what is on my sand?

mindistortionx · 09/12/2007, 02:55 PM

I just added live sand from Fiji to my tank like 3 weeks ago...I have a few small fish in the tank. My water is crystal clear. Anyway the sand is super white....but I came home from work today and there was some white brown spots on the sand....I have my lights on over the tank.....is this just algae?

Tswifty · 09/12/2007, 03:01 PM

Could be several causes:

What kind of water do you use? Tap water?

Overfeeding?

Also, could just be your tank breaking in.... not uncommon for this to develop in the first few months of a new tank.

mindistortionx · 09/12/2007, 03:33 PM

I used RO/DI water

I put some seaweed in the tank for the fish and 3 crabs I have to eat and some of it got on the sand but since then has been eaten.

papagimp · 09/12/2007, 03:45 PM

diatoms from the sound of it, how long as the tank been up and running for before the addition of new sand? All new tanks will have diatoms pop up in the begining, usually it's done with by the time the cycle is over, but for really short cycled, you can still see it around for the first couple months, once it consumes the majority of it's food sources, it should recede....only to be replaced by more annoying algae, such as cynobacteria (technically not algae) and then some hair algae, bryopsis, stuff like that.

can also show back up by adding more nutrients to the tank to feed it (which may have been in the new sand), or lower flow across the sandbed will allow it to continue, overfeeding, increases in lighting, old bulbs, blah blah blah, lot's of stuff like that.

If it's just from the tank being new, than I wouldn't worry a bit about it and just let it run its course. Some sandsifters may help, such as nassarius snails and the like (not a sandsifting starfish though).

kathainbowen · 09/12/2007, 03:47 PM

If it's a rusty color, then it's diatoms. If it's a reddish color, then it's cyano. No worries. Both are fairly common in the starting stages of having a tank.

Just make sure you're using a good RO water as opposed to tap water (this will keep out phosphates, which feed algaes like diatoms), keep the water clean by not overfeeding and keeping on top of those water changes (since excessive nitrates do feed nuissance algaes), keep your refugium macro algae in tip top shape (if you have a fuge, obviously, as the macro algaes will out compete diatoms and cyano for food stuffs), and light the tank for maybe 8-12 hours a day. Excessive light will also feed algaes (but won't necessarily cause an entire outbreak, contrary to the popular belief that light is the only cause of algae).

Be diligent on yourself, and it should just go away in time as part of a normal "new-tank" related algae bloom. It usually happens in the first few months of having a new tank, and it even happens to experienced keepers, so no worries!

mindistortionx · 09/12/2007, 04:14 PM

yea its a rusty color....my tank was cycling for like 2 weeks then I added the sand and then fish a while later.....now the water paramaters are all fine and my water is crystal clear. I have a UV light hooked up to the tank.

kathainbowen · 09/12/2007, 04:57 PM

Diatoms. Just stick with a good to rigorous maintenance schedule, don't overfeed, and it should go away in time. It's a sort of "breaking-in" thing that just seems to happen, even to experienced reef keepers with really uber-awesome setups.

trdofwrkin · 09/12/2007, 05:43 PM

[QUOTE]Originally posted by mindistortionx
yea its a rusty color....my tank was cycling for like 2 weeks then I added the sand and then fish a while later.....now the water paramaters are all fine and my water is crystal clear. I have a UV light hooked up to the tank. [/QUOTE

Im new at this to but i found that i did 10 percent water changes once a week for 3 weeks and i siphoned the algea off the bottom when i did the change. ran only my blue lights 6 hrs a day for the last 4 weeks of the cycle. my cycle was longer i used uncured live rock from fiji. my cycle was nasty. nothing like the cycle in my tank at work. last but not least i did a 30 percent water change and left my lights off altogether for about 3 days. waht a difference

09/12/2007, 02:55 PM	#1
mindistortionx Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Reading, PA Posts: 103	what is on my sand? I just added live sand from Fiji to my tank like 3 weeks ago...I have a few small fish in the tank. My water is crystal clear. Anyway the sand is super white....but I came home from work today and there was some white brown spots on the sand....I have my lights on over the tank.....is this just algae?

