[peachykeen]

I have noticed that there were brown spots in one particliar corner of my sand a couple of days ago and didnt think much of it, it was a light tan color, tonight when i come home it had spread on one side in the front of tank and is getting darker. I checked my ph, ammonia, they were fine, but both my nitrates had moved from the first color block to the second, is that my problem, everything else i tested is ok including my hdrometer.

Any idea what has invaded me?

[charlie]

Sounds like a diatom algae problem. You say your nitrates are up, you need to find out why they are up.

[peachykeen]

someone suggested a few snails and hermits, although i thought they would jack the nitrates up more, what do you think? I did a water change last night, tested water this morning, i have no idea what would raise nitrates, do you

test results: ph=8.4
ammmonia=0
no2=.25
no3=0

test resut from this morning

[peachykeen]

brown stuff is in sand, and now on one of my rocks, and some in my return hose now

[charlie]

How long have you been set up?

[peachykeen]

about two months

[charlie]

You may just be going thru a diatom bloom, in effect you are still cycling the tank. You say your nitrates are up, but from what you posted, your nitrites are .25, with your nitrates reading 0. Is this just a typo?
There aren't any bioballs present in your system, are there?

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by peachykeen

someone suggested a few snails and hermits, although i thought they would jack the nitrates up more, what do you think? I did a water change last night, tested water this morning, i have no idea what would raise nitrates, do you

test results: ph=8.4
ammmonia=0
no2=.25
no3=0

test resut from this morning

Your nitrate test is inaccurate. Either that or your nitrite test is off. Chances are they are both inaccurate. What brand are you using?

You want to keep your nitrites below 0.1 ppm and less than that would be better. Your nitrates should be below 20 ppm but less than 10 ppm is better. Better still would be less than 5 ppm if you have a reef tank.

It is highly unlikely that you actually have 0.25 ppm NO2 with zero NO3 in a tank that has been set up for two months.

What you are experiencing is a normal diatom bloom but it's coming a bit late in the cycle if the tank has been set up for two months. It's perfectly normal and should pass in 10 days or so. It's highly unlikely that it will last more than 15 days.

[peachykeen]

used two differant types and got same odd readings on nitrates, and acccording to the local guy it is a diatom bloom, yes we have bio balls and at one time considered not using the balls, but since newbies figured wed leave them alone since all was doing fine. (until now)

2 store attendees tried their best to get us to get snials or crabs and were highly offended when i told them i had to check with my experts, you guys. Ive read a few of the ongoing debates regarding the crabs with not many positives so we left with no crabs. They also told us to try some that started with a p, some kind of pouch that yoo could "recharge", peritin or something like that, left it there to until I run it by the crew, anyone know anything about it?

[peachykeen]

both nits are down to zero now, brown stuff not spreading anymore althouh it doesnt look like its going away to me, but that may be because im looking at it every day

[optical]

i would definetly get some snails in there. in a few weeks maybe a cucumber or a sand sifting starfish- some would disagree on the star because the lack of food for it but i added one in my tank in the first month and its still doing great.(i think)

[peachykeen]

how many snails should i put in there and what crabs, there seems to be some ongoing debate regarding those. mom and brother say its definitely clearing up, they havent seen it in a week and probably can see the difference before because i cruise by it 50 tumes a day. Ive never seen the cucumber thing ill take a look at them, thank you

[BubbaWPB]

Originally Posted by peachykeen

how many snails should i put in there and what crabs, there seems to be some ongoing debate regarding those. mom and brother say its definitely clearing up, they havent seen it in a week and probably can see the difference before because i cruise by it 50 tumes a day. Ive never seen the cucumber thing ill take a look at them, thank you

Peachykeen, IMHO, add snails and crabs slowly. If you add too many, it will clear up your problem fast, but then they will starve to death and cause you other problems. Also, crabs - especially hermit crabs - kill snails for their shells. I started with hermits and then pulled all of them out and put them in the refugium after one of them killed my queen conch and wore her shell around as a trophy. (Yes, I'm still pissed.)

Many of the online retailers have cleanup crews, that, IMHO, way overstock your tank with these critters. Of course, as you've probably seen on this forum already, opinions vary.

I don't have the perfect answer for you, as I'm trying to get the numbers and species of snails right in my new tank. There are pros and cons to just about anything you add to your tank. For example, Astraea snails are great for eating algae and stuff, but they are big and tend to knock things over. Hermits are good algae munchers, but they tend to kill off the snails.

Maybe on of our kind moderators (that has much more experience than I do) can suggest some specific species and numbers... Did you say how big your tank is? That will help calculate numbers, btw.

[dreams]

the first critter i added was a hermit crab and to this day, i reget it...he ate a coral that had survived the cycle..really ticked me off

[peachykeen]

im not real excited about getting crabs, but did get two snails, my sand has started to clear up and both nits are down to zero. I am very intersted in the cucumber and the starfish, anybody have any pros and cons for either. Im also looking to put my first fish in within the next month. I already have a zenia coral that seems to be doing fine sitting high on a rock.

My friends and family keep bringing me "gifts" not knowing that things have to be introduced slowly, so I have 3 corals, 2 I have no idea what they are. Also in my tank are 6 damsel fish, who I am ready to trade in and get someething else, but Im being patient, but am open to ideas for my first baby.

Id like to add a cucmber or starfish within next 2 weeks, and fish 3-4 weks afterwards, so come on bring on the ideas and helpful tips, Im more than ready.