Need help - what the heck is going on here?

[jkobel]

Really not sure whats happening in my tank.

2.5 months ago, I had GHA all over the back of my tank, it was 100% covered. I went out of town for a few days and when i came home it was 100% gone but the sand bed was now covered with what looked like some type of pink/purple detritus. I tried to vacuum it up but its fairly clumpy and basically just gets stirred around.

Now, here I am 2.5 months later and the layer of this gunk is getting thicker and its everywhere, not just on the sand. its on the rocks, its stuck in the GHA, its everywhere.

Lately, I have been noticing that every day there is a layer of what look like gains of sand around the bottom few inches of the glass. I can easily clean it with my glass cleaner and the next day its back. Im starting to wonder if its actually an organism that is coming us form the sand and that is making me wonder if this stuff all over the sand is the same thing. My eyesight is not sharp enough to be able to get a good look at whats on the glass.

Has anyone seen/experienced this? All corals are healthy and growing (mostly sps). Only a couple fish in here as I'm dealing with the aftermath of an ich outbreak.

current params:
Alk - 8.6
Ca - 434
Mg - 1390
Phos - 0.0
Nitrate - 0.0
Ph - 7.99
Temp - 78.1
Sal - 1.026

Alk, Ca, phos, Nitrate all Hanna. Mg is RedSea.

I am aware the phos/nitrate is too low, the GHA is consuming it too fast. I'll be dosing Reef flux tomorrow to start the next phase of the battle agains that.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

could be spirobid worms or snail eggs

 

[DE FISH]

Possible invasive sponge ?

 

[Lavey29]

Is your sand hard? Looks calcified. Perhaps cyano has attached to the calcified sand.

 

[Double monti 61]

Maybe you need a clean up crew?

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Have you checked to see if something is putting this stuff out throughout the day/at night? Normally I would say it looks like snail eggs too, but to have this quantity of snail eggs would be insane. It honestly looks like coral eggs to me, but I haven't heard of corals spawning in aquaria with anywhere near the regularity described by the OP.

 

[jabberwock]

I have no idea. Suggest you post a full tank shot for additional information.

 

[jkobel]

Is your sand hard? Looks calcified. Perhaps cyano has attached to the calcified sand

Its not hard but it is kind of connected to each other. Almost like a loose mat.

 

[jkobel]

Have you checked to see if something is putting this stuff out throughout the day/at night? Normally I would say it looks like snail eggs too, but to have this quantity of snail eggs would be insane. It honestly looks like coral eggs to me, but I haven't heard of corals spawning in aquaria with anywhere near the regularity described by the OP.

I'll have to try to get a look at off hours. If I clean it off before bed, its back by the time the lights come on the next day (2pm). I'm not certain if its happening overnight or daytime - pre 2pm.

 

[SaJon]

Really not sure whats happening in my tank.

2.5 months ago, I had GHA all over the back of my tank, it was 100% covered. I went out of town for a few days and when i came home it was 100% gone but the sand bed was now covered with what looked like some type of pink/purple detritus. I tried to vacuum it up but its fairly clumpy and basically just gets stirred around.

Now, here I am 2.5 months later and the layer of this gunk is getting thicker and its everywhere, not just on the sand. its on the rocks, its stuck in the GHA, its everywhere.

Lately, I have been noticing that every day there is a layer of what look like gains of sand around the bottom few inches of the glass. I can easily clean it with my glass cleaner and the next day its back. Im starting to wonder if its actually an organism that is coming us form the sand and that is making me wonder if this stuff all over the sand is the same thing. My eyesight is not sharp enough to be able to get a good look at whats on the glass.

Has anyone seen/experienced this? All corals are healthy and growing (mostly sps). Only a couple fish in here as I'm dealing with the aftermath of an ich outbreak.

current params:
Alk - 8.6
Ca - 434
Mg - 1390
Phos - 0.0
Nitrate - 0.0
Ph - 7.99
Temp - 78.1
Sal - 1.026

Alk, Ca, phos, Nitrate all Hanna. Mg is RedSea.

I am aware the phos/nitrate is too low, the GHA is consuming it too fast. I'll be dosing Reef flux tomorrow to start the next phase of the battle agains that.

Hey.. First you are showing Nitrates 0 and Phosphates 0 , you need to have Nitrates and Phosphates in your system to help stabilize it. Also, hiw are you mixing your saltwater, have you noticed any precipitation? Sometimes precipitation can cause sand to clump and stick together. If your running a skimmer , how often? You may need to cut back on your export and allow some nutrients to build up. Nit high but you do need some balance.

 

[jkobel]

FTS attached.

I have pointed to some of these that are larger and definitely tiny snails.

All the other stuff near the bottom looks like grains of sand. Its almost like if static electricity was a thing under water and getting these to cling to the inside glass.

 

[jkobel]

Hey.. First you are showing Nitrates 0 and Phosphates 0 , you need to have Nitrates and Phosphates in your system to help stabilize it. Also, hiw are you mixing your saltwater, have you noticed any precipitation? Sometimes precipitation can cause sand to clump and stick together. If your running a skimmer , how often? You may need to cut back on your export and allow some nutrients to build up. Nit high but you do need some balance.

I mix salt water in a brute bucket. Never noticed any precipitation. I mix it to 1.026.

The idea of precipitation from Alk/Ca two part came to mind but my levels are correct and I was thinking that the precipitation would be white. not pink/purple.

 

[fish farmer]

What is your flow like near the sand? I'm thinking you need to get more of a cuc and up your flow, manually remove what you can.

Do you have a refugium?

 

[jkobel]

What is your flow like near the sand? I'm thinking you need to get more of a cuc and up your flow, manually remove what you can.

Do you have a refugium?

Flow is low at the sand bed because i have LPS down there and for a while the sane was blowing around until i dialed it in. I use 2 MP40s for flow up top where the SPS are and they seem to be happy.

I have a CUC of hermits, various snails, emerald crabs, peppermint shrimp, etc. I have a conch and Nassarius snails down in the sand bed to stir it up.

I had a sea hare to attack the GHA which i had done in the past with great results. This time, it died after about a week, it was not eating the GHA at all and I was wondering if the stuff that is caught in the GHA makes it unpalatable.

I do have a refugium, 35gal with skimmer and GFO reactor trying to kill off the GHA. I have been growing Cheato down there trying to out strip the GHA but both are flourishing.

 

[SPS2020]

I have those little snails appear whenever my nutrients are where they should be.

 

[jkobel]

I have those little snails appear whenever my nutrients are where they should be.

do you know what they are called?

 

[SPS2020]

do you know what they are called?

Collonista Snail​

Description almost at the bottom of the page. They are harmless, but annoying (lol).

Better info here

 

[jkobel]

Collonista Snail​

Description almost at the bottom of the page. They are harmless, but annoying (lol).

Better info here

Thx for the input, so maybe the other tiny flakes are the same thing but younger?

Does anyone know what this stuff covering everything might be?

 

[SPS2020]

Assuming they are as the little suckers can be quite small. If they move about (slowly) throughout the day, then that's probably what they are.

 

[jkobel]

Assuming they are as the little suckers can be quite small. If they move about (slowly) throughout the day, then that's probably what they are.

This does not seem to move at all. I was wondering if its some sort of Ca/Alk precipitate but why would that be purple or pink and not white?