Brown sand
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P-Dub
The ocean is open to all, merciful to none.
That is a respectably sized aquarium and two gobies should help with sand turnover. Adding some conchs would help as well.
I have noticed that you haven't introduced yourself in the Meet & Greet Forum. Head on over and introduce yourself and your system. https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/meet-greet-forum.129/
Let me be the first to welcome you to R2R, Pete!
Mastiffsrule
Where ever you go, there you are, so be nice 2 you
Looks good. When I started having similar problems it came up after a few months of neglect due to being laid up. Once it appeared it stayed on the gravel and came and went day and night no matter how much I cleaned.
I am not sure if there is an absolute way to confirm if it is algae, diatoms, cyano, or Dino from the pix. If a microscope is available a pix could be posted and if it is Dino that can be identified.
I would stick with cleaning. if you clean off the sand bed and it comes back each time it may need more than just cleaning.
#reefsquad
I am not sure if there is an absolute way to confirm if it is algae, diatoms, cyano, or Dino from the pix. If a microscope is available a pix could be posted and if it is Dino that can be identified.
I would stick with cleaning. if you clean off the sand bed and it comes back each time it may need more than just cleaning.
#reefsquad
On looking closer, I have noticed that the brown dust has now become hairy!?
This couldn't be seen in a photo but I've tried to show it in this video.
Does this give any more clues as to what it might be please?
Video wouldn't upload , apparently it was an unallowed file (it was MP4), what do I need to convert it to, to send it please?
This couldn't be seen in a photo but I've tried to show it in this video.
Does this give any more clues as to what it might be please?
Video wouldn't upload , apparently it was an unallowed file (it was MP4), what do I need to convert it to, to send it please?
Mastiffsrule
Where ever you go, there you are, so be nice 2 you
Hairy and length of time tanks been running with no new sands rules out diatoms. Cyano is possibility but with threads forming less likely. Does sound like Dino but I am just going off the similarity to my tank. If bubbles also star forming in the threads that would be another indicator Dino.
When you have time post the pix from you microscope would be best. It can be identified with more certainty and possibly a cure.
When you have time post the pix from you microscope would be best. It can be identified with more certainty and possibly a cure.
Everyone here is talking about their own experiences and not giving an actual reasoning for why diatoms appeared now.
Yes, they probably are diatoms, what color is the film algae in your glass when you clean it? Green or brown? If it’s brown then it’s almost certainly diatoms.
Diatoms are a kind of unicellular algae that has the characteristic of having an outer silica shell, so they need silica to grow, contrary to other algae. They are really fast growers, and for this reason they are dominant where silica is present, like river estuaries. They actually produce 20% of the oxygen around the world.
Why am I telling you this? Simply to let you know that if you have silica in your aquarium you are gonna have diatoms, and if you have diatoms silica is present.
Now, this isn’t something bad, I dose silica when diatoms aren’t present, so does Randy although I do not know his schedule. Silica is also used by sponges and other organisms and can be healthy for a reef tank. Also, it’s consumed really fast as shown in this article by Randy.
Silica can enter an aquarium via water changes (salt mixes do have silica present) and via RO water. A reverse osmosis membrane do not filter silica out (in the form of silicic acid) very well, the resin will. So a resin that’s beginning to get exhausted will let silica through. Not only will it let it through, it will leach the silicic acid trapped, so expect a burst of silicate as a first sign of a exhausted resin.
From Randy’s article about RO/DI systems:
“It turns out that silicate is found at the lower end of affinity for anion resins. Consequently, if the DI resin has been collecting silicate for a long period and is then depleted, a large burst of silicate may be released.”
By the way, this fast usage of the silica in an aquarium also means that it won’t get trapped in a sand bed in any usable form, so that’s not your problem here if indeed what’s growing are diatoms.
If you want to get rid of this, your culprits might be your salt mix (which I’m guessing you didn’t change), a higher frequency of water changes (which also I’m guessing you didn’t change) and the water you are using.
You said you are using water from someone else, and you trust them. I’m not questioning they knowledge, just letting you know that the resin they use is probably beginning to exhaust just now, and this would be the first sign of it. Furthermore, they may not even consider it a problem, as I said before, some people dose silicates.
As a bit of extra information, the discrepancy about disturbing or not the sand bed is because in anoxic places (more common in deep sand beds) hydrogen sulfide may form, which is highly highly toxic and if much of it is released it may kill your whole tank.
Hydrogen sulfide reacts with oxygen, so it’s a good practice if you are gonna disturb the sand bed to do it when oxygen is highest, after midday in your tank. This correlates when pH is highest in your tank.
Most sand beds today aren’t really deep so there isn’t a lot of risk of this happening, but another good idea is to, if you are gonna do it, disturb the sand bed by sections, and not all of it at the same time.
You can read more about hydrogen sulfide in yet another great article by Randy.
