Grey algae 2 week old tank

[rhoff]

Hi - just started my tank cycling with live rock and noticed this growing in it. Any ideas on whether or not this is normal and I should just let it run it’s cycle? Thanks for the help!

 

[MaxxuM]

I don't believe it's algae. It's biological/bacterial matter. It will sluff off in a few days to a week.

 

[rhoff]

Thanks - I brushed it off as much as I could with my finger, will see if it comes back again.

 

[MaxxuM]

It probably will come back as bacteria proliferate in the tank. What method are you using to cycle? Bottled bacteria, dead shrimp, ghost feeding?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Looks like a diatom bloom
Are you able to blow it loose with a turkey baster ? If so, Add or increase water flow within the tank.
If not- look at your filtration which may be inadequate.

 

[rhoff]

Looks like a diatom bloom
Are you able to blow it loose with a turkey baster ? If so, Add or increase water flow within the tank.
If not- look at your filtration which may be inadequate.

Yes, it comes off quite easily if i blow some water at it (using a hand pump on a little tube). The tank is the Red Sea E170 setup (45 gal) out of the box right now which has a return pump of 570 gph... thinking about getting that up to 25x flow today as i can see that the out of the box pump is not getting everything off the bottom and into the water column for filtration.

Thanks for the responses... will see how it goes over the next few weeks.