new & looking for advice

[snicklesxx12]

so i'm new here and to the hobby and i was wondering what this is (algae or detritus?) and the best way to get rid of it as you can kind of see it is on my rock but it does just blow off if i take my power head to it and it is settled all over my sand it does siphon out quite easily however i haven't found a media that seems to trap it or sift it out i've been trying to remove it via water changes but i'm getting impatient with that route... any suggestions i'm really trying to get my coralline algae growing i have hints of green throughout the tank that i believe is its beginning stages but i've read the rock has to be clean? so i'm worried that it might not take properly but i also don't want to scrub it down where i do think that i'm starting to have growth i have a few other questions but i'm sure you guys will want tank stats for those and i haven't gotten all that together yet (sorry to all the grammar concious i'll try next time) thanks everyone :)

[gbru316]

The stuff under the rock looks like detritus. Pretty common underneath rock due to low flow conditions. Either increase flow to that area, or manually siphon periodically. Regardless, you'll likely have some areas in the tank that become detritus traps. Play around with your flow until the traps are easily accessible so, come water change time, you can easily suck it out with a siphon.

[gone fishin]

Hard to tell from the picture. Since it is a new tank it could be diatoms starting. More than likely in the coming months you will see some diatoms, cyano and some green hair algae. These things are all normal in the early stages of a new tank.

There is a good sticky at the top of the page called setting up, look for the big red arrow. It is full of good info. Good luck just my 2 cents.

[OrQidz]

turkey baster! (dedicated to tank use only of course). It will blow detritus around nicely. Of course you need mechanical filtration somewhere to catch it. If you don't have a place to trap it, at water change time turn off your powerheads and use the turkey baster to blow it into one spot then siphon out. However, don't think you will ever get rid of it - there is always detritus! It is important to remove it regularly but there will always be more.

[snicklesxx12]

follow up question... what is a diatom ... i know the pictures are horrible :( they looked better on my phone the tank has been set up for some months however i know thats still "new".. i started this journey about a year ago and didn't have the slightest idea what i was doing got a few damsels and they killed everyone else and the detritus took over the tank so i ripped it apart to catch the damsels and clean it out so the sand is actually kind of old idk if it matters too much or not... will the detritus affect the coralline algae growth and what is the best method to sift it out like a cheese cloth? coffee filter?

[gbru316]

what is the best method to sift it out like a cheese cloth? coffee filter?

Detritus is usually removed 2 ways:

1. Mechanical filtration. A filter sponge or sock is placed in the sump and removed periodically and cleaned, then reinstalled (a hang-on power filter can be used in nano-tanks). To utilize this method, detritus must be kept in suspension so that it can reach the filter. A turkey baster is a common tool. So is water flow from pumps and powerheads.

2. Siphoning. When you perform water changes, siphon out the detritus that clumped into piles on the bottom of your tank (mostly applies to barebottom tanks). For tanks with substrate, a using a gravel vacuum during water change time removes accumulated detritus.


Nothing will ever totally eliminate detritus. But proper husbandry can keep it in-check. Doing nothing will likely lead to high NO3 and PO4 down the road.

[gone fishin]

A diatom is a single celled type of algae, they usually show up in brand new tanks when there is an excess of silica.

If it is possible when you do a water change (WC) try to syphon the top layer of the "detritus" out. It should not prevent coralline.

If it is detritus collecting there then you may want to try and rearrange your power heads to get better flow.