Diatoms?

[Reefahholic]

I do have nitrates they are at 20 now. It is nitrites that zeroed out two days ago. I never got an ammonia reading even though I ghost fed the fritz worked way to fast. The tank cycled dec 15 until yesterday when the diatoms took over. My nitrates went as high as 50 then I did the water change which brought them down. I have yet to test phosphates. I added a carbon pack when nitrites zeroed

Just leave the nitrates at 20. What carbon pack? Test the PO4. Now you have me interested. Report back.

 

[Tyguy35]

Just leave the nitrates at 20. What carbon pack? Test the PO4. Now you have me interested. Report back.

Aquaclear just a small pack I threw in the sump. I’ll go test it now.

 

[Reefahholic]

Aquaclear just a small pack I threw in the sump. I’ll go test it now.

That shouldn’t hurt anything, but it’s really not needed. I think it’s best to let a tank do what it does for the first 6 months and don’t disturb the biology. I do adjust nutrients myself because if they bottom out you’ll run into issues. I’m fixing to setup up a new build myself and for me it’s important to not turn the lights on with dry rock until they get somewhat established. If you blast them with light early it’s just asking for problems.

Check out this recent video I uploaded on fishless cycling with dry rock. I always use doctor tim’s products and follow his advice. I’ve set up at least 6-7 tanks with dry rock.

 

[Tyguy35]

That shouldn’t hurt anything, but it’s really not needed. I think it’s best to let a tank do what it does for the first 6 months and don’t disturb the biology. I do adjust nutrients myself because if they bottom out you’ll run into issues. I’m fixing to setup up a new build myself and for me it’s important to not turn the lights on with dry rock until they get somewhat established. If you blast them with light early it’s just asking for problems.

Check out this recent video I uploaded on fishless cycling with dry rock. I always use doctor tim’s products and follow his advice. I’ve set up at least 6-7 tanks with dry rock.

So after testing phosphate looks like a 0. What should I do to get it up. Funny because my last tank I had issues lowering phosphate.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Heavy diatoms. Siphon up well, reduce white light intensity and add some cleaner snails such as:
3 turbo
3 astrea
3 trochus
4 nassarius
3 cerith
6-8 blue leg hermit crabs (they’re tiny)

 

[vetteguy53081]

So after testing phosphate looks like a 0. What should I do to get it up. Funny because my last tank I had issues lowering phosphate.

What test kits are you using ?

 

[Reefahholic]

So after testing phosphate looks like a 0. What should I do to get it up. Funny because my last tank I had issues lowering phosphate.

That’s why you’re seeing diatoms. Do you have any Reef Roids. If so...dose 1 TSP.

Or look into Loudwolf Trisodium Phosphate or Brightwell NeoPhos.

Trisodium Phosphate 4 Ounces 1 Bottle

The item for sale is 4 Ounces (113 Grams) of Trisodium Phosphate (Na3PO4). Trisodium Phosphate, also known as TSP, is highly soluble and produces an alkaline solution in water. It is commonly used as a cleaning product. For other cleaners, including Oxali

www.loudwolf.com

NeoPhos - Balanced Phosphorus Supplement

Used in conjunction with MICROBACTER7 and REEF BIOFUEL or KATALYST, enables natural nitrogen uptake to take place in systems with inadequate phosphorus content, lowering ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate concentrations without the use of chemical filtration media and without resorting to polluting...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

 

[Reefahholic]

What test kits are you using ?

That’s an excellent question. Forgot to ask. If you’re not using a Hanna Phosphorus ULR, you might actually having some phosphate but it’s probably still low.

 

[Tyguy35]

That’s why you’re seeing diatoms. Do you have any Reef Roids. If so...dose 1 TSP.

Or look into Loudwolf Trisodium Phosphate or Brightwell NeoPhos.

Trisodium Phosphate 4 Ounces 1 Bottle

The item for sale is 4 Ounces (113 Grams) of Trisodium Phosphate (Na3PO4). Trisodium Phosphate, also known as TSP, is highly soluble and produces an alkaline solution in water. It is commonly used as a cleaning product. For other cleaners, including Oxali

www.loudwolf.com

NeoPhos - Balanced Phosphorus Supplement

Used in conjunction with MICROBACTER7 and REEF BIOFUEL or KATALYST, enables natural nitrogen uptake to take place in systems with inadequate phosphorus content, lowering ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate concentrations without the use of chemical filtration media and without resorting to polluting...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

I do have reed roids.

What test kits are you using ?

Salifert

Heavy diatoms. Siphon up well, reduce white light intensity and add some cleaner snails such as:
3 turbo
3 astrea
3 trochus
4 nassarius
3 cerith
6-8 blue leg hermit crabs (they’re tiny)

I added 2 trochus 3 astrea can’t find Cerith or nassarius in my area. People scavenged hard before lockdown happened again here. I’ll go get some hermits if they have them.

 

[Reefahholic]

I do have nitrates they are at 20 now. It is nitrites that zeroed out two days ago. I never got an ammonia reading even though I ghost fed the fritz worked way to fast. The tank cycled dec 15 until yesterday when the diatoms took over. My nitrates went as high as 50 then I did the water change which brought them down. I have yet to test phosphates. I added a carbon pack when nitrites zeroed

I

I do have reed roids.

Salifert

I added 2 trochus 3 astrea can’t find Cerith or nassarius in my area. People scavenