Cyano? Red and green "stuff" in substrate

[DeederMc]

Can someone help me identify this stuff along my sand line? Is it cyano? No cyano is exhibiting itself on the top of the sand or anywhere in the tank. I'm sure I can get a lot of info about how to combat it in the recent thread if someone can just confirm that's what's happening, or if not, tell me what I'm up against. There are occasional small bubbles coming up from the sand, especially when crabs walk over it.

The tank is 100 gallons with filtration built in the back (bio balls, etc). Nitrates 10, nitrites 0, KH 200, PH 8.4, salinity 1.021. I do not have a skimmer on the system - I was hoping to get away without one as the tank design would make the addition of a skimmer awkward.

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a63/deedermc/substrate.jpg

Thank you! -Deeder

[Rob]

ok...
that stuff you are seeing is mostly algae, but also some diatoms and could be some cyano.. (and many other things)
this stuff is very normal in a DSB, is nothing to worry about.

now on a side note i would like to make 2 recommendations.
Salinity.. your SG is a bit low, i would recommend moving that up towards 1.024-1.026 (i maintain 1.026)
Nitrates.. get rid of those bio-balls, and you will likely get the nitrates stable... Bio-balls are meant for FO tanks and are NOT recommended for use in a reef tank

[DeederMc]

Oh wow - I didn't realize bio-balls were a bad choice - thank you. I'll get them out first thing in the a.m., as well as start slowly raising the salinity. Thanks as always, Rob!

[gwen_o_lyn]

Make sure you remove the bioballs very slowly or you will mess up the chemistry of your tank. Also I HIGHLY HIHGLY HIGHLY recommend a skimmer- I don't think you have a chance fighting algae without one. I wouldn't run a 5g tank without a skimmer. They are must haves in the reef world.

How long has the tank been running?

[Reefbaby]

DeederMC - you could also try a hang-on skimmer, if you don't have the real estate available within the tank. Alternatively, once you remove the bio-balls, maybe there will be room to fit a skimmer into there. I would also highly recommend using a skimmer if you can.

[DeederMc]

The tank has been running in it's current form for about 4 months, previous to that we were in a 30 gallon. We moved into the new tank, added some new live rock and have added one coral since then (a candy cane).

I have a hang-on skimmer left from the 30 gallon and may be able to figure out a way to get it going. I'll fuss with it this afternoon.

[pham411]

take out the bio balls and add a skimmer and your nitrates should lower. bioballs are usually a breading ground for nitrates. remove bio wheels also if you have them. nitrates of 10 isnt so bad for fish only and softies but if you have hard corals in there it may retard the growth. i have heard of systems without skimmers but your system must be super established with the right critters to take care of you bio load.

good luck
latez