing, at first it seemed dusty but then it began to thicken and emit small balloons of "tissue". It emits bubbles, especially when it is under light.
My question is if it is DINO or DIATOM, then take a portion and take it under the microscope. At night it is not released into the water and it disappears as some say that the Dinos do, but the nutrients that there are do not help me to define if it is one or the other, it could also be the ugly phases of the tank. I enclose the general images of the tank and those of the microscope with a video. I see that the cells form chains. Could it be a brown cyanobacterium? i'm wishing not dino.
Now there are two small clowns, 5 frags of soft corals and without invertebrates, I am giving 8 hours of photoperiod with few whites, but these last days it has grown a lot. There is a lot of flow in the tank since the return pump is 540 gh and there is a wavemaker with the same flow rate. This grows directly where the output flow hits.
my current parameters are
calcium 400
mg 1440
salinity 1024.5
temp 77 F
9.3 dKh
ammonia 0
nitrites 0
NO3 100 ppm
PO4 <0.01
I would appreciate help in the identification to start an adjustment if it is appropriate in your opinion. Thank you very much in advance.
Thank you.

6 weeks ago I started my cycling of a 43 gallon tank without fish and with dry rock and live sand. There is no longer ammonia or nitrites and nitrates are at 100 ppm (Red Sea) and phosphates are barely detectable, 0.01 (AF) or zero. For at least 2 weeks a reddish brown film has been growing, at first it seemed dusty but then it began to thicken and emit small balloons of "tissue". It emits bubbles, especially when it is under light.
My question is if it is DINO or DIATOM, then take a portion and take it under the microscope. At night it is not released into the water and it disappears as some say that the Dinos do, but the nutrients that there are do not help me to define if it is one or the other, it could also be the ugly phases of the tank. I enclose the general images of the tank and those of the microscope with a video. I see that the cells form chains. Could it be a brown cyanobacterium? i'm wishing not dino.
Now there are two small clowns, 5 frags of soft corals and without invertebrates, I am giving 8 hours of photoperiod with few whites, but these last days it has grown a lot. There is a lot of flow in the tank since the return pump is 540 gh and there is a wavemaker with the same flow rate. This grows directly where the output flow hits.
my current parameters are
calcium 400
mg 1440
salinity 1024.5
temp 77 F
9.3 dKh
ammonia 0
nitrites 0
NO3 100 ppm
PO4 <0.01
I would appreciate help in the identification to start an adjustment if it is appropriate in your opinion. Thank you very much in advance.
Thank you.





