Is my sand dirty?

[danenelsen]

Hello everyone,

I have recently noticed my sand looking dirty. It looks like it is some type of algae, but I'm not sure. Any ideas on what it is and how to clean it?

 

[Yates273]

Pictures under white light will help. Could be a number of things. What are your parameters?

 

[danenelsen]

Pictures under white light will help. Could be a number of things. What are your parameters?

That is white lighting. Testing right now.

 

[danenelsen]

Ph: 8.3
Salinity: 35ppt
Nitrate: 5ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Ammonia: 0ppm
Phosphate: .1

 

[Yates273]

That is white lighting. Testing right now.

Oops those pictures didn’t show up when I was looking.

 

[Yates273]

How old is the tank. Could be diatoms. Doesn’t look bad though.

 

[danenelsen]

How old is the tank. Could be diatoms. Doesn’t look bad though.

I've had the tank up for about 4 months, but I bought it used, so I don't know long it was up before.

 

[Yates273]

It’s a fairly new setup. This is normal and will eventually go away. It’s part of the process.

 

[gbroadbridge]

Hello everyone,

I have recently noticed my sand looking dirty. It looks like it is some type of algae, but I'm not sure. Any ideas on what it is and how to clean it?

Probably diatoms which will go away.

I see a stombus snail (conch). They're pretty good at eating it.
How many do you have?

 

[Paul B]

Your sand is fine. Leave it alone.

 

[danenelsen]

Probably diatoms which will go away.

I see a stombus snail (conch). They're pretty good at eating it.
How many do you have?

Just the one. How many would you recommend? Tank is 55 gallons.