Diatoms, cyano, or?

[Big_Mclargehuge]

Hey. My tank has been up and running about 7 months. Still battling the ugly phase. Here are some pics. Not sure if it's diatoms, cyano, or what? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[xxkenny90xx]

Appears to be daitoms to me

 

[Big_Mclargehuge]

Appears to be daitoms to me

Thanks. Now just to figure the rest of the issues out with my tank lol.

 

[Woodneers]

Have you stirred it up? Does it come back the next day?

 

[Big_Mclargehuge]

Have you stirred it up? Does it come back the next day?

yeah. Usually comes back within a day or so.

 

[Subsea]

As I read post in your tank thread, I gather your tank has not yet stabilized and is still in uglies phase.

Considering your experience level and what I have read in some of your post, I suggest two things: do routine partial water changes and use granulated activated carbon to remove dissolved organic carbon.

Get some snails in your clean up crew and beware of hermit crabs as they eat snails. A serpent or brittle starfish is a good detrivore/omnivore that will assist with substrate maintenance.

 

[Big_Mclargehuge]

As I read post in your tank thread, I gather your tank has not yet stabilized and is still in uglies phase.

Considering your experience level and what I have read in some of your post, I suggest two things: do routine partial water changes and use granulated activated carbon to remove dissolved organic carbon.

Get some snails in your clean up crew and beware of hermit crabs as they eat snails. A serpent or brittle starfish is a good detrivore/omnivore that will assist with substrate maintenance.

Thanks. I do have snails and crabs. I have used carbon but it almost bottomed my nitrates out. I'll give it a try again though.

 

[Subsea]

Thanks. I do have snails and crabs. I have used carbon but it almost bottomed my nitrates out. I'll give it a try again though.

Activated carbon should have little to no effect on nitrate. All marine organisms consume nitrogen and that includes bacteria.

 

[Big_Mclargehuge]

Activated carbon should have little to no effect on nitrate. All marine organisms consume nitrogen and that includes bacteria.

Hmm maybe it was just a coincidence. I'll try it again.

 

[zavosan]

Hey,

I would like to borrow your thread
My tank is 3 months old, nitrates 1-2, phosphate 0.03 - 0.1 (salifert) - I am waiting for Hanna

are that also diatoms?
edit. here is also picture if you can not open video

 

[zavosan]

 

[Arabyps]

I would recommend an ICP water test to check for high silicates. If it is diatoms, they feed on silicates and until you remove this food source they will be difficult to control. Check both DT and RODI for silicates. If present in the RODI you will need to change your DI filter (even if TDS reads 0). If no excess silicates it may be cyano which may be cured with chemi-clean.

 

[Big_Mclargehuge]

I would recommend an ICP water test to check for high silicates. If it is diatoms, they feed on silicates and until you remove this food source they will be difficult to control. Check both DT and RODI for silicates. If present in the RODI you will need to change your DI filter (even if TDS reads 0). If no excess silicates it may be cyano which may be cured with chemi-clean.

I have asked my LFS about their tds and they always say it's zero and that they test regularly. I wonder though. It seems like my diatoms get worse after a water change.

 

[Arabyps]

I have asked my LFS about their tds and they always say it's zero and that they test regularly. I wonder though. It seems like my diatoms get worse after a water change.

Testing revealed I had high silicates in my RODI water (and a diatom bloom in my DT) even though TDS meter read 0. I changed the DI filter and ran the test again - 0 silicates. For some reason, the DI cartridge was exhausted with respect to silicate removal and didn't register with TDS. Very confusing but solved my problem. Never any harm in getting a professional water analysis in any event.

 

[Subsea]

I have asked my LFS about their tds and they always say it's zero and that they test regularly. I wonder though. It seems like my diatoms get worse after a water change.

I think you need an accurate water test to know your parameters. If diatoms bloom after a water change, a trace mineral which limits diatom growth was introduced during water change. It is not necessarily silica, it could just as easily be iron.

Because I am having parts of this conversation in chemistry forum, I will post links from Randy Holmes Farley.

Silica In Reef Aquariums

Why would I recommend dosing silica? Largely because creatures in our tanks use it, the concentrations in our tanks (at least in mine) are below natural levels, and the sponges, mollusks, and diatoms may not be getting enough to thrive.

reefs.com

[Finally, and I think most importantly, I’ll recommend that people consider dosing soluble silica to their tanks to support the variety of organisms that potentially use it, from sponges to limpets]

[In reef tanks, where nitrogen and phosphorus are often not in short supply, it makes sense that silica could be limiting. In case you were thinking that silica limitation to diatom growth is necessarily a good thing, there are drawbacks. The limitation of silica, inhibiting the growth of diatoms that would otherwise take up the limiting nutrients nitrogen and phosphorus, has even been implicated in blooms of cyanobacteria.]