sand turning purple? normal or no??

[RedLeggedHermit]

my sand is getting purple spots. is this a normal thing for saltwater reef tanks or should i be worried?

 

[OscarFan76]

Hard to tell from the pic but it is either coraline (good) or cyno (bad). How long has your tank been setup. What are your parameters?

 

[Convict2161]

I'd ask the same as the above poster. I have that in my bio cube and I just wiped it clean. Not sure if it good or bad but it never came back.

 

[CorallineAlgae]

I'd ask the same as the above poster. I have that in my bio cube and I just wiped it clean. Not sure if it good or bad but it never came back.

If it wiped clean without scraping it was cyano. Very common in newish tanks at the sand/glass line. Glad to hear that it never came back.

my sand is getting purple spots. is this a normal thing for saltwater reef tanks or should i be worried?

Looks like cano.
You want to use RO water for all top off and mix water. Tap water will only feed it.

 

[RedLeggedHermit]

whats RO water? my tap water is is unchlorinated lake water. and the parameters of it right out of the sink is 0 on everything. with a 7.0 ph.
my tanks parameters a few days ago were: (have since done a 10 gallon water change. its a 29 gallon tank)
ph - 7.0 (just bought ph plus. going to raise it up to 8.2)
ammonia - 0ppm
nitrites - 0ppm
nitrates - 10 ppm

 

[Convict2161]

If it wiped clean without scraping it was cyno. Very common in newish tanks at the sand/glass line. Glad to hear that it never came back.

Looks like cano.
You want to use RO water for all top off and mix water. Tap water will only feed it.

Thanks! I'm glad too! I had no idea what it was I just wiped it all clean and did a water change

 

[CorallineAlgae]

whats RO water? my tap water is is unchlorinated lake water. and the parameters of it right out of the sink is 0 on everything. with a 7.0 ph.
my tanks parameters a few days ago were: (have since done a 10 gallon water change. its a 29 gallon tank)
ph - 7.0 (just bought ph plus. going to raise it up to 8.2)
ammonia - 0ppm
nitrites - 0ppm
nitrates - 10 ppm

Those parameters can be zero but other ones may not be. Phosphate, total dissolved solids (TDS), copper, silicates, etc. could be present or even high. There are loads of other things in water that could make it less than ideal for saltwater tank use.

RO stands for reverse osmosis and it is a type of filter that nearly everybody with a saltwater tank uses because it takes almost everything out of any source water. Lots of people go a step further and use a DI or deionization cartridge to truly remove any possible contaminant from the water going into their tank. If you see RO/DI that's what it refers to. The most likely culprit for the cano in your tank is phosphate. They sell test kits for that online or at a local fish store (LFS). Hope this helps. (^_^)

 

[RedLeggedHermit]

ill take in a bag of the salt water and have my lfs test it for me. thanks for the replies guys.

 

[RedLeggedHermit]

oh. and a bit late but my salinity is 1.025.

 

[CorallineAlgae]

ill take in a bag of the salt water and have my lfs test it for me. thanks for the replies guys.

No problem. Just ask them to test it for phosphate. You can remove it easily with GFO which is granular ferric oxide. You can probably get some at the same shop if you find you need it.

oh. and a bit late but my salinity is 1.025.

That's perfect. Exactly where you want it.

 

[RedLeggedHermit]

sweet thanks. ya they did tell me that they will test for all that free. i just never went in to get it tested.

 

[CorallineAlgae]

You're welcome! Yeah, a separate thread would get you way more answers. I may follow it myself just to learn more about the options for a biocube. I've never owned one but they seem interesting.

 

[RedLeggedHermit]

alright then. got the water tested and results are in.
MG- 1200
I - .05
PH - 8.2
KH - 11 degrees
CA - 400
PO4 - .05
LFS suggested i get rid of some of the phosphates so i bought PhosGuard (phosphate/silicate control) im going to put this in tomorrow.

 

[OscarFan76]

I would look at changing your flow or lighting schedule. Cyno is sometimes caused by flow or older bulbs. I've heard of people getting it with new bulbs but it went away when they cut back the lighting time.

 

[z_dano]

Too low of flow?

 

[RedLeggedHermit]

ya too much light is the problem i bet. cause i dont have it on a timer so it comes on when i leave for work at 5:20 am and goes off about 8-9 ish, when i go to bed. i get paid on the 22 so ill be buying one of those for sure. that should make the fish a little happier too. who doesn't like more sleep! lol

 

[willbratz]

ya too much light is the problem i bet. cause i dont have it on a timer so it comes on when i leave for work at 5:20 am and goes off about 8-9 ish, when i go to bed. i get paid on the 22 so ill be buying one of those for sure. that should make the fish a little happier too. who doesn't like more sleep! lol

Cutting back the lighting should help

 

[Madreefer420]

Well that is a Dsb right if so cyano isn't really a bad thing unless its turns black cyano is what a part of the Dsb cycle it's forms every where under the surface anyways u just don't see it if its on rocks or corals yes not good at all but in the Dsb really nothing to worry about do your fish like to poop there if so that could just be it breaking down and u can visually see it

 

[CorallineAlgae]

I would look at changing your flow or lighting schedule. Cyno is sometimes caused by flow or older bulbs. I've heard of people getting it with new bulbs but it went away when they cut back the lighting time.

You called it OscarFan! Less light and more flow.

That GFO should help out, too.

 

[RedLeggedHermit]

whats GFO? my flow is 700 something gph. plus what flow the filter makes as well. i have just gotten a light timer so now the lights turn on at 10am and turn off at 8pm. is this good? or should it be less light?