What is this?

[stuktothewall]

all right, so my tank is in the cycling process. when i did my water tests this morning about 11 am, the ammonia levels have dropped off and the nitrite levels are rising. I leave for work at noon and when i get home 10 hours later there is this brownish-yellowish what residue all over everything: the crushed coral sand, the LR, and even the artificial plants i have in there. so my question is....what is this? is it just algae?

 

[HN1]

Not really sure based on the description, but it's probably just an algal or bacterial bloom. The best advice I headed when I started my SW tank was to basically leave it alone. Nothing good happens fast. Give it time and keep testing.

 

[ezy33]

It sounds like diatoms. It is also normal to have them off and on for the 1st year while everything stabilizes.

 

[stuktothewall]

okay. it just seemed crazy how it just seemed to appear in such a short amount of time. i mean, everything was fine this morning and then everything looks like its been slightly burnt.

 

[Justin1989]

okay. it just seemed crazy how it just seemed to appear in such a short amount of time. i mean, everything was fine this morning and then everything looks like its been slightly burnt.

After about a week they started to appear in my tank. it got worse when the lights are on. Once the lights are off, it seems to go away.

 

[roka64]

Sounds like diatoms to me too. They thrive off of silicates and new lighting. They will burn themselves out in a few days to a week.