orange spots on the substrate....what is this??

Question

I recently started a new saltwater aquarium and im just letting the tank cycle with three little 3 dot domino damsal's and two of the 3 stripe damsals, its been running for about 2 weeks total and 1 week with fish in the tank. i have very little amonia being a a new tank and 0 nitrate and 0 nitrite my pH is 8.3 so everything seems to be fine with the water. i have more than enough filtration in the tank and the protien skimmer is running smooth. I have done many tanks befor but this time i am getting these orange spots that dont seem normal forming on top of the sand. Has anyone seen or heard of this befor and know what is causing it?

the fish look like they are doing fine this is the first time im not doing live rock and i am using a new kind of sand that i havent used befor. is this possibly the cause? since the tank hasnt really got the cycle going yet should i hold off on a water change?

Answer 1

It is algae. Nothing to worry about. there is more to salt water than just salt.

You should do your water changes as normal Especially since you have 5 fish in your tank.

Due to the Newness of the tank chances are the phosphates in your tap water are creating the algae. You can use your gravel filter and suck the orange/rust algae out of the tank.

Answer 2

What you're probably seeing is a diatom growth. This is common in newer tanks and is related to silicates in the tank. Unless there are silicates in your water source or in the salt mix you use, these will decrease as your tank matures. If you put cleaners in the tank (snails, hermits), they'll also help a little to remove it. You can read more about diatoms and their control in these links: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/brownalgcontfaqs.htm - also has a photo of extensive diatom growth
http://www.skepticalaquarist.com/docs/algae/diatoms.shtml

Answer 3

it is chicken and chips stain