Whats wrong with my tank?

[G4RETH]

I recently bought white gravel for my tank and it looked really nice,but now i noticed that the stones are going brown,it only seems like its happening in the middle of tank?Is there any thing i can buy to stop them from doing this? I clean my tank regular?Can any one help because its starting to look bad.

 

[marchmaxima]

Hi Gareth - Welcome to AA

Can you help us out by suppling a few details? Firstly, we will want to know your tank size, your water parameters and the details regarding your maintenance routine? You say you clean your tank regular, but what does that mean? Also, what's in this tank? What fish and how many? Plants? And (one more) how long has this tank been running?

Cheers

 

[G4RETH]

hi there,my tank is 3foot.

1 silver shark
8 neon tetras
1 plattie
1 sord tail
8 guppies
2 rams
1 sucker fish
2 glow light

when i say i clean my tank regualr i mean i do a water water changes say every 2-3 weeks about 25%,i use a gravel cleaner to do that.
I'm new to this so if you can make it easy to under stand you then that would be great. thanks

 

[marchmaxima]

No dramas Gareth, I'm not an expert either, but there are plenty here who are, so you have come to the right place for assistance.

How high and wide is the tank?

Do you have a test kit? If you do, can you take a full set of tests (what ever you can) and post the results? Ideally, you want to test for PH, Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate.

How "old" is this tank? i.e: how long has it been set up?

 

[G4RETH]

its been set up for about 4months,i recently moved and changed the gravel and now its going brown,the only test i got are those strips and they look fine,its 15 inches high and 13 inches wide..thanks

 

[marchmaxima]

okay, so its a 30 Gallon tank.

One of the first tings I'd suggest is to get rid of the test strips. People all over here will tell you that they are notoriously inaccurate, and take it from me, the single most important thing to have are accurate test readings! You can pick up a Freshwater API master test kit from most LFSs are the will be far better than the strips.

I know you say that your tests are fine, but it would be helpful if you could post the results. It matters because elements such as Nitrate and PH will tell a story.

When you moved, did you add any new fish or have these been with you since the start?

What brand/model of filter are you using?

It is probably diatoms, but I'm not certain yet.

 

[BillD]

What you have is diatoms growing on the gravel, which is common in a new setup. Usually they disappear after a while, but you can turn the gravel over to hide them.

 

[neilanh]

I agree, it's diatoms. Diatoms are a form of algae that feed on silicates. New tanks regularly experience this, as the fresh silicone is a great food source for diatoms. Some people have high levels of silicates in their tap water and battle this regularly.

Unfortunately, you're just going to have to let it pass. Diatoms are a brown dust type algae that can easily be wiped away with very light pressure. Continue to do what you're doing, water changes and vacuuming. It'll have to run it's course and consume all of the silicates before it completely goes away.

Otocinclus catfsh love to eat the stuff, so you could consider getting a group of 3 of those if you wish.

 

[Purrbox]

Since you just changed your substrate it's also quite possible that the silicates are coming from the new gravel. Give it 2-4 weeks and they'll most likely go away on their own.

 

[G4RETH]

thanks alot guys your all a great help. I will get a proper test kit asap.