Cyano or diatoms? Can you tell me what I have? PIC

[mardeebo]

Established tank (4+years old) but new to me. I moved it about 4 weeks ago now. Using RO/DI water for top offs & water changes.

This stuff started appearing in just 1 week of getting the tank set up again.
The white patch in the back is where a powerhead was blowing.

Here's another angle - what are those little white anemones? I have them ALL OVER my sand. Are they pests? Baby aiptasia?? You can see how the sand sticks to that brown crud and will actually "roll" up like carpet when blown with a turkey baster. The color intensity seems to lesson without the lights on.

Can you tell me if it's cyanobacteria or diatoms? What do I do to get rid of it?

Thanks in advance..

 

[dralarms]

That's cyano. I used to actuall roll it up and take it out but you can't do that with the little things growing there. I had to use Chemi-clean, to get rid of mine.

On a side note, are you feeding your inverts with algae wafers? Te reason I ask is my cynao stayed gone for almost a month and has now just started back a little, it only started back after feeding with algae wafers. Don't kno if there's any connection but I'm goning to quit useing the wafers.

 

[boardsurfer]

When you moved your tank, is it now by a window? I know this will increase some nuisance algaes, but I'm not sure if this would increase your cyano or not. But maybe worth considering?

 

[boardsurfer]

Oh, and to get rid of it, try:

Decreased lighting for a while.
Using only RO/DI water for WC and topoffs.
Don't feed as much/often.
Overstocked aquarium? (large bioload?). Their waste contributes to this.
Maybe from the phosphates in your food (if you use flake food?).
Get a good skimmer.
Do you have 1.5 to 2lbs. of LR in your tank?

HTH

 

[melissfish]

increasing currents on cyano areas also helps, but clean it first or you will just spread it around the tank.

 

[Smo]

Cyano is correct.
Sunlight will not increase cyanobacteria. It is in your water column and you need to find out why?
Vacuum it off the sand just before lights out. This is when the cyano bloom is at its biggest. It will recede in the dark and grow in the light, thus why you should remove later in the day. Don't stir it around, this will cause it to spread more.
If you have LS, then 1#LR/gallon is sufficient.
If you are using frozen foods, mix them in a glass of water from your tank, then drain them through a brine shrimp net or other fine mesh net.
Add more flow like another PH or 2. You don't want a sandstorm, just a flow around everything. That's why the cyano is not where the PH is blowing.
It took me just over 3 months to get rid of the cyano without the use of chemicals. This process takes a lot of patience.

Those little anemones look like glass anemones, or in other words Aiptasia. Get rid of them now! An adult aiptasia can produce up to 50 new little buggars in a single day.