Why is my sand turning brown?

[reice05]

Certain sections of mý sand is turning a brownish color, I think its only the top layer because when mÝ snails shift through it it looks regular underneath. I'll try to post pics later if needed. Thanks

 

[fraggle rock]

Im guessing diatom bloom, how long has your tank been running.

 

[zero26]

My sand is turning brown too, got just enough flow on it. Any more and the sand would blow away. Very fine oolite. Water parameters are
PH 8.0
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0
Phos 0

 

[reice05]

The tank been setup for almost 2 months now. I googled diatom bloom and from looking at pics I think that is what it is. How long till it goes away? What's the cause? Is it a bad thing? Does it mean my tank isn't fully cycled yet?

 

[skimmy290]

2 months isn't a long time at all for a tank to be set up. You are probable cycled in terms of your bacteria, but the algae tends to go through a cycle. for some people its slime, some people hair algae, some people get it all. just give it time and it should pass.
but it can also be cause from high phosphate and/or nitrate levels so i would get that tested out.
water changes and more water flow will help too.
it's not a necessarily a bad thing, meaning, nothing in your tank should die because of the algae.

 

[king_neptune]

it means you can start to add fish and sand sifters. water changes will help immensely. use fresh ro-di water to change and your diatom will slowly fade away over time. water flow also helps.
snails, and sand sifting fish do too. another technique is to clean the sand when you do water changes. this speeds up the process.