Sand Changing color

[undertcontrolj]

Maybe somebody can help me with this. for about the ast week my sand has been changing color to a dark brown. It looks like it is cycling again but my parameters are good. Everything is real close to 0. And the sand is just changing color in one spot. Any help would be great. Thanks

 

[gsusfreak]

got a picture?

 

[crumbletop]

How long has the tank been up? It is normal to have different algae / diatom blooms in a new tank. I'll bet it is a normal diatom bloom that will go away on its own in a few weeks. Make sure you take care to develop good husbandry skills including adequate skimming, regular water changes, and not overfeeding.

 

[undertcontrolj]

i dont have any pics that i can put on here it just tells me the pic is to big and i cant figure out how to change it. The tank has been up for about 3 months. I do regular, about every 10 days on a water change. Just tested most of the parameters no3 no2 ammonium evrything close to 0 ph a little low at 7.9. But it is a steady 7.9. So i guess i will just keep my eyes on it and see what happens.

 

[sandalscout]

3 months might very well be a diatom bloom, I got "red slime" about the three month mark for a few weeks. I cut back on feeding slightly, and directed waterflow down some, cleared up in about a week and was gone in about 3.

 

[undertcontrolj]

well there is nothing in there for me to feed. That is until this last meeting were i bought a clown fish. So i have not been feeding anything and am only going to feed him about every 2 days. I will just keep an eye on it and see what happens. Hopefully it is just a diatom bloom and will go away

 

[sandalscout]

I'm sure it'll clear up, just keep an eye on it.... I have developed hair and red algae in the tank I'm setting up. It's a 90gallon, and the only thing "live" in it is that refugium that sat dry for a day, and then got filled with fresh water for 24 hours, and then finally got salt mixed in with it. The tube worms, snails, a hermit crab, and a bunch of other little things all survived, and within a few weeks I had algae growing in it! Crazy stuff at times.

oh, the point of that, it's been online for about 2 months, I've never feed it anything, and it's booming. Can't wait to actually get rock in the the DT.

 

[DawgDiggity]

brown sand

brown sand

my sand begins to darken after it is stirred up. I was told that it is natural that any detritus that has been lifted to the surface will cause brown algae to grown in the light. I keep a lot of sand sifters that help keep the sand from remaining settled in one place for a long time.

Some of my favorite fish are sand sifters: engineer/convict blennies, diamond goby. The diamond goby stays active all day and is a lot of fun to watch. The engineer goby/convict blenny changes colors to an awesome black-bluish with vertical yellow stripes. It acts like an eel peering out of caves, but is not as vicious of a carnivore. I have one that is about 16" long and looks pretty wicked!

I also have a sand sifting starfish that raises from the dead out of the sand and will disappear under the sand right in front of you. The AC currently has a small one about 2.5" that might be perfect for your nano. The other sand sifter is a queen conch that looks like some creature out of StarWars.

Anyway, your brown sand is natural... Hope this helps.

 

[undertcontrolj]

All this helps really. i had been thinking about getting an engineering bleeny but was not sure if it would work in my tank or not. I figured the sand was a natural thing i have a tendency to freak out when something seems wrong in my tank. In a 12 gallon it would not take long for something to go wrong if i dont watch it.

 

[Mikeyjer]

Re: brown sand

Re: brown sand

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12776256#post12776256 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by DawgDiggity
I also have a sand sifting starfish that raises from the dead out of the sand and will disappear under the sand right in front of you. The AC currently has a small one about 2.5" that might be perfect for your nano.

It is not advised to have a sand sifting starfish in a small tank cause they will starve to death. You must keep a close eye on yours cause they need a deep sandbed and a HUGE tank to survive since they eat beneficial fauna within the sandbed.

 

[Mikeyjer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12776409#post12776409 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by undertcontrolj
All this helps really. i had been thinking about getting an engineering bleeny but was not sure if it would work in my tank or not. I figured the sand was a natural thing i have a tendency to freak out when something seems wrong in my tank. In a 12 gallon it would not take long for something to go wrong if i dont watch it.

Engineer Goby will not work in a nano since they will grow rather large. It's natural to have brown diatom within a newly setup tank since it is only 3 months old. Aging process need to take effect for it to go away eventually. Some good skimming will help, plus you need to check your PH and Alkaline levels. It has to do with that sometimes. Let me know when your coming this way again, I got you a ric, some zooanthids, and mushroom.

 

[DMBillies]

FWIW, most of what I have heard about sand-sifting critters is that they eat most of the good life that grows in the sand (the life that actually cycles the sand, keeping it loose, and does most of the sand bed work). I'm sand free for the most part, so I don't consider myself an expert on the topic, but do some research on it. In a large tank 1 or 2 sand sifting critters probably won't hurt, but in smaller tanks they can likely strip the bed of life pretty quick. At the very least, be certain you have a healthy population of sand bed fauna before you get a sand sifter.

Not everyone agrees with Shimek, but I know his recommendation is that you generally do NOT want them.

 

[Mikeyjer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12777283#post12777283 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by DMBillies
FWIW, most of what I have heard about sand-sifting critters is that they eat most of the good life that grows in the sand (the life that actually cycles the sand, keeping it loose, and does most of the sand bed work). I'm sand free for the most part, so I don't consider myself an expert on the topic, but do some research on it. In a large tank 1 or 2 sand sifting critters probably won't hurt, but in smaller tanks they can likely strip the bed of life pretty quick. At the very least, be certain you have a healthy population of sand bed fauna before you get a sand sifter.

Not everyone agrees with Shimek, but I know his recommendation is that you generally do NOT want them.

I have to agree about the part about not wanting them. I have tried sand sifting critters, even though they keep the sandbed quite clean, they eventually starved to death and that's only with one sifting goby in a 90g with DSB. It was a Golden Headed Sleeper Goby and they need a LARGE tank with lots of sand to survive like a lot of sand sifting critters. And they will wipe out all the beneficial stuffs you need with a DSB. The only critter I would advise on getting is Queen or Fighting Conch, Sea Hare, Small Hermits, Nassarius Snails, Cerith Snails, etc. Even my tangs would help with the sandbed.

 

[DawgDiggity]

I need to take a fish or two out of the tank along. Anyone interested in a engineer goby??

 

[Mikeyjer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12807841#post12807841 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by DawgDiggity
I need to take a fish or two out of the tank along. Anyone interested in a engineer goby??

If he's not super big, you can keep it for now without issues. It's when they get big and start moving stuffs around, then that's when your having issues. They're not as bad as some of the gobies though... Maybe you can take it back to Critters for some credit for something else...

 

[fallinapart]

Is he is your 55gal? If you need to move him, I can put him in my 55gal fish only tank, it has about 2-3 inches sand in it.

Norman