dirty sand

[noob2saltH20]

Ok so I have white sand for my substrate. I have a dead snail in my tank to help cycle but my sand is starting to turn a light brown color...any ideas what that could be?

 

[neilanh]

This is normal. it's diatoms. They'll get worse before they get better. Diatoms feed on high silicate environments. New tanks and/or new sand usually feeds them quite well. They'll consume the silicates and eventually go away on their own. It's just part of the "new tank syndrome" everyone goes through.

 

[noob2saltH20]

Okie so that means I'm in my cycle correct? I'm going to test my water tomorrow to see where I'm at. Would u happen to know how long it takes for feather dusters to appear or how to spawn them?

 

[Gti_Leo]

having things form can take a while, i've read some people had to wait a year to see coralline algae growth, while i've had my aquarium running for a month and already have coralline and halimeda growth. i guess it all depends on where you got your LR from and how cured it was

 

[noob2saltH20]

Well I had a lot of die off when I first put it in my tank which was a few days ago. Today it seems to be growing baack I'm noticing green alge and what looks like thin white hairs growing out of my rock. Any idea what those hair could be