Diatom problems??

aquablizz · Dec 31, 2017

is there a way to distinguish a diatom problem from another problem that creates a brown powdering residue covering nearly everything in my tank??

my phosphates are steady at 14PPB and nitrates undetectable.. I brush the stuff off and within 24 hrs. its back again..

the GFO reactor has been off line for a few weeks now but no effect..

any help would be greatly appreciated. really ruined the looks of my display tank..

Blizz

Sfplaya1 · Dec 31, 2017

How many hours are you lights on?

aquablizz · Dec 31, 2017

lights on approx. 9 hrs per day been viewing other threads that say to reduce the reds in the lighting but I don't have that ability

thanks
blizz

Mark Waltermire · Dec 31, 2017

WWC had a diatom problem and dosed bakers yeast. You might want to look into that as they struggled with it for about 9 months and you know that they definitely know what they are doing

aquablizz · Dec 31, 2017

Mark Waltermire said:
WWC had a diatom problem and dosed bakers yeast. You might want to look into that as they struggled with it for about 9 months and you know that they definitely know what they are doing

How do I find that thread,, definitely interested.. Thanks

aquablizz · Dec 31, 2017

I see a lot of opinions stating to reduce the red spectrum in your lighting.. I'm running an Orbit Marine pro currently for 9 hrs per day.. how can I reduce the red if my only manual adjustments are blue and white... is the red part of the white??

Dave haddix · Dec 31, 2017

Are you sure it’s diatoms and not dinoflagellates? Do they disappear when the lights are off? I thought I had diatoms but the fact that they go away after lights out leads me to believe there dinos..

aquablizz · Dec 31, 2017

these things are always there... they brush off easily but I have to do it daily... the tank has been up and running for 10 years but I introduced a lot of new rock 5 months ago and a month after that is when the issue started to pop up..
blizz

jsker · Dec 31, 2017

I found that running my white spectrum for only 5 hours at about 30% took care of my issue. Yeast does not work.

aquablizz · Jan 6, 2018

I moved some of the rock around in my display tank and anything that is not directly effected by my lights is pure white.. I'm not sure what this means but without any lighting on, I get the feeling all the brown dust or whatever it is will disappear. Then again,,, what's the use of having a display tank if it is not visible and enhanced with lights.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Jan 6, 2018

Identifying diatoms is best done with a microscope. They also have a requirement for silicate that no similar pest does.

aquablizz · Jan 6, 2018

Thanks Randy for your input.. do you have any suggestions... even if I had a microscope I wouldn't know what to look for or how to correct the problem... the brown dust like material moves in within 24 hours after I brush it off...