Please help, I need identification and remedy

[RWSKY]

Please help me identify what I believe is a nuisance algae of some type, and how to get rid of it. It primarily hangs out on the sand bed, but does creep up some of the rock structure and Coral. At night it goes away completely on the sand, and the bed turns white. As soon as the lights comes on, and through throughout the day, it gets darker and more intense and comes to life. Primarily a rusty, brown orange coloration. I am at a loss. Thank you for any help.

 

[therootcause]

It's most likely dinoflagellates, aka dinos. Is the tank new, maybe about 4-5 months old?

 

[Kristopher Conlin]

Looks more like diatoms to me.

 

[therootcause]

Looks more like diatoms to me.

Do diatoms typically go away completely at night with sand bed turning white?

 

[Kristopher Conlin]

Do diatoms typically go away completely at night with sand bed turning white?

From my experience they recede quite a bit at night. They are photosynthetic after all.

 

[Court_Appointed_Hypeman]

Diatoms should not recede at night to return when lighta are on.

 

[RWSKY]

The tank is roughly 3 years old. Everything was immaculate until the nitrates got down to what looked like complete zero and this started appearing in the corners. It has since spread across the tank. I’ve worked on getting the nitrates back up and counterbalancing it with beneficial bacteria like I’ve done in the past, but no luck.

 

[saltyhog]

The tank is roughly 3 years old. Everything was immaculate until the nitrates got down to what looked like complete zero and this started appearing in the corners. It has since spread across the tank. I’ve worked on getting the nitrates back up and counterbalancing it with beneficial bacteria like I’ve done in the past, but no luck.

Can you get access to a microscope? That would be the best way to tell what you're dealing with. Even if we knew for sure that it was dinos, that's not enough information to recommend the best treatment. What type of dino is important also.

 

[RWSKY]

Can you get access to a microscope? That would be the best way to tell what you're dealing with. Even if we knew for sure that it was dinos, that's not enough information to recommend the best treatment. What type of dino is important also.

If it came down to it, I’m sure I could get one from somewhere. But then it comes down to identifying what I’m looking at.

 

[BradVol]

If it came down to it, I’m sure I could get one from somewhere. But then it comes down to identifying what I’m looking at.

Plenty of people here will help you ID them if you get a microscope. You can take pictures through the view finder with your phone. I got on Facebook Marketplace and found a brand new kids microscope with 300x, 600x, and 1200x for $20. That was plenty to be able to ID what I have.

 

[saltyhog]

Plenty of people here will help you ID them if you get a microscope. You can take pictures through the view finder with your phone. I got on Facebook Marketplace and found a brand new kids microscope with 300x, 600x, and 1200x for $20. That was plenty to be able to ID what I have.

What Brad said.

I really like the Amscope 150. It does a very good job and is affordable. We can talk you through it and help you get useful pictures for ID. Remember, it's also very important for monitoring treatment....especially with silicate treated dinos.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Diatoms should not recede at night to return when lighta are on.

Mine did

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Please help me identify what I believe is a nuisance algae of some type, and how to get rid of it. It primarily hangs out on the sand bed, but does creep up some of the rock structure and Coral. At night it goes away completely on the sand, and the bed turns white. As soon as the lights comes on, and through throughout the day, it gets darker and more intense and comes to life. Primarily a rusty, brown orange coloration. I am at a loss. Thank you for any help.

Appears to be diatoms, but pictures under white lights are needed.