Dusty Algae On Glass....What Exactly Is It

[jonboyb]

My 93 is my 5th reef tank and ironically the only one I have to regularly use a MagFloat to clean the glass. What the heck is this stuff exactly. I had assumed it was along the lines of diatoms since it was a new tank, but I've been running 2 months now and it was a full transfer of 3 running reefs into this tank so any cycle should have been a mini at most. I have a monster CUC and the snails love this stuff, but they don't keep the glass clean enough.

 

[jennm]

Diatoms. Perfectly normal in the first several weeks of establishing a new tank.

Jenn

 

[jonboyb]

I agree...perfectly normal for the first few weeks of a new tank setup.

However, 2 months in and the only new part of this system was the hardware and 20 lbs of sand (seeded with about 20 lbs from my other tanks meticulously rinsed in SW during PWC's). The water (better than 50% anyways), rock, and everything else came from running reefs less than 10 feet away. Nothing was out of the water for more than 30 seconds...LOL. I was never able to track any cycle and never had the normal diatoms on the sandbed. If the dusty stuff is diatoms....it should be gone by now shouldn't it?

 

[jennm]

Every tank is different. Brian set one up in the store on Christmas Eve and he just started seeing diatoms in the last week or so.

Some come within a week or two, some take longer - the tank is trying to find its ionic balance, use up whatever silicate is in the system etc.

When did you first start running lights?

Jenn

 

[jonboyb]

Lights started Dec. 10 and livestock started going in right after that. I basically mixed about 50g of new SW in the tank in early Nov. Pumps and heaters were run throughout the process until full volume when the system return could be turned on. While doing PWC's on other tanks I continued to fill the tank to full volume with the "waste" from other tanks and added sand/LR. Livestock and remaining LR that had attached corals were transferred in mid-late Dec.

 

[jennm]

I still think it's diatoms - you just got them later than some.

I've never seen a new tank that didn't get a diatom bloom at some point in the first couple of months.

Jenn

 

[william1]

I get the daily light green algae on my glass but it is very light becuase I run onzone. Every two days I need to use my magnet. Plus my water is crystal clear I love ozone.

 

[jonboyb]

This is the standard earthy brown color like diatoms. It's not bad either, everything looks clear looking through the glass, you just see it on the adjacent panel very lightly. No big deal running the mag every couple days, just thought it would have been gone by now. Heck...I'm already scraping coraline from the glass and my PH's are going purple:doh:

 

[cr500_af]

Heck, I still get a little bit of diatoms on my glass and my tank is a year old.

 

[mockery]

I had that for ever! Ended up feeding every other day and it went away.

 

[llewella]

I'm struggling with it now. It on the glass, rocks, sand, everywhere. I can vacuum the sand but should I scrub rocks? Is it harmful to corals? Will it go away on its own?

(Sorry to hijack the thread)

 

[wbrown]

my tanks are over a year old, and I still get them. I did just go from deep well water to ro/di, so I expect there were silicates in the deep well I haven't flushed out yet.

 

[rbredding]

I've got no real algae buildup in my 90 (it just started cycling about a month ago) but the bottom 2" of my fuge is completely brown...

I couldnt find a good picture on the internet for comparison, but I believe it's a diatom bloom..

 

[ga_daisy]

My tank is 9 months old....and every couple of days I have to clean the front glass. The good news is, it comes off easily.

 

[tony_caliente]

Woud a UV help irradicate? I have no Nitrates or Phosphates, but I do clean the glass lightly every night.