Hey ChrisRD here is a couple pics

[saltnmyeye]

Is this diatoms on my sand bed?

 

[Micah00]

Looks alot like cyano to me, especially in the second pic.

 

[ChrisRD]

Yeah, I agree - looks like cyano. Once you've got the skimmer running that should help. A better water source would be a good idea too (as mentioned in the other thread).

 

[saltnmyeye]

what the &^$# is cyano???

 

[ChrisRD]

Cyanobacteria - "red slime algae".

Normal to see it during the early stages of a reef (sometimes it pops up from time to time in an established reef too).

Get your skimmer running and make sure your source water is good. If you keep up your water quality it will pass. Increasing circulation helps too. Some inverts will eat it as well.

 

[Micah00]

Also as a side note if your lights are getting old they start to shift toward the red spectrum and sometimes you will see cyano.

 

[saltnmyeye]

Okay, cool, thanks for the advice. My lights are only about 2 months old. I think they last for about a year or so. The skimmer is on the way. I am going with a remora pro. By the way, this is the 95 gallon stepquarium I've been building. Here is a pic. Dont mind the light its a temp I was using.