2 weeks old/Diatoms

[Darryn Lyon]

So my 2-week reef has the diatoms, and my sand has it pretty bad. I've been doing reading and apparently this will go away on its own once the ecosystem stabilizes. I'm about to do my second water change today after I clean off as much as I can. Is there a reason why the algae is not growing on the sand around the live rock? Diatom is what this is, correct? Any way I can mitigate the growth?

Got some interesting things growing on the live rock, purple and green, is this coral? Long snotty strings, brittle starfish. It's really cool to watch, but the diatoms are bothersome.

 

[BummersReef]

It's called "the uglies" ... every tank goes through it as it goes through its cycle. Not sure about why it is not near the rock but others may know. But I do know, you just gotta let the cycle run its course. You are only 2 weeks in. Patience is the key.
as far as checking out the stuff you find growing on the live rock .. this is a great site for figuring out what you are looking at:
http://www.lionfishlair.com/hitchhiker.shtml

welcome to reefing!!

 

[sk8elenex92]

Just give it time and it will eventually go away. You probably do not have to do a water change yet. Have you gone through a cycle yet??? Patients or you will fail.....