Is this algae in my tank some form of diatoms??? I have been regularly testing my water paramaters and everything seems pretty normal, alkalinity may be just a tad low, but not more than 1 point off… Calcium is a little bit high too… here are a few pictures, let me know what you think…
I do have some diatom growth on my sand, and I have a feeling I was feeding too much, so I have backed down a little bit. I was feeding 1 full block of frozen brine shrimp to two clowns… but I think it was too much.
looks like diatoms to me. Looked like when i was cycling my tank, just brown diatom everywhere!!! IMO id just cut down feeding and maybe the light a few hours shorter, it should balance out though
Yeah this would actually be the second time I have gone through a diatom outbreak. It started on my sand right after i moved a powerhead that was pointing a little too far towards the sand and moved a pretty big area. The diatoms started there and then seemed to go away, now they have come back. It is actually pretty wierd, but it is only growing on the lighter colored rock, and is only on the underside of the rocks, or where light doesnt get to it, like on the top of one rock but underneath of another rock… kind of odd.
Thanks for the reassurement that I had pretty much ID’d it though 
i would kick in a blenny. tanks been up plenty long enough, and the starry lawnmowers r awesome.
no problem, hope you get it orted out quick
Diatoms will go away on their own. Adding a blenny really will not help. A typical clean uo crew will aid in the removal, but really it will just vanish completely one night.
[quote=“Cdangel0, post:6, topic:1943”]
Adding a blenny really will not help.[/quote]
??? always been my understanding that they eat algae… must of read that somewhere. verdict_in
i think they eat green hair algae i may be mitaken
While blennys may be herbivores and will eat some types of algae, diatoms traditionally haven’t been identified as one of them. This may be because traditionally when we are experience a diatom outbreak our tanks are still cycling or have just finished and fish have not yet been added.
Hermits and snails would be a better bet.
Yeah I already have 1 mexican turbo, 4 astrea, 12 nerite and 12 cerith. So I am hoping they can stay on top of it, but I have been thinking about getting a dozen nassarius snails, just haven’t pulled the trigger on it just yet.
Just make sure you are feeding the snails if you don’t have any livestock yet.