Well my saltwater tank is starting to have brownish sand. I figure that it was from algae starting to grow. Is their any way for me to stop these? Could i add a lawnmower blenny? Or should i just use algae treatment? Thanks.

From your description it sounds like diatoms. Do you have a pic of the algae? also how long has the tank been setup?

Does the algae look like this?



This is when diatoms appeared in my newly setup 2.5g.

Yes it looks exactly like those :lol:

Is there anyway to fix that problem?

It is the natural process of setting up a new marine tank. What causes Diatoms? Silica, overfeeding, high Nitrates, and low amount of water flow. How to stop diatoms from appearing? Equal amount of water flow, small water changes to keep your Nitrates down, and don't overfeed. Everyone who sets up a new marine tank gets Diatoms.

Thanks alot. :lol: :up:

Diatoms are a type of algae. Cool pic Perfect Blue!

Yeah I got that too when mine was cycling after I put the first piece of live rock in. I thought it was just die-off from the live rock at first, but it kept growing so fast it was unbelievable. I had seeded the cycling process with a bit of food as well a few weeks before adding the live rock, so that's probably why I had so much of it. But it basically turned my sand completely brown. Once it's fully cycled it should go away a bit.

On another note, I still need to add another power-head to my tank... thanks for reminding me... I'll get that ordered.

Ok kool. ITs starting to go away now, but still looks bad ^_^

It will take a while, because as it dies off, it's feeding the rest of them with nutrients.

Thanks.