Brown sand?

[noaquariumyet]

i have brown sand growing on top of my white...what is that and how do i get rid of it?

 

[kzlen]

Brown Sand? you mean Brown Algae? usually appears after a complete cycle. "diatom" algae

 

[ross]

Its probably diatoms. If the tank is cycled you can get some sand sifters and a few hermits. They will eat it. As your tank gets older it will go away and you will have different stages of algae. Next will be green on the glass, then hair algae(hopefully you used ro water and won't have any!!). After that, if you have good light and calcium levels you will get coralline algae which is the best.

 

[kzlen]

I wouldnt recommend cleaners till you start seeing some bugs "pods". Then you will be sure the cleaners will survive. Just some advice from a mistake I made, killing my cleaners.

 

[ross]

A cleanup crew doesn't need pods. They eat algae, leftover food, and detritus(fish crap)

 

[kzlen]

I never said they ate pods... . I just said to be safe wait till u see pods. no need to rush it .. JMO

 

[noaquariumyet]

is diatoms the same as cyan b/c my tanks been up for 4 months now
and that forms as a result of high potassium...how can i control potassium?

 

[beaslbob]

Originally posted by noaquariumyet
is diatoms the same as cyan b/c my tanks been up for 4 months now
and that forms as a result of high potassium...how can i control potassium?
you might mean phosphates. But anyway both are plant fertilizer. So in an established system that is balanced, both nitrates and phosphates are being consumed by the plant life.

 

[noaquariumyet]

and if you have no plant life??

 

[kzlen]

Well thats where the quality of the water comes into play, if you do not have plants and arent going to get any, then make sure you are using pure water like ro/di. I switched to good water and my slime algae receeded, as well as my hair algae. Also, reducing the amount of time your lights are on will help too. Make sure you dont have any spots in your tank that isnt getting any water circulation. (dead spots) As far as Diatom algae, my pods are eating mine and they are working on the green algae on the glass now..its amazing stuff

 

[iluvfish]

The brown stuff on top of the sand is probably diatoms - a natural and normal part of a tank cycle. How old is your tank?It is not the same as cyan. IMO, You do not need to worry about plant life at this time. What I suggest is getting a fighting conch or 2 depending on the size of your tank and some hermit crabs and nassaurius snails. They will happily clean it up! HTH

 

[noaquariumyet]

i have a 105 and i do have some hermits, emerald crabs and snails but i think i need more

 

[iluvfish]

Then I would suggest at least 2 fighting conch. They are awesome and really go to work on those diatoms! Good luck!!