09/12/2007, 03:01 PM	#2
Tswifty Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: PA Posts: 14,022	Could be several causes: What kind of water do you use? Tap water? Overfeeding? Also, could just be your tank breaking in.... not uncommon for this to develop in the first few months of a new tank. __________________ "Enough light? Heck I could go barebottom and grow SPS in the stand!" - DiscoReefRover

09/12/2007, 03:45 PM	#4
papagimp COMAS Rocks! Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Oklahoma City, OK Posts: 8,185 Blog Entries: 2	diatoms from the sound of it, how long as the tank been up and running for before the addition of new sand? All new tanks will have diatoms pop up in the begining, usually it's done with by the time the cycle is over, but for really short cycled, you can still see it around for the first couple months, once it consumes the majority of it's food sources, it should recede....only to be replaced by more annoying algae, such as cynobacteria (technically not algae) and then some hair algae, bryopsis, stuff like that. can also show back up by adding more nutrients to the tank to feed it (which may have been in the new sand), or lower flow across the sandbed will allow it to continue, overfeeding, increases in lighting, old bulbs, blah blah blah, lot's of stuff like that. If it's just from the tank being new, than I wouldn't worry a bit about it and just let it run its course. Some sandsifters may help, such as nassarius snails and the like (not a sandsifting starfish though). __________________ 58g Softie & 75g Stoney Member, Central Oklahoma Marine Aquarium Society Current Tank Info: 58g Mixed Reef Project - Started June 2011

09/12/2007, 03:47 PM	#5
kathainbowen Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Central Jersey Posts: 667	If it's a rusty color, then it's diatoms. If it's a reddish color, then it's cyano. No worries. Both are fairly common in the starting stages of having a tank. Just make sure you're using a good RO water as opposed to tap water (this will keep out phosphates, which feed algaes like diatoms), keep the water clean by not overfeeding and keeping on top of those water changes (since excessive nitrates do feed nuissance algaes), keep your refugium macro algae in tip top shape (if you have a fuge, obviously, as the macro algaes will out compete diatoms and cyano for food stuffs), and light the tank for maybe 8-12 hours a day. Excessive light will also feed algaes (but won't necessarily cause an entire outbreak, contrary to the popular belief that light is the only cause of algae). Be diligent on yourself, and it should just go away in time as part of a normal "new-tank" related algae bloom. It usually happens in the first few months of having a new tank, and it even happens to experienced keepers, so no worries! __________________ "So long and thanks for all the fish!" Current Tank Info: 3G picoreef, 18W 50/50 pc, AC20, stocked with assorted zoos, rics, xenia, and GSP

09/12/2007, 04:57 PM	#7
kathainbowen Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Central Jersey Posts: 667	Diatoms. Just stick with a good to rigorous maintenance schedule, don't overfeed, and it should go away in time. It's a sort of "breaking-in" thing that just seems to happen, even to experienced reef keepers with really uber-awesome setups. __________________ "So long and thanks for all the fish!" Current Tank Info: 3G picoreef, 18W 50/50 pc, AC20, stocked with assorted zoos, rics, xenia, and GSP

09/12/2007, 03:33 PM	#3
mindistortionx Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Reading, PA Posts: 103	I used RO/DI water I put some seaweed in the tank for the fish and 3 crabs I have to eat and some of it got on the sand but since then has been eaten.

09/12/2007, 04:14 PM	#6
mindistortionx Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Reading, PA Posts: 103	yea its a rusty color....my tank was cycling for like 2 weeks then I added the sand and then fish a while later.....now the water paramaters are all fine and my water is crystal clear. I have a UV light hooked up to the tank.

09/12/2007, 05:43 PM	#8
trdofwrkin Registered Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Burbank Posts: 759	[QUOTE]Originally posted by mindistortionx yea its a rusty color....my tank was cycling for like 2 weeks then I added the sand and then fish a while later.....now the water paramaters are all fine and my water is crystal clear. I have a UV light hooked up to the tank. [/QUOTE Im new at this to but i found that i did 10 percent water changes once a week for 3 weeks and i siphoned the algea off the bottom when i did the change. ran only my blue lights 6 hrs a day for the last 4 weeks of the cycle. my cycle was longer i used uncured live rock from fiji. my cycle was nasty. nothing like the cycle in my tank at work. last but not least i did a 30 percent water change and left my lights off altogether for about 3 days. waht a difference __________________ nitrates 0 nitrites 0 ammonia 0 ph 8.2 salinity 1.026 temp 78.5 _____________ JoAnne Current Tank Info: 65g custom tank Fish and Coral 20g sump