Orange growth in new tank

saltlife26 · Jul 16, 2018

hey all, I’ve been running this tank for a little over two weeks. Just noticed some orange stuff on the sand and live rock. Attached is a pic. Can someone let me know what I’m dealing with? Thanks

hwntunda · Jul 16, 2018

Need a better pic with whites on.

saltlife26 · Jul 16, 2018

hwntunda said:
Need a better pic with whites on.

Here you go

Tuffyyyyy · Jul 16, 2018

Dinos I think

Weikel · Jul 16, 2018

Are you talking about the alage. Its problem diatoms everyone gets it when you start up. Once the diatoms consume your silicates it will disappear. Cuc love that stuff so snails help remove them .anyways dont worry about it its normal... when you read about new tanks going through the uglies this is the first step..

samnaz · Jul 16, 2018

Diatoms. Part of the process, not an emergency.

tiggs · Jul 16, 2018

+1 on diatoms. Welcome to the ugly stages. May they be swift and not horrendously ugly.

saltlife26 · Jul 16, 2018

Thanks all. I called my LFS and he said they were diatoms as well. He suggested picking up some snails to help get rid of them. Anything else I need to be aware of or do?

Idoc · Jul 16, 2018

saltlife26 said:
Thanks all. I called my LFS and he said they were diatoms as well. He suggested picking up some snails to help get rid of them. Anything else I need to be aware of or do?

Just monitor your parameters (ammonia to nitrites to nitrates) in order to tell when your tank is cycled. Then, think about a clean up crew of some cerith, nerite, or astrea snails to help with the algae growths that are going to hit the tank. Keep your lights off during the cycle or else you will end up with a bunch of algae before it's safe to add snails.