Noob here. What is this?

[g.knight]

Hey, everyone.

New guy here. I’ve noticed over the last couple days some brown spots in the sand of my tank and small spots on some of the rock as well. is this a “diatom” that I’ve read about? Any help would be great.

For informational purposes: Ammonia is between 0.0-0.25, Nitrites are 0, Nitrate is between 0-5.0. PH is 7.8-8.0 and salinity is 1.023.

Thanks for the help!

 

[Oscar47f]

Looks like diatoms, they will go away as the tank matures slowly !

 

[SaltyCupcake]

+1 on diatoms. 100% normal and part of the tank maturing process.

 

[BighohoReef]

+2 diatoms, you will get more and then it'll disappear. Where are you in your cycle time? Clean up crew will help manage that as well.

 

[g.knight]

Thanks for confirming my suspicion, everyone! As a noob, and an obsessive one at that, there’s always a nagging feeling I’ve goobered something up along the way!

This is week 3. I’ve seen the ammonia spike come and go. Never saw any nitrites. My nitrates seem to be where they should be. Hope that answers the cycle time question sufficiently?

Seriously though, you guys are awesome. I’ve never been on a forum that’s this responsive and positive! Thanks for the feedback!