Can anyone give me an ID on this please ?

[jameswetton2895]

 

[TheEngineer]

Is this a new tank? Looks like diatoms.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

I agree. It looks like live rock though. Are you using a lot of dry rock too? Source water can be an issue as well.

 

[jameswetton2895]

I'm using RO/DI water from lfs
It's all real reef rock, tank was set up about 4 months ago. I kind of had a mild diatom stage that burnt off. I recently started dosing half dose of nopox.

 

[jameswetton2895]

This was earlier today. I syphoned as much out as possible and stirred the rest up to hopefully go down the overflow.

 

[Bunnee911]

Check your water source.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

could be ditoms from silicate in the "real reef rock" if it want cured, also could be a cyano from the No pox. No pox is a bacteria food.(carbon dosing)

either way, just ugly phase stuff, it'l pass...

 

[jameswetton2895]

could be ditoms from silicate in the "real reef rock" if it want cured, also could be a cyano from the No pox. No pox is a bacteria food.(carbon dosing)

either way, just ugly phase stuff, it'l pass...

So you don't think that it will harm any livestock. Or that I need to worry about any actual treatment. I did think it might be dinos ??

 

[jameswetton2895]

Check your water source.

Always get 0 Tds

 

[TheEngineer]

could be ditoms from silicate in the "real reef rock" if it want cured, also could be a cyano from the No pox. No pox is a bacteria food.(carbon dosing)

either way, just ugly phase stuff, it'l pass...

+1. I wouldn't go chasing anything to fix it. It will resolve on its own.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

So you don't think that it will harm any livestock.

nope.

Or that I need to worry about any actual treatment.

nope, unless it persists. then you need to find a source. You could try a bag of gfo over the return pump. itll pull the silicate out.
Assuming its dinos. Hard to tell from pics but it does look like it,

Always get 0 Tds

One other user here with same scenario,
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/why-is-my-sand-still-brown.287970/page-3

 

[jameswetton2895]

nope.

nope, unless it persists. then you need to find a source. You could try a bag of gfo over the return pump. itll pull the silicate out.
Assuming its dinos. Hard to tell from pics but it does look like it,

One other user here with same scenario,
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/why-is-my-sand-still-brown.287970/page-3

His looks very dusty, typical of diatoms. Mine seems thicker and more silky.

 

[jameswetton2895]

nope.

nope, unless it persists. then you need to find a source. You could try a bag of gfo over the return pump. itll pull the silicate out.
Assuming its dinos. Hard to tell from pics but it does look like it,

One other user here with same scenario,
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/why-is-my-sand-still-brown.287970/page-3

Got gfo reactor already. Always get a reading of 0 phosphate and 0 nitrate

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

His looks very dusty, typical of diatoms. Mine seems thicker and more silky.

Not surprising. But Id still stay natural at this point and wait. this works for all of them.
Stop carbon dosing. Double check feeding amount. Use good bacteria supplement. Check that the Ph is is and stays above 8(don't use a buffer use air or kalk to boost)

Always get a reading of 0 phosphate and 0 nitrate

Not sure why you wold be using it then honestly. coral does need detectable amounts. and if its stripping the wc hard the Po4 reading is inaccurate(as its being stripped from the water column being tested).
But on the upside its probably not a silicate problem, unless its in the added water. see the posted link, he was on rodi 0 tds as well..

 

[jameswetton2895]

Not surprising. But Id still stay natural at this point and wait. this works for all of them.
Stop carbon dosing. Double check feeding amount. Use good bacteria supplement. Check that the Ph is is and stays above 8(don't use a buffer use air or kalk to boost)

Not sure why you wold be using it then honestly. coral does need detectable amounts. and if its stripping the wc hard the Po4 reading is inaccurate(as its being stripped from the water column being tested).
But on the upside its probably not a silicate problem, unless its in the added water. see the posted link, he was on rodi 0 tds as well..

Sorry 0 phosphate and less than 1 ppm of nitrate. Just was using it to make sure it didn't rise really.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Sorry 0 phosphate and less than 1 ppm of nitrate. Just was using it to make sure it didn't rise really.

keep in mind absolute 0 is not a good thing. and depending on accuracy of your test it can vary. corals need varying amounts of nutrints. No nutrints means no food. ULNS Ultra Low Nutrient Systems. can be tricky and IMO best left to an experienced reefer, or even then one with specific livestock needs.

 

[jameswetton2895]

keep in mind absolute 0 is not a good thing. and depending on accuracy of your test it can vary. corals need varying amounts of nutrints. No nutrints means no food. ULNS Ultra Low Nutrient Systems. can be tricky and IMO best left to an experienced reefer, or even then one with specific livestock needs.

I'm using Red Sea nitrate test kit and salifert phosphate. I doubt that it is absolute 0 just not showing on the test kit. I'm feeding heavy and this stuff is growing so must be nutrients

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

I'm feeding heavy

I would avoid that, esp in a new tank.

stuff is growing so must be nutrients

not necessarily. It can actually feed directly from the dissolved(rotting) solids in the tank.(thus the my feeding stance)
Also before there were a lot of organic nutrients on the planet cyanobacterias developed a strategy of feeding of of co2 alone by photosynthesis and giving off O2. So if the Ph is low you have a lot of C02 in the system.
Organics rotting in the sand as well as the nitrifying bacterias and aragonite in the sand is also giving off Co2 as well. (thus check Ph)

 

[jameswetton2895]

I would avoid that, esp in a new tank.

not necessarily. It can actually feed directly from the dissolved(rotting) solids in the tank.(thus the my feeding stance)
Also before there were a lot of organic nutrients on the planet cyanobacterias developed a strategy of feeding of of co2 alone by photosynthesis and giving off O2. So if the Ph is low you have a lot of C02 in the system.
Organics rotting in the sand as well as the nitrifying bacterias and aragonite in the sand is also giving off Co2 as well. (thus check Ph)

Surely if I was feeding too much I would get nitrate ? Ph is 8.1

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Surely if I was feeding too much I would get nitrate ? Ph is 8.1

yes you are also carbon dosing. So in a way its actually working pretty well.
Is that the lowest the Ph runs? Ie at night etc.