Diatoms, Night and Day

[dangles]

Orange diatoms I presume.

Now you see them (9pm after lights all day)…

Now you don’t (6am before lights turn on)…

 

[blaxsun]

So were they back when the lights went on again?

 

[dangles]

So were they back when the lights went on again?

Lol. I assume so but I took that last photo right before leaving for work

 

[blaxsun]

Lol. I assume so but I took that last photo right before leaving for work

That or you have an awesome cleaning crew, lol.

 

[saltyhog]

How old is your tank? Is your source water RO/DI. Any new rock or substrate added recently? What are your NO3 and PO4 levels.

Looks like a relatively new tank. If it is, it' just a normal thing to expect. If not new it could be diatoms or it could be something else.

 

[dangles]

How old is your tank? Is your source water RO/DI. Any new rock or substrate added recently? What are your NO3 and PO4 levels.

Looks like a relatively new tank. If it is, it' just a normal thing to expect. If not new it could be diatoms or it could be something else.

Yeah almost certainly diatoms. My tank has been up and running since January so still new. No real ugly phase (these diatoms hardly count). No corals yet though, just fish.

Source water is RODI, using Tropic Marin Pro Reef Salt and dosing (barely) BRS 2-part. Nothing new added in the recent months. I'm running a small fuge in one of the back chambers (it's an AIO) with an AI Blade Fuge light.

As of a few days ago:

pH 7.84-7.98
dKH 9
NO3 1 ppm
PO4 0.04 ppm
Ca 410
Mg 1170 (I added mg after this reading but haven't checked since)

I had a nutrient spike at the end of June through mid-July as a result of my Apex going down for a couple of weeks and losing my auto water changes. I've since gotten it back under control, but the diatoms showed up right after that. I expect they'll go away at some point. They haven't gotten too bad so far

 

[vetteguy53081]

Orange diatoms I presume.

Now you see them (9pm after lights all day)…

Now you don’t (6am before lights turn on)…

Hard to see with shimmer and spectrums but assumably seems to be diatoms which lessen and night and slowly rebuild during the day.
For snails, add nassarius, astrea, cerith as I see a few nassarius in pic.

 

[dangles]

Hard to see with shimmer and spectrums but assumably seems to be diatoms which lessen and night and slowly rebuild during the day.
For snails, add nassarius, astrea, cerith as I see a few nassarius in pic.

I need to start turning my return pump off when I take photos to get rid of that shimmer

I do have a handful of nassarius, a few astraea and ceriths as well. I could use some more though. I might actually pick some up tomorrow. My LFS is having a sale. They're good at getting me to spend money when I don't really have it lol

 

[saltyhog]

Yeah almost certainly diatoms. My tank has been up and running since January so still new. No real ugly phase (these diatoms hardly count). No corals yet though, just fish.

Source water is RODI, using Tropic Marin Pro Reef Salt and dosing (barely) BRS 2-part. Nothing new added in the recent months. I'm running a small fuge in one of the back chambers (it's an AIO) with an AI Blade Fuge light.

As of a few days ago:

pH 7.84-7.98
dKH 9
NO3 1 ppm
PO4 0.04 ppm
Ca 410
Mg 1170 (I added mg after this reading but haven't checked since)

I had a nutrient spike at the end of June through mid-July as a result of my Apex going down for a couple of weeks and losing my auto water changes. I've since gotten it back under control, but the diatoms showed up right after that. I expect they'll go away at some point. They haven't gotten too bad so far

If they don't seem to be going away, try to get access to a microscope if possible and post pictures to confirm it's diatoms and not something else. If it is diatoms and they persist it would be a good idea to do an ICP on both tank and RO/DI water.

 

[Alexraptor]

Some dinoflagellates take to the water column at night and settle back down on surfaces during the day.

It started off similar for me. rust spots that would appear during the day which I just chalked up to diatoms, until I analyzed a sample under a microscope and identified prorocentrum dinoflagellates interspersed with diatoms.

Would definitely recommend trying to gain access to a microscope.

 

[taricha]

dinos are the most notable hobby nuisance for daily migrations to the sand surface and away. But less known is that diatoms and cyano do this daily cycle too - with some variations.
so appearing and disappearing doesn't actually tell you what it is.

 

[dangles]

dinos are the most notable hobby nuisance for daily migrations to the sand surface and away. But less known is that diatoms and cyano do this daily cycle too - with some variations.
so appearing and disappearing doesn't actually tell you what it is.

I read you have a dino ID guide in one of your dino threads but I can't find it. Can I get a link?

*edit* disregard I found it!

 

[dangles]

dinos are the most notable hobby nuisance for daily migrations to the sand surface and away. But less known is that diatoms and cyano do this daily cycle too - with some variations.
so appearing and disappearing doesn't actually tell you what it is.

I'm thinking ostreopsis?

 

[dangles]

My tentative plan, starting with the easiest/cheapest options:

(I don’t see a need to go too aggressive too early. It’s a young tank, so hopefully it will resolve without much intervention)

Bump temps up to 80-81 (per Mark van der Wal of Reef Builders).

Kill the lights for 5 days (I started this 2 days ago and it’s already having a dramatic effect).

Continue dosing phyto to keep the pod population thriving.

Confine dosing MBC (I’ve been dosing this since not long after the tank finished cycling).

If those steps don’t work, I may add a few corals (there are none yet) to bring in some beneficial bacteria to hopefully outcompete (Mark and Jake from Reef Builders).

I’ve read MB7 can help. Maybe I’ll try that.

Look into dosing silicates (big dino thread here)

Maaaaaaybe UV

 

[vetteguy53081]

I'm thinking ostreopsis?

Agree on ostreo dino.

 

[taricha]

My tentative plan, starting with the easiest/cheapest options:

(I don’t see a need to go too aggressive too early. It’s a young tank, so hopefully it will resolve without much intervention)

Bump temps up to 80-81 (per Mark van der Wal of Reef Builders).

Kill the lights for 5 days (I started this 2 days ago and it’s already having a dramatic effect).

Continue dosing phyto to keep the pod population thriving.

Confine dosing MBC (I’ve been dosing this since not long after the tank finished cycling).

If those steps don’t work, I may add a few corals (there are none yet) to bring in some beneficial bacteria to hopefully outcompete (Mark and Jake from Reef Builders).

I’ve read MB7 can help. Maybe I’ll try that.

Look into dosing silicates (big dino thread here)

Maaaaaaybe UV

You listed like 7 interventions before you got to UV.
Some of those work - sometimes.
But UV vs ostreopsis is worth more than all those others combined.

So... you could just do UV.

 

[dangles]

You listed like 7 interventions before you got to UV.
Some of those work - sometimes.
But UV vs ostreopsis is worth more than all those others combined.

So... you could just do UV.

Lol yes. I listed the free/less expensive ones first. I’m in the process of saving for a new/bigger build. I’d rather not spend a chunk on a UV sterilizer for this tank when it will only get used once - if I can avoid it. If I must, then I must. But I’m not there just yet

*edit - UV is planned for my bigger build but an appropriately sized UV for this tank will be undersized for the next one.