Brown sand?

[reefnewbie_ga]

Okie dokie....well it's been a week now since I've added my first fish to get cycle started and for the past 3 days my sand surface and some of my LR is turning Brown....is this a diff form of alage? and how would I get rid of it?

 

[gwhiz]

Yep. Just vacuum what you can from the sand during water changes...this too will pass.....

 

[ericmcj31]

sounds like cyanobacteria (which actually is a bacteria, not algae, but resembles algae well) or diatoms--they are a normal part of your tank cycling--just keep lights to a minimum, be sure to use RODI water with 0 or really low TDS readings, do frequent water changes (10-15% per change about 2-3 times per week) and will make the cycle go a little quicker--I left my lights off for 2 days straight and it eventually went away--if you have corals youcan't do that, though--but you should have anything in there if your tank is only a week old; when you do get fish, don't overfeed, as the leftover food contributes to phosphates which feed the cyano.--just take your tank slow-hurrying is a BIG mistake new tank builders make--hope this helps

 

[reefnewbie_ga]

Geehh;119582 wrote: Yep. Just vacuum what you can from the sand during water changes...this too will pass.....

Ah hah....I haven't done a water change yet! So that brings up another thought being that the cycle has started; how soon is too soon to do first water change and how often?

 

[ericmcj31]

At first, I don't think you can do too many WC's--I'd do 10-20% total water volume--have you tested your water?

 

[reefnewbie_ga]

ericmcj31;119586 wrote: At first, I don't think you can do too many WC's--I'd do 10-20% total water volume--have you tested your water?

Tommorow Im going to local pet store to get a delux test kit......

 

[ericmcj31]

Salifert is the best, but cost big $$$--

 

[ericmcj31]

Oh, and be aware that your tests may be thrown off-because the algae (or cyanobacteria) are feeding off these excess things (nitrates, phosphates, etc.) so you may be getting a false reading (especially if it says everything is 0) but testing is still something that you NEED to do. Just stick with your WC's and watch overfeeding and lights

 

[reefnewbie_ga]

ericmcj31;119591 wrote: Oh, and be aware that your tests may be thrown off-because the algae (or cyanobacteria) are feeding off these excess things (nitrates, phosphates, etc.) so you may be getting a false reading (especially if it says everything is 0) but testing is still something that you NEED to do. Just stick with your WC's and watch overfeeding and lights

shure will do thnx!

 

[ericmcj31]

no prob. HTH