Help with ID

[BillyKVT]

Hello all.

I was wondering if you wonderful folks would be able to help me identify what this is. I am relatively new to the hobby. This is my first tank (20gal) - about 6 months old. I am currently in the process of upgrading to a 60 gal w/sump pending the arrival of the tank.

I've attached some pics and videos. I appreciate the help ahead of time!

Water Parameters:
pH 8.1
PO4 = 0.01
Nitrate = Undetectable on salifert

(did 50% water change two days ago after having let it sit for about a month thinking it was dinos)
Alk = 8.3 - 8.6 (still trying to dial down kalk dosage to keep alk constant)
Temp = 78 F

Happy reefing.

 

[Saltyreef]

good news,
your tank is going through its beginning stages.

Bad news, you have to clean the glass everyday.

 

[BillyKVT]

good news,
your tank is going through its beginning stages.

Bad news, you have to clean the glass everyday.

Great! And thanks for the peace of mind

So what are they? Diatoms?

 

[Saltyreef]

Yep diatoms on the sandbed.
Likely the same on the glass.

Theyll go away on their own with tank maturity.

 

[BillyKVT]

Yep diatoms on the sandbed.
Likely the same on the glass.

Theyll go away on their own with tank maturity.

Thank you so much saltyreef!

 

[Pistol Peet]

Great! And thanks for the peace of mind

So what are they? Diatoms?

I'm not positive on what they are but agree with the previous post. Called the ugly stage. If you scrap your glass and hold a siphoning hose with your scraper you should be able to scrape and remove it at the same time.

 

[BillyKVT]

I'm not positive on what they are but agree with the previous post. Called the ugly stage. If you scrap your glass and hold a siphoning hose with your scraper you should be able to scrape and remove it at the same time.

That's a great idea! I used a soft tooth brush the other day with extra caution to take it off of corals (zoas were covered and not opening up). Corals seem fine now but they quickly, overnight, reappear on all glass surfaces.

 

[Pistol Peet]

That's a great idea! I used a soft tooth brush the other day with extra caution to take it off of corals (zoas were covered and not opening up). Corals seem fine now but they quickly, overnight, reappear on all glass surfaces.

Yeah I'd scrape and siphon at the same time even have somebody else on the siphoning hose for you if need be glad to be of some service hope this helps I'm one of those people that wouldn't like to look at it on my glass either so I'd be scraping and siphoning every day so I don't have to look at it

 

[BillyKVT]

Yeah I'd scrape and siphon at the same time even have somebody else on the siphoning hose for you if need be glad to be of some service hope this helps I'm one of those people that wouldn't like to look at it on my glass either so I'd be scraping and siphoning every day so I don't have to look at it

Yea it's counterintuitive having a reef tank that looks like a swamp, lol. Thanks so much for your advice. Much appreciated!

 

[Saltyreef]

Its actually best to leave them in the water column after scraping.
Diatoms are so much better than some other unsightly and toxic growths and will outcompete most of the stuff you really dont want.

They'll knock back to normal unseen levels once you start adding other beneficial microfauna and build your biodiversity.

 

[Pistol Peet]

also good luck with the new upgrade on your tank going bigger it is very easy to get this reefing bug especially once you start adding your corals how amazing it looks and seeing your hard work pay off just know in this hobby there are ups and downs and they say that nothing good happens fast as in overnight patience is the key. There is a endless amount of information out there.

 

[BillyKVT]

Its actually best to leave them in the water column after scraping.
Diatoms are so much better than some other unsightly and toxic growths and will outcompete most of the stuff you really dont want.

They'll knock back to normal unseen levels once you start adding other beneficial microfauna and build your biodiversity.

Makes sense. From what I've read they go away on their own eventually as you mentioned. I'll keep scraping without removing and possibly siphon the sand bed if it gets out of hand. Any idea how long they usually last for? I want to say it's been about three weeks to a month.

 

[Pistol Peet]

Salty Reef might be 100% correct on that I'm not positive as I don't know a whole lot about diatoms I'm only two years into my reefing and haven't ran into the problem as far as I know just how I go about cleaning my glass without gunk floating around.

 

[BillyKVT]

also good luck with the new upgrade on your tank going bigger it is very easy to get this reefing bug especially once you start adding your corals how amazing it looks and seeing your hard work pay off just know in this hobby there are ups and downs and they say that nothing good happens fast as in overnight patience is the key. There is a endless amount of information out there.

Yea I started out thinking "learn on a small tank and then upgrade". Boy was I wrong. Keeping parameters stable is a nightmare! Also I hate having to stare at all of the equipment. Check out my build thread. Tank should be coming in within a week or two and I'll be getting started. Would love to have people tag along and give me tips as I carry through with it.

 

[Pistol Peet]

One last thing that has helped me tremendously is having a UV sterilizer this may be controversial to some I've had amazing results with it if you can ever afford to grab one of them definitely do it.

 

[Saltyreef]

It just really depends.
Some systems if setup correctly with live established substrate and media sometimes wont even have a diatom bloom upon initial start up.
Its kinda like working out to lose weight, but never really addressing diet which is 80% of weight loss.
Most people are trying to keep things out of their tanks that are actually beneficial for the biome as a whole.

 

[BillyKVT]

One last thing that has helped me tremendously is having a UV sterilizer this may be controversial to some I've had amazing results with it if you can ever afford to grab one of them definitely do it.

Yea I have one atm but it hasn't really done much for me. I've been playing around with the water flow through it hoping it just isn't calibrated to my pump/system.

 

[BillyKVT]

It just really depends.
Some systems if setup correctly with live established substrate and media sometimes wont even have a diatom bloom upon initial start up.
Its kinda like working out to lose weight, but never really addressing diet which is 80% of weight loss.
Most people are trying to keep things out of their tanks that are actually beneficial for the biome as a whole.

I'm all about patience - I like letting things run their course. It's just out of curiosity that I ask. If it isn't harming anything then scraping it every night is no biggie. Thank you so much for all your help again!

 

[Saltyreef]

One last thing that has helped me tremendously is having a UV sterilizer this may be controversial to some I've had amazing results with it if you can ever afford to grab one of them definitely do it.

I would not recommend a UV sterelizer on such a new tank with no goal or directive for the future.
It might even be counter productive in establishing a wide array of biodiversity in his unestablished tank.

 

[BillyKVT]

I would not recommend a UV sterelizer on such a new tank with no goal or directive for the future.
It might even be counter productive in establishing a wide array of biodiversity in his unestablished tank.

Is all the encrusted green algae, on my rock, coralline?