Cycling - Pink Patch on Sand

[lucidblue]

First post in the forum and this is my first saltwater aquarium. I haven't had time to start my build thread yet. I'm cycling and just started to notice some pink patches on the sand. Here's some background about where I'm at.

• Waterbox Frag 85.3 w/their sump & plumbing (54g display / 30g sump)
• Sand: 1" CaribSea aragonite special grade sand / Rock: 27 lbs live wet rock purple rock (can't remember what kind from LFS), 3 lbs live wet Jakarta rock, 4 lbs white wet live rock1 (not sure what kind), 1 lb dry branch rock, 3 lbs CaribSea dry LifeRock
• Sunday 7/24: sand, rock and water went in, but had to pause plans because return section on sump was leaking into ATO section. Had to turn off pump, empty return section and silicone. Let dry 48 hours and put air stone in tank to keep some flow going and moved heater to DT.
• Tuesday evening 7/26: Water back in return section, pump back on and let it run overnight to test seal - all good. No filter socks or sponges and tank lights off per BRS beginner guide. Still waiting for powerheads to arrive (should be here tomorrow).
• Wednesday 7/27: Added Fritz Turbostart 900 & later 2 ocellaris clownfish. 8:30pm: ammonia possibly very slightly above 0
• Today: ammonia 0 / nitrite 0 / pH somewhere between 8.0 - 8.2. With ammonia 0, I was expecting seeing nitrites, but no color on the test.

I'm using the Red Sea Marine Care test kit. Water is crystal clear and pretty much has been the whole time. I just noticed a patch of pink (almost a perfect circle) on the sand next to the Jakarta rock. From all the videos I've watched and what I've read I wasn't expecting this in the first couple of days. Was also expecting to see nitrites with ammonia at 0. Should I start testing nitrates? Do I ignore the red patch for now? I think the videos I've watched said to avoid water changes during Nitrogen Cycle if possible. Appreciate any advice!

Tank lights not set up yet, so ignore the room reflection.

 

[Spare time]

I'm not sure what the pink patch is, but you shouldn't see nitrite or ammonia with live rock and cycling bacteria. Btw if the rock is live and filled with coralline, you might want to have a tiny bit of light. Ambient light might be ok

 

[Tiki_Reef]

Do you see any little air buddle forming on the surface of the sand where the pink patch is or down under the sand where the pink patch is? It could possibly be a bit of cyano. Can we get a closer pic?

 

[lucidblue]

Do you see any little air buddle forming on the surface of the sand where the pink patch is or down under the sand where the pink patch is? It could possibly be a bit of cyano. Can we get a closer pic?

The patch grew overnight. Here's closer up. Toward the back I see a small raised pink ball.

 

[lucidblue]

I'm not sure what the pink patch is, but you shouldn't see nitrite or ammonia with live rock and cycling bacteria. Btw if the rock is live and filled with coralline, you might want to have a tiny bit of light. Ambient light might be ok

So the purple rock in the tank aside from the branch and the smaller piece behind the front aquascape is man made Real Reef Rock that I bought wet at the LFS (just remembered the name of it), so I don't think there's any real coralline on the rocks yet, but I might be assuming incorrectly.

 

[lucidblue]

I think this is cyano. It's already spread further since this morning. I also noticed that it's in my sump. Powerheads should be here today so that might help in the DT. Also going to get some Microbacter Clean. Should I vac the sand and do a water change or just wait it out?

 

[Spare time]

I think this is cyano. It's already spread further since this morning. I also noticed that it's in my sump. Powerheads should be here today so that might help in the DT. Also going to get some Microbacter Clean. Should I vac the sand and do a water change or just wait it out?

That would be surprised unless the tank is getting some decent light from the room. I also imagine you have so little phosphate in the tank to help fuel them (they can get nitrogen from the atmosphere so 0 nitrate isn't an issue for them). It's not a big deal anyways. If you want to upload a pic of it, I can confirm it for you.

 

[lucidblue]

That would be surprised unless the tank is getting some decent light from the room. I also imagine you have so little phosphate in the tank to help fuel them (they can get nitrogen from the atmosphere so 0 nitrate isn't an issue for them). It's not a big deal anyways. If you want to upload a pic of it, I can confirm it for you.

There are pics further up in the thread. By yesterday afternoon it had spread almost across the entire sand bed. I increased the flow on the return and then left for a few hours. When I got home 1/2 of it was gone. The powerheads finally arrived while I was away, so hooked them up before bed. This morning all the pink is gone. Now I'm just curious about what it was?

 

[D3DPrintedThingz]

That is a lot of sand in your tank