Sand???

[rainetheiceman]

I noticed this brown stuff on my live sand today???? Any ideas??? New tank almost 2 months old..

 

[mojoreef]

Ice man its a little cyano, pretty typical for newly setup tanks with sandbeds. Probibly the result of some bacterial build up that died off after the initail cycle. you will probibly see it come and go for a little while


Mike

 

[cdeakle]

Yup, looks like cyano to me as well. If your really worried about it you can use Chemi-Clean. Or just siphon it out with your water changes....

 

[rainetheiceman]

Thanks for the speedy reply!!! Do you think I should remove this??

 

[captivereefs]

I always leave it. You can either remove it or leave it. It grows back so fast that it almost becomes a chore. It should go away on its own in about 2-4 months.

 

[rainetheiceman]

Is it safe for livestock?? Better to leave or vac???

 

[cdeakle]

If you boost up circulation that will help out. Also having a really good skimmer helps. Do you use RO/DI or RO water for water changes? What kind of water did you start your tank out with?

I would remove it with your normal maintenance. Nuisance algae is an ongoing battle for reefers, get used to it

 

[captivereefs]

The first year of a tanks life you will experiance periodic algae blooms. This is normal and nothing to be alramed about. You can either remove it or leave it. It will not harm the livestock at all; it just looks kinda bad.

 

[Ray Pollett]

First that is not cyno. It is a brown algae that most new tanks go thru. It is not harmful in my opinion. As your tank matures, and you do proper water changes it will decrease or even go away.

Ray

 

[cdeakle]

"Brown Algae" is very vague. Could be Diatoms but looks more like cyano to me. Cyano comes in many colors and isn't necessarily always red, can be brown also.....