Is this algae? OR SOMETHING ELSE‽ dun dun dun!

[tidus10]

So this has been developing for a while obviously, all my rock was dry, only live sand.
Tank has been up for 8 months+ now.

They are little white dots, when I use a blade they scape off and look like tiny candy buttons (haven't tasted them, sorry)

Any ideas?
Coraling algae?
Maybe baby snails?

 

[Angel730]

It look like some type of barnacle for some reason. I might be wrong, you should get a UV sterilizer for your tank might help with getting them in control. Coralline algae are more like red, purple, and green.

 

[tidus10]

That was my thought, certainly seems barnacly. I know that coraling algae 'can' come in white but it's not common.

 

[Pappy]

Looks like calcium deposits starting on glass. What does it do when you scrape it with mag float?

 

[tidus10]

When I used a razor it just chipped off easily in small round flakes. Should I change something? Is calcium bad?

 

[Genesis Corals]

Nerite snail eggs if you have them. Mine lay eggs all the time, I have never seen any baby nerites though.

 

[tidus10]

Aaaah I do have a few. I also have had seen some baby snails around here and there... I didn't know they laid eggs

 

[tidus10]

I found a baby snail in my sump.. Or a few of them actually. He's the little white spec

 

[tidus10]

Looking closer more baby snails all over..should I try to remove them? If they die will they create any spikes in my levels

 

[tektite]

They're spirorbid worms.

 

[tidus10]

Yikes that sounds scary

 

[tektite]

More annoying than harmful they're filter feeders so their population goes up and down with available food. If they do die though, their calcified swirly shell is left behind. Hard to tell the difference between live and dead spirorbids.

 

[Intricateart]

They're spirorbid worms.

we have these and the spiral to the their 'shell' is fairly obvious, despite how small they are. If there is a spiral to the shell, they are definitely spirorbid worms.

I vote firmly against a UV as it kills many beneficial things in your tank as well. Furthermore, barnacles aren't actually a bad thing in your tank, a they constantly filter your water. They are hard to keep alive for lack of constant food, so I would be surprised if they were breeding in your setup (certainly not impossible).

 

[Genesis Corals]

we have these and the spiral to the their 'shell' is fairly obvious, despite how small they are. If there is a spiral to the shell, they are definitely spirorbid worms.

I vote firmly against a UV as it kills many beneficial things in your tank as well. Furthermore, barnacles aren't actually a bad thing in your tank, a they constantly filter your water. They are hard to keep alive for lack of constant food, so I would be surprised if they were breeding in your setup (certainly not impossible).

+1, If they have the spiral they are probably the spirorbid worms, if it is smooth like an egg shell then they are probably nerite eggs.