Got a serious ?

coldhybrid · Mar 9, 2013

Im running a 20gal bare bottom tank with 10gal sump Params are Nitrite 0 Nitrate 0 Nitrate .5 Phos. 0 temp 79 dkh 9 calcium 490 Flow is not a problem in this tank prolly too much tbh bioload very light only 1 fish 2 baby serpent stars 3 hermits 12 turbos. Heres the problem i just done a water change 2 days ago and cleaned my sump completely of this brown stuff. Now my entire display bottom and sump is covered with it again its on the sides of some of my favia pieces. What is it? i run biopellets but at a very low dose its brown and kinda looks like fish poo but its not that.

GHill762 · Mar 9, 2013

Sounds like diatoms, if so they'll pass with time. Is this a relatively new tank?

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coldhybrid · Mar 9, 2013

its not diatoms its clumpy looking hard to describe the tank has been up for over 10mths

coldhybrid · Mar 9, 2013

you can pick it up like algae but its not algae it just kinda crumbles when you try to break the surface its only on the bottom of display blowing across the glass and in the sump

GHill762 · Mar 9, 2013

Brown cyano? Can you get a pic?

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GHill762 · Mar 9, 2013

Cyano would make sense too with the biopellets.. isn't that like carbon dosing?

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Squishie89 · Mar 9, 2013

Could we see some pictures? And how much rock do you have in the tank and was/is it fully cured live rock?

coldhybrid · Mar 10, 2013

first pic is in the display

2nd pic is the sump covered with it

this one is some i sucked out with a turkey baster

coldhybrid · Mar 10, 2013

any ideas?

SeahorseKeeper · Mar 10, 2013

Can you take a pic a little further away?

coldhybrid · Mar 10, 2013

the glare from the halide make it next to impossible but ill try

coldhybrid · Mar 10, 2013

mike007 · Mar 10, 2013

Could be a algae bloom caued by the pellets. I carbon dose with nopox and i had a bloom so i reduced the dosing and it went away.

coldhybrid · Mar 10, 2013

then why would it be in the sump as well its not on the rock or glass just on the bottom of the tank and it started doing it before i ran biopellets as well