brown sand in the glass

[juan319]

Does anyone else have the sand that is by the glass in the aquarium brown, but elsewhere it is completely white. I thought that maybe because there is too much light in the room, but the rooms lights are only on for a total of 3 to 4 hours a day. There are no windows in this room, so there is no sunlight. Thanxs in advance for the input.

 

[DontXtripNfall]

Thats most likely diatom algae... you can fix that by getting more flow in your tank.

 

[rookie07]

I have that also(sometimes), what I do is, make sure to "mix" that sand...it happens in my tank b/c the sand doesnt get moved by snails/etc., then I clean the glass w/ a scraper...keeps it away till I dont mix that sand when I do waterchangers...
Good luck

 

[BrooklynsReefMan1]

I second Jd's answer get a powerhead its better to have anyway for coral

 

[nanoreefer22]

I'm with rookie, a little mixing of the sand never hurts anything, once you don't have a DSB. I occasionally mix my entire sandbed, just take a turkey baster, suck it in and spit it out. Sand looks amazing after .

How old is the tank? If it is diatoms the tank might just be young.

 

[rookie07]

Assuming we are talking about the same thing:
The extra flow wont work, unless it changes the level of the sand.....the algea builds up where the sand meets the glass....thus flow isnt an issue....


I have only limited experiance and knowledge....keep in mind that on this site you often receive advice from people who dont know what they are talking about(I am in that category)

DONTXTRIPNFALL: How long have you had a Saltwater tank for???? Maybe you should mention that. (im not trying to pick on you)

 

[BrooklynsReefMan1]

Lol Donttripused to keep a Sw tank years back but he had to close up shop cause he had a bird that needed extra housing.... but i know your not calling him out (glad you noted it though)

A picture would help us all though Juan

I agree with what JD is saying because in newer tanks 1-18 weeks there is more algea build up because not many people keep there corals on the glass... so not much flow if any will pass so there will be diaton going from the sand bed near the glass spreading twards the glass a increase of flow not alot of flow but a good korilina 1 or 2 will do it well because it gives a good spread of flow.. after your tank is fully esrablished it will go away

and rookie the mixing of the sand isnt a bad idea but if in fact it is diaton its going to come back regardless

 

[rookie07]

Thanks for the info....im just trying to keep people honest...maybe there should be something in the avatar section that includes years in hobby(or some place where you can fill in a questionaire...allowing ppl to see what experiance you have....I dont know(I always try to mention that im a rookie)

 

[House of Laughter]

Wait a second - no offense - but this is not likely diatoms.

if you're referring to the brown, red pink or green that forms below the surface of the sand bed and is in the front by the glass - chances are this is NOT diatoms and most likely beneficial bacterial colonies that help with the de-nitrification process.

Can you post a pic of what you mean so that the advice you're getting is spot on - or please explain a little more about where it's located and if the colors are variant or the same all the way through?

Thanks,

house

 

[OctaviousMonk]

I find that the light reflecting through the glass and out along it's edges is what allows this algae to grow at all where there is otherwise no light source. This algae is actually a reason some people will stay away from a deep sand bed or build molding up over where the send bed is visible.