brown algae? or what is this

[Jisko]

I recently doubled my tank size and added 20lb of dry base rock to the tank. When i upgraded I decided to replace the sandbed with dry sand and just use the live rock I had along with the new 20lbs of base. It has been around 2 months now and I've found myself seeing a lot of brownish crap all over and it has stayed for a week or two now. I purchased a kenya because the tank was doing fine then it seems like over night the tank went poof. The ammonia is really low and i'm treating it now but I still cant get the kenya tree to open all the way up or for this brown crap to go away.

Secondly why is some of the sand like a dark grey when I stir it up?

 

[Reefer1978]

Looks like diatoms to me. But if it develops longish strings, could be dynoflagelates.

 

[Jisko]

Looks like diatoms to me. But if it develops longish strings, could be dynoflagelates.

how can I get rid of it though haha

 

[Reefer1978]

If it's diatoms time, as tank matures they should go away.

 

[Speedy]

Hi looks like a diatom algae . Happens a lot when you put new rock or sand . Feeds on silica mostly which can leach out from new additions . As well as tap water . Clean and scrape the glass stir the sand up and crank the skimmer up. Seachem phosgard rids silicates from the water . I did a test on tap water and retested after phosgard on 20l of water and it took all the silica out in 15 mins . Check out this link on algae cheers mate from australia
https://www.reefcleaners.org/nuisance-algae-id-guide

 

[Jisko]

Hi looks like a diatom algae . Happens a lot when you put new rock or sand . Feeds on silica mostly which can leach out from new additions . As well as tap water . Clean and scrape the glass stir the sand up and crank the skimmer up. Seachem phosgard rids silicates from the water . I did a test on tap water and retested after phosgard on 20l of water and it took all the silica out in 15 mins . Check out this link on algae cheers mate from australia
https://www.reefcleaners.org/nuisance-algae-id-guide

I use RO water so it must just be the new additions I'll try to stop by and grab a bag of phosgard thanks!

 

[Speedy]

Also check your ro is still taking out silicates . Buying a test kit is worth it for sure . Most of the time the diatom will settle with time and good husbandry. Check your tank is getting proper lighting too as poor lighting can increase algae growth let me know how you go