Sand color question

[swisswiss]

hey everyone,
here is my daily dumb question, iv noticed my sand going an orange-ish brown color under the power head, im assuming this is die off from the live rocks. should i clean it will the "cleaner" clean it? the strange thing is that where the power head streams the sand is a nice healthy white color probably because the die off cant settle there and instead circulates and deposits itself where there is less current.
anyway any tips are welcome
pics below

nasty color

nice color

 

[bang guy]

Looks like a type of algae called Diatoms. Most snails will eat it and a lot of other animals. It's the bottom of the food chain so to speak. It's common to have a diatom bloom in new tanks.

 

[swisswiss]

cool, so it s good thing?

 

[bang guy]

I would go so far as to say it's normal.

 

[1guydude]

+1 normal in a new tank! The algae will eat off the silicates and die out soon enough....or maybe a month lol

 

[gemmy]

Quote:
Originally Posted by SwisSwiss http:///forum/thread/386723/sand-color-question#post_3398293
cool, so it s good thing?
I call them an annoying reality of setting up a new tank.

 

[swisswiss]

maaaaan this crap is spreading quickly! its attacking my rear tank glass now, the faster it grows the faster it will starve itself right...RIGHT!?!?
Been doing some research to see what I can do to fight it (not adding any chemicals to my tank that's for sure) seems this bloom could be due to my tap water, so going to use RO now, also seems light is a booster for it but i would rather not turn my lights off since i have a couple living things already in my tank. finally i was thinking of getting some snails who apparently feed on this stuff.
regarding lights they were on from 7 am to 9 pm seems this is a little long, going to shift t0 12 -9pm sounds good? (btw i have 4X 45 watts fresh water T5 tubes) adds up to about 180 watts for a 47 gallon tank (thumb rule for my tank should be 188)
anyway your priceless help is always more than welcome

 

[meowzer]

YES, as mentioned earlier get some snails
as far as what is on the glass...get yourself a magfloat glass cleaner and wipe it off

 

[siptang]

That's alot of light, reduce the hours.
I have mine set to come on at 2pm and turn off at 10:40pm. (I come home around 9pm so I leave it on little late for my sake)
snails and inverts are sensitive to salinity swings so keep that in mind when you add. (drip acclimation is really the best way for all salt water creatures)

 

[bang guy]

Quote:
Originally Posted by SwisSwiss http:///forum/thread/386723/sand-color-question#post_3398634
seems this bloom could be due to my tap water,
Most tap water (not all) is loaded with Silicates. Diatoms are about the most efficient consumer of Ammonia and Nitrate on the planet so you absolutely cannot starve them out. The only limiting factor for Diatoms is Silicates. Since you started with tap water (I didn't realize this) you have probably given the Diatoms a couple YEARS worth of Silicates. At this point Snails are your best defense against Diatoms.

 

[swisswiss]

got some 7 snails today in addition to the one I had and they are very active to say the least. I now have 3 astrea snails (one already owned) 2 Mexican turbo snails, 2 what i think to be Elegant banded creeper snail, one of which promptly burrowed itself in my sand and one snail that looks similar to a bumble bee snail.
Pics.

Bumble bee?

Elegant banded creeper one who vanished in the sand

Astrea very active

one of the Mexican turbo snails. slow but very thorough
thank you for letting me know what you think and if i got their ID right