Brown stuff

[youtoo54]

I have brown "stuff" showing up on my sand in the bottom of my DT.......

 

[little_fish]

Pest algae growing from your nitrates or diatoms feeding on the silicates in the tap water you are using.

 

[duncantse]

Diatoms.

 

[youtoo54]

lol wtf are diatoms?

 

[BL1]

Diatoms are a type of algae, mostly seen during the beginning stages of a tank.

 

[youtoo54]

How do i get rid of it or them

 

[little_fish]

Stop using tap, and then they will go away when they use up all the silicates in your tank

 

[BL1]

When you have a new tank it is full of silicates (mostly from new sandbeds). Diatoms feed off of those silicates, once they use them all up the diatoms will go away on their own. Or you can add certain snails and hermits that eat them as well.

 

[jack 85]

i had that and was told same stop using tap water and use ro water instead also used some rhowaphos to loer phosphates and it went

 

[AmberSunrise]

You will get diatoms even with RODI water if your tank is new. If you are just starting out its a natural part of the cycle and will go away on its own. If you are using tap water it might be tougher to get rid of permanently.