[DanTholen]

Recently in the past few days I have gotten a reddish brown colored growth in my saltwater tank. It seems to be mostly on the bottom and very little on the sides. Seems to just wash away too and the fish are not affected by it. Almost looks rusty. Anyone know what this is or how to get rid of it?

[DanTholen]

Checked some other posts and it seems that it will go away after a while. Is this true?

[leebca]

WELCOME TO REEFLAND!

Depending upon what exactly is/makes up that discoloration is how it will progress or go away. For the most part such outbreaks are in new tanks or tanks that have been stressed by organics. The tank comes under control after the tank further matures and settles down, though may never totally go away.

[DanTholen]

Here is some more info as well as some pictures of it.

The tank is about 2 months old and the lights are on 10 hours a day. It's also not in direct sunlight.

[DanTholen]

http://www.angelfire.com/nj/LaceyMarine1/DSCN0127.JPG

[Poseidon]

Looks like brown Diatoms to me, it is very common in new tanks, and yes it will go away.

You can help get rid of it by adding several Astraea Snails, or better yet Trochus snails.

[DanTholen]

OK I will look into getting those snails. It really got worse today. The whole bottom is covered and most of the back wall too.

[DanTholen]

I forgot to ask how long does it take to usually go away? Are there any addatives to help make it go away as well.

[leebca]

A tank maturity can take anywhere from a few months to up to 10 months. 6-8 is usual.

I have been unable to post to this thread until just now. Sorry Dan. Anyway, I have been wanting you to read this post for more information on tank maturity: The Mature Aquarium

[Ninong]

I agree with Poseidon, it's diatoms. Should go away on its own in a couple of weeks. I wouldn't worry about it. Sooner or later it will deplete all the available silicate and go away.

[zhenya]

Hi Dan,

I resized your image and uploaded it into your gallery here. The reason being is that such large file sizes don't display well on most home monitors and everything on the page is skewed to one side. It is a common practice to resize images to 800x600 before uploading.

Oh, and I agree with everyone that those are Diatoms. Like Ninong and Poseidon said they usually go away on their own, so be patient...

PS. Forgot to ask about your sand bed...what is it made from? It looks like fine sand and then I see some shells mixed with it, is this how it;s made?

[DanTholen]

The sand bed is crushed coral and shells and then I covered that with sand. The dasmels I have in there always seem to dig it up though.

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by DanTholen

The sand bed is crushed coral and shells and then I covered that with sand. The dasmels I have in there always seem to dig it up though.

Over time the sand will settle and the crushed coral and shells will rise to the top.

[zhenya]

Originally Posted by Ninong

Over time the sand will settle and the crushed coral and shells will rise to the top.

And as it does, I would suggest removing as much of it as you can and replace it with the fine sand.

[DanTholen]

The growth seems to have stopped and leveled off. I have some shirmp and crabs on the way to help get rid of it hopefully.

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by DanTholen

The growth seems to have stopped and leveled off. I have some shirmp and crabs on the way to help get rid of it hopefully.

They don't eat diatoms. Strombus alatus (fighting conch) and Turbo fluctuosus (Mexican turbo snail) will eat it.

It should be gone before long anyway, so I wouldn't sweat it.

[DanTholen]

Originally Posted by Ninong

They don't eat diatoms. Strombus alatus (fighting conch) and Turbo fluctuosus (Mexican turbo snail) will eat it.

It should be gone before long anyway, so I wouldn't sweat it.

Not shrimp, i ment snails...:slap: