Algae or Cyno on the sand question

[hig789]

On my 15g I had a problem with some high phosphates that I didn't know about until I got my Hanna checker a while ago, the results of trying to get my two baby clowns to eat. They are in check now being at .02 as of this morning. Been running gfo for about 3 weeks and just changed it out last night. Nitrates are at 5. I have cut back on my feeding since I found a few things that the clowns will eat.

I have been get a increasing amount of brown stuff on the top of my sand bed and about 3/4-1" down the glass under the sand. At first I thought it might be cyano but I'm not sure because it's not a mat it looks like sprinkles across the sand bed. I also noticed today that there are black specks in some areas also. I rearranged my MP10 and kicked it up a little and repositioned my return nozzle also in hopes of getting good flow down by the sand bed. Been vacuuming the sand bed very good the past 3 water changes too.

I also cut back my lights to 8 hours just to see if that would help.

The tanks almost 5 months old. Figured it might just be the ugly stage I see everyone post about but I've never be this problem in tanks in the past.

Other parameters:

Salinity - 1.026
Ca - 397
dKH - 8.6


Here's a older pic. The sand bed got disturbed on the left side when my return nozzle got bumped while cleaning the tank. I thought that could have been it but would there be that much bacteria growth in the sand bed after 4 1/2 - 5 months?

Could it possibly have just been the disturbance in the sand bed and in time it will go away since the phosphates are in check now? I have had the algae between the sand and glass for well over a month before the sand bed got disturbed.

I'll get a better pic of the sand tomorrow.

You can kind see the black stuff bs the brown stuff in this picture.

The disturbed area.

Thanks in advance.

 

[alamo28]

It looks like algae to me, do you have any sand sifters in there? I have starfish, a horseshoe crab, as well as I like having a sand sifting blenny or goby. Diamond gobies and sleeper gobies do a great job, sometimes it will stir up the water but as long as you have good turnover it doesn't last and is well worth it. Also do you have hermit crabs/snails in there, they should help also.

 

[hig789]

It looks like algae to me, do you have any sand sifters in there? I have starfish, a horseshoe crab, as well as I like having a sand sifting blenny or goby. Diamond gobies and sleeper gobies do a great job, sometimes it will stir up the water but as long as you have good turnover it doesn't last and is well worth it. Also do you have hermit crabs/snails in there, they should help also.

I recently added three big Nassarius snails. Been in there about 3 weeks. Other than that my CUC is 6 Astraeas and 3 or 4 Stomatellas. Never had very good luck with the little blue legs hermits though.

 

[alamo28]

I use tons of Blue Legs. I would definitely try and get a either a sand sifting fish or another type of invertebrate. I know at my LFS I got the horseshoe crab for $5

 

[Paranoiattack91]

Do not add a sleeper goby! Maybe my experience is different than others but, he would scoop up sand, swim about 10 inches up and cover my corals in sand all day long! My diamond goby is cool though, stays on the sand.

 

[hig789]

A watchman was on my list before I got the pair of clowns. Not sure how well that would go over since the clowns have already been in there for a while. The bigger on is always picking on the smaller one, but that's I'm pretty sure that's fairly normal at this stage.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I can't really tell from those pictures what it is.

How old is the tank?

Do you use tap water (tap water may supply silicate for diatoms) (?

 

[hig789]

I can't really tell from those pictures what it is.

How old is the tank?

Do you use tap water (tap water may supply silicate for diatoms) (?

It's only 5 months Randy. I'll get some better pictures of it late today. I use DI water from our lab at work. It's never shown any TDS and I normally check it everyrime I get water.

 

[hig789]

Slightly better pics.

The best picture of the black specks I can get.

 

[Fieryfrog]

Do not add a sleeper goby! Maybe my experience is different than others but, he would scoop up sand, swim about 10 inches up and cover my corals in sand all day long! My diamond goby is cool though, stays on the sand.

I had the same issue. I have never hated a fish like that dumb Sleeper Head Goby. My tank looked like it snowed. But the Diamond Goby did a good job.

 

[hig789]

I had the same issue. I have never hated a fish like that dumb Sleeper Head Goby. My tank looked like it snowed. But the Diamond Goby did a good job.

Yeah I have never had it either with any previous tanks. But this is my first nano and first cube so flow is kinda hard to get right. Going to get a diamond goby tomorrow.

 

[Jizu Puentes]

Don't get too worried. Diatoms and cyano are typical in new reefs and once your tank stabilizes it will go away. Just keep sucking out all that you an during water changes and continue to only feed what the fish can quickly eat. Do you do weekly water changes?

 

[Jizu Puentes]

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/110-gallon-reefreef.206793/#post-2362955

Definitely wouldn't put a horseshoe crab in a nano tank as it will quickly outgrow the tank and starve in such a small sand bed. I wouldn't even put one in my 110

 

[hig789]

Don't get too worried. Diatoms and cyano are typical in new reefs and once your tank stabilizes it will go away. Just keep sucking out all that you an during water changes and continue to only feed what the fish can quickly eat. Do you do weekly water changes?

Yeah I change 2.5g every 7-10 days when my work schedule allows it.

 

[Jizu Puentes]

Very good, just continue what you are doing then and watch it to see if it thins.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

You're right that it doesn't really look like cyano.

How are you exporting N and P?

 

[hig789]

Running a Tunze 9001, IM Desktop reactor with BRS GFO, and marineland carbon in a media bag. And 2.5g water changes every 7-10 days. It seems like since I changed my GFO out the other night that the algae is less and less every day so I might have it under control. Just have to wait for it to die off.

My guess is that it is from when I was over feeding trying to find something the clowns would eat.

 

[hig789]

Well over the last two days or so there has been a dramatic drop in the algae on the sand. I vacuumed it pretty heavily last water change so that probably helped. But my gues is that it was already dying since I finally got my phosphates in check.