Anyone know what this is?

[Danny]

It is as if the sand is being burnt by the light but only happening there, is it a bacteria or algae or something......

 

[Nathaniel Whiteside]

Looks like diatom algae?

 

[Danny]

Could well be, but it is only happening there and in a very uniform shape... had a quick read about it and have a few of the things that cause it.

I had the lights on for about 16hrs a day for almost a week, now 12hrs.
Silica in the sand
Plain old tap water

so those may well cause it, I have syphoned out the effected sand twice and also netted out the effected sand and it comes back within 24hrs........

 

[Nathaniel Whiteside]

Definitely sounds like diatoms mate with that much lighting, I'm pulling loads out of mine every day, amazing how fast it grows isnt it!

 

[Danny]

Grows to bloody quick....

 

[pariahrob]

I would have thought diatoms too. That is a lot of light. Even the reduced amount of twelve hours is pretty high. Can you bring down to say eight hours?
You will still have some diatoms for a while but twelve hours light is probably making it worse.

It's crazy stuff but it passes. It's a phase most tanks go through, so don't worry too much.

 

[ceg4048]

Hello,
Diatom algae has nothing to do with silica in sand or tap water. This issue has only to do with the light intensity and your problems will only continue to mount if you persist with this level of lighting. You need to reduce the lighting intensity and improve flow/distribution and CO2 if this is an enriched tank. Diatom algae in a tank start-up is neither automatic nor inevitable. It only occurs because the hobbyist insists on looking for excuses to use too much light.

Cheers,

 

[roadmaster]

Hello,
Diatom algae has nothing to do with silica in sand or tap water. This issue has only to do with the light intensity and your problems will only continue to mount if you persist with this level of lighting. You need to reduce the lighting intensity and improve flow/distribution and CO2 if this is an enriched tank. Diatom algae in a tank start-up is neither automatic nor inevitable. It only occurs because the hobbyist insists on looking for excuses to use too much light.

Cheers,

Could it be a combination of too much light and organic's?
I ask this because I have seen firsthand, diatom's in newly established tank's without any light at all in some tank's I have started.
Why does it appear to go away of it's own accord in many tank's if too much light alone is the culprit?
Have helped start perhap's dozen's of classroom tank's where the diatom's come and go without decreasing the light.
No,, I do not believe it ONLY occurs as you say ,when too much light is used but am open for enlightenment

 

[sr20det]

Hello,
Diatom algae has nothing to do with silica in sand or tap water. This issue has only to do with the light intensity and your problems will only continue to mount if you persist with this level of lighting. You need to reduce the lighting intensity and improve flow/distribution and CO2 if this is an enriched tank. Diatom algae in a tank start-up is neither automatic nor inevitable. It only occurs because the hobbyist insists on looking for excuses to use too much light.

Cheers,

Could it be a combination of too much light and organic's?
I ask this because I have seen firsthand, diatom's in newly established tank's without any light at all in some tank's I have started.
Why does it appear to go away of it's own accord in many tank's if too much light alone is the culprit?
Have helped start perhap's dozen's of classroom tank's where the diatom's come and go without decreasing the light.
No,, I do not believe it ONLY occurs as you say ,when too much light is used but am open for enlightenment

I have had Diatoms triggered from Sunlight from window and it was only triggered recently when the sun was out a few weeks back and my blinds were fully open. Its not in direct sunlight, but gets a fair bit of light so to speak if the blinds are up and windows are open and all that (the whole room does and it being 0.5 mtrs by a wall near a window).

So there has to be light and some form of it, as if it was pitch black I doubt you would get it.

 

[ceg4048]

Diatomic algal blooms are exacerbated by poor flow/distribution/CO2 and are triggered by the instability of the bacteriological instability of the sediment. Does high level of organic waste play a role? Certainly possible since high organic loads reduces oxygen levels.

However, too much light accelerates the bloom and keeps the blooms from receding. People using too much light often ignore these other factors as well, and they instead often chase tangential issues such as silicates. The bloom is cyclic, and the diatoms will typically recede and will not return if these factors are adjusted, but if the excessive lighting is not mediated then the problems persists. What we are addressing therefore is the attempt to change the focus of the hobbyist from ignoring the destructive power of excessive lighting to focusing on the more important priorities in the tank. Frequent and massive water changes will take care of the organic load, adding nutrients will help the plants feed properly, CO2/flow/distribution will allow the plants to produce food and to resist algal blooms.

Cheers,