HELP! What is this?

[MaxC-130]

This is my sandbed at the front of my tank.
All parameters are fine but when the sandbed gets disturbed, usually by the conch, there is an outbreak of diatoms on the sand and green algae on the glass.
Should I do anything about it?
The tank has been running for nine months. I have several fish and invertebrates - nothing special, yet!

 

[DaveK]

What water parameters did you test, and what were the actual readings? What seems fine to you may indicate a problem to someone else.

What your seeing is not at all unusual. Typically it's from a buildup of all the usual aquarium dirt. This is not necessarily bad. Some people vacuum the sandbed, but if you do that, go only about 1 inch deep. The layers deeper than that should not be disturbed.

 

[frisbee]

Like mentioned above what your seeing is quite normal and really nothing to worry about, but if you want to remove it just get an old credit card or drivers license and slide it straight down the front of the glass. This should remove the algae growth without disturbing the sand bed too much. GL.