white sand turning brown...

[daizy-x0]

whats going on with this??
my white sand in my tanks turning brown, along with the sides of my tank. my snails arent doing much to help. i can clean the side of the tank but what to do about the sand,
can anyone give me some advice please, just starting out and clueless!
=]

[salt-rookie]

It is diatoms...it something you have to go through...Its a cycle Brown -> Red -> Green algae blooms.

[daizy-x0]

ahhh thank you very much =]
i'll have a little read up on this.
but...

should i just leave it then??
will it ever go back to white??

lotsa questions sorry!!
=]

[salt-rookie]

It will go from brown to green to red algae..then it will clear!

[Ninong]

Diatoms are to be expected in a new tank. They should go away on their own in about ten days to two weeks. Nothing to be concerned about but you will want to clean off the glass every day so that you can see into the tank.



See attached photo of diatoms on sand bed and glass. They were completely gone in less than two weeks.