Is this brown algae or dinos?

[alyrchd]

When i try to scrape it off it disperses like sand. Everything is turning brown, even the substrate and glass. I tried buying a phosphate test buy i could find it here so i’ll try and see if an aquarium store can perform the water tests. The ammonia is at 0.25ppm and salinity at 1024

 

[vpierce3]

Did you just start this tank up?

 

[alyrchd]

Did you just start this tank up?

it’s around 3-4 months old. I just recently changed to a proper lighting, don’t know if it’s because of that

 

[Ajayabb]

Looks like diatoms to me. Part of the early stages of tank maturity. Will pass with time

 

[vpierce3]

I agree with ^^. The new lighting is doing that. It will fizzle out once the tank stabilized. Although I’m curious why you can detect ammonia after 3-4 months. Have you added bacteria?

 

[alyrchd]

I agree with ^^. The new lighting is doing that. It will fizzle out once the tank stabilized. Although I’m curious why you can detect ammonia after 3-4 months. Have you added bacteria?

I did but i guess it wasn’t enough. Is it ok to add some more now?

 

[vpierce3]

I would wait a week or two and just see how it plays out. If you’re still detecting ammonia, then I would add some microbacter7 or Dr Tim’s One and Only. Be sure to dose according to the product instructions.

 

[alyrchd]

Looks like diatoms to me. Part of the early stages of tank maturity. Will pass with time

Today i noticed some bubbles coming out of brown patches. Is it still possible to be just diatoms?

 

[Prego]

When i try to scrape it off it disperses like sand. Everything is turning brown, even the substrate and glass. I tried buying a phosphate test buy i could find it here so i’ll try and see if an aquarium store can perform the water tests. The ammonia is at 0.25ppm and salinity at 1024 View attachment 2641433 View attachment 2641434 View attachment 2641435

Hi. The same thing is happening to my 45 gallon aquarium, the sand and rocks are turning brown. Have you found any solution to this problem?

 

[alyrchd]

Hi. The same thing is happening to my 45 gallon aquarium, the sand and rocks are turning brown. Have you found any solution to this problem?

Still looks brown but i’m pretty sure it’s diatoms so it’s harmless and will go away on its own, but i bought some bacteria yesterday so it improves faster. If you want to differentiate between diatoms and dinoflagellates, the person that i buy corals from - that had dinos in the past - told me to “blow” water near the brown patches to see if it disperses easily or not and if it doesn’t work, try to rub it with your finger or a brush, wait a few minutes to see if it turns brown again or not. If it turns brown again in a couple of minutes it’s probably dinoflagellates but if it doesn’t it’s probably just diatoms. I waited 10 minutes and it didn’t turn brown again so he told me that i should wait for the problem to go away on its own since diatoms are harmless.
If you have dinos, i heard a UV sterilizer is a great way to deal with them, though not all types of dinos can be killed by it, the worst one and to my knowledge the only toxic one - ostreopsis - can.

I was worried i had dinos because i saw some bubbles rising but i read that brown algae can produce oxygen bubbles too.

 

[Prego]

Hi. The same thing is happening to my 45 gallon aquarium, the sand and rocks are turning brown. Have you found any solution to this problem?

Still looks brown but i’m pretty sure it’s diatoms so it’s harmless and will go away on its own, but i bought some bacteria yesterday so it improves faster. If you want to differentiate between diatoms and dinoflagellates, the person that i buy corals from - that had dinos in the past - told me to “blow” water near the brown patches to see if it disperses easily or not and if it doesn’t work, try to rub it with your finger or a brush, wait a few minutes to see if it turns brown again or not. If it turns brown again in a couple of minutes it’s probably dinoflagellates but if it doesn’t it’s probably just diatoms. I waited 10 minutes and it didn’t turn brown again so he told me that i should wait for the problem to go away on its own since diatoms are harmless.
If you have dinos, i heard a UV sterilizer is a great way to deal with them, though not all types of dinos can be killed by it, the worst one and to my knowledge the only toxic one - ostreopsis - can.

I was worried i had dinos because i saw some bubbles rising but i read that brown algae can produce oxygen bubbles too.

what worries me is that my white anemone that is located in the bottom and some corals also have brown spots already

 

[alyrchd]

what worries me is that my white anemone that is located in the bottom and some corals also have brown spots already

If it gets bad, you can do a blackout for 3 days. I suggest you google about it so you do it right but it helps for sure

 

[blaxsun]

+1 diatoms.

 

[alyrchd]

what worries me is that my white anemone that is located in the bottom and some corals also have brown spots already

Just to update you: i added microbe lift special blend once 2 days ago and it’s almost all gone today. I bought this one cause it was the only one available at the store and it was quite cheap too - compared to other bacterias i saw online

 

[SlugSnorter]

Still looks brown but i’m pretty sure it’s diatoms so it’s harmless and will go away on its own, but i bought some bacteria yesterday so it improves faster. If you want to differentiate between diatoms and dinoflagellates, the person that i buy corals from - that had dinos in the past - told me to “blow” water near the brown patches to see if it disperses easily or not and if it doesn’t work, try to rub it with your finger or a brush, wait a few minutes to see if it turns brown again or not. If it turns brown again in a couple of minutes it’s probably dinoflagellates but if it doesn’t it’s probably just diatoms. I waited 10 minutes and it didn’t turn brown again so he told me that i should wait for the problem to go away on its own since diatoms are harmless.
If you have dinos, i heard a UV sterilizer is a great way to deal with them, though not all types of dinos can be killed by it, the worst one and to my knowledge the only toxic one - ostreopsis - can.

I was worried i had dinos because i saw some bubbles rising but i read that brown algae can produce oxygen bubbles too.

likely diatoms yes, they are eating the silicates from the dry rock.

mutliple dinos are toxic, only some enter a free swimming stage can can be killed by UV though.

 

[alyrchd]

likely diatoms yes, they are eating the silicates from the dry rock.

mutliple dinos are toxic, only some enter a free swimming stage can can be killed by UV though.

ohh thanks!!

 

[SlugSnorter]

what worries me is that my white anemone that is located in the bottom and some corals also have brown spots already

what kind of nem is it? nearly no healthy nems are white.

Flow might be too low on corals.