Lastly, and as a bit of anecdotal information, I’ve have a sand bed for over 20 years and I do not siphon it. I might occasionally disturb sections of it. The only algae’s present in my system are coralline algae and diatoms, mostly in the glass.
But then again I’m well aware this is anecdotal information, and as such is not worth much. Everyone here should keep that in mind about their own experiences too.
This thread expands on this.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/r...-experience-to-accept-or-reject-truth.368374/
Good luck and keep us posted!
It’s always nice to have a conclusion to a thread!
Yes, they probably are diatoms, what color is the film algae in your glass when you clean it? Green or brown? If it’s brown then it’s almost certainly diatoms.
Diatoms are a kind of unicellular algae that has the characteristic of having an outer silica shell, so they need silica to grow, contrary to other algae. They are really fast growers, and for this reason they are dominant where silica is present, like river estuaries. They actually produce 20% of the oxygen around the world.
Why am I telling you this? Simply to let you know that if you have silica in your aquarium you are gonna have diatoms, and if you have diatoms silica is present.
Now, this isn’t something bad, I dose silica when diatoms aren’t present, so does Randy although I do not know his schedule. Silica is also used by sponges and other organisms and can be healthy for a reef tank. Also, it’s consumed really fast as shown in this article by Randy.
Silica can enter an aquarium via water changes (salt mixes do have silica present) and via RO water. A reverse osmosis membrane do not filter silica out (in the form of silicic acid) very well, the resin will. So a resin that’s beginning to get exhausted will let silica through. Not only will it let it through, it will leach the silicic acid trapped, so expect a burst of silicate as a first sign of a exhausted resin.
From Randy’s article about RO/DI systems:
“It turns out that silicate is found at the lower end of affinity for anion resins. Consequently, if the DI resin has been collecting silicate for a long period and is then depleted, a large burst of silicate may be released.”
By the way, this fast usage of the silica in an aquarium also means that it won’t get trapped in a sand bed in any usable form, so that’s not your problem here if indeed what’s growing are diatoms.
If you want to get rid of this, your culprits might be your salt mix (which I’m guessing you didn’t change), a higher frequency of water changes (which also I’m guessing you didn’t change) and the water you are using.
You said you are using water from someone else, and you trust them. I’m not questioning they knowledge, just letting you know that the resin they use is probably beginning to exhaust just now, and this would be the first sign of it. Furthermore, they may not even consider it a problem, as I said before, some people dose silicates.
As a bit of extra information, the discrepancy about disturbing or not the sand bed is because in anoxic places (more common in deep sand beds) hydrogen sulfide may form, which is highly highly toxic and if much of it is released it may kill your whole tank.
Hydrogen sulfide reacts with oxygen, so it’s a good practice if you are gonna disturb the sand bed to do it when oxygen is highest, after midday in your tank. This correlates when pH is highest in your tank.
Most sand beds today aren’t really deep so there isn’t a lot of risk of this happening, but another good idea is to, if you are gonna do it, disturb the sand bed by sections, and not all of it at the same time.
You can read more about hydrogen sulfide in yet another great article by Randy.
Lastly, and as a bit of anecdotal information, I’ve have a sand bed for over 20 years and I do not siphon it. I might occasionally disturb sections of it. The only algae’s present in my system are coralline algae and diatoms, mostly in the glass.
But then again I’m well aware this is anecdotal information, and as such is not worth much. Everyone here should keep that in mind about their own experiences too.
This thread expands on this.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/r...-experience-to-accept-or-reject-truth.368374/
Good luck and keep us posted!
It’s always nice to have a conclusion to a thread!
Indiana Reefin
Active Member
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Wow! Thank you for all that info, that is really appreciated. I took a photo of the 'hairy algae' but it did not show the hair. The video worked better as it shows the movement but my MP4 format was rejected. I cannot find any reference as to what I need to convert the video to, f(it to be allowed here), it's only a few seconds long!
Ya, I was not criticizing anyone knowledge or "correctness" of their answer. Simply remarking that without justification is hard for the one asking the question to choose between all the answers. Sorry if I came out harsh or diminishing. I agreed with your answer, I only expanded it.
I wanna add another couple possible sources of silica that I previously left out were foods and additives. Randy expands on this in his article. Even if they might now be diatoms, so the information is complete for future reference.
Thanks. Ya, with a microscope will be really easy to say if they are diatoms or something else.
I have managed to get the microscope images of this now.
However, I should firstly say that the microscope is poor as are its images
and secondly, I was unable to suck the stuff off the sand - it just disappeared when I sucked it up - so this is a little bit from the rock that looks the same.
Can anyone ID this for me from such poor images please?
However, I should firstly say that the microscope is poor as are its images
and secondly, I was unable to suck the stuff off the sand - it just disappeared when I sucked it up - so this is a little bit from the rock that looks the same.
Can anyone ID this for me from such poor images please?
rkpetersen
walked the sand with the crustaceans
It's pretty low magnification, but that looks like a mix of cyanobacteria (long threads) and dinoflagellates (small round/oval spots that move.)
