Can someone help me identify this?

machwave · Jul 9, 2023

Is this algae? this growing on couple of dropped snail shells as well

musel101 · Jul 9, 2023

Looks like diatoms Possibly.

kevgib67 · Jul 9, 2023

I agree, how long has your tank been running?

vetteguy53081 · Jul 9, 2023

machwave said:
Is this algae? this growing on couple of dropped snail shells as well

Simple diatoms as indicated. Diatoms are a brown algae that typically appear in a reef tank that has just completed its cycle but they can also appear in an established reef tank. They can cover sand, rock, pumps, glass, you name it. Diatoms look ugly but in most cases they are harmless so the key is to not panic when they appear.
Diatoms feed mainly off of silicates but also consume dissolved organic compounds, phosphate and nitrates. Unfiltered tap water can contain silicates and is a good way to jump start a bloom if you use it to mix salt or to replace water that evaporated from the tank. The best way to prevent this from happening is to filter water through a RODI unit, although you can still get a diatom bloom when using RODI if the cartridge that removes silicates expires.
Diatoms are typically harmless to a captive reef and can be beaten once their food source expires. Once you put the end to the source, the outbreak should last a couple of weeks so just be patient and it will pass.
If unsightly to you, Some cleaner crew to help control it are : Cerith snails, Nerite snails and Trochus snails and also Astraea snails are effective at removing diatoms.

machwave · Jul 10, 2023

vetteguy53081 said:
Simple diatoms as indicated. Diatoms are a brown algae that typically appear in a reef tank that has just completed its cycle but they can also appear in an established reef tank. They can cover sand, rock, pumps, glass, you name it. Diatoms look ugly but in most cases they are harmless so the key is to not panic when they appear.
Diatoms feed mainly off of silicates but also consume dissolved organic compounds, phosphate and nitrates. Unfiltered tap water can contain silicates and is a good way to jump start a bloom if you use it to mix salt or to replace water that evaporated from the tank. The best way to prevent this from happening is to filter water through a RODI unit, although you can still get a diatom bloom when using RODI if the cartridge that removes silicates expires.
Diatoms are typically harmless to a captive reef and can be beaten once their food source expires. Once you put the end to the source, the outbreak should last a couple of weeks so just be patient and it will pass.
If unsightly to you, Some cleaner crew to help control it are : Cerith snails, Nerite snails and Trochus snails and also Astraea snails are effective at removing diatoms.

thank you for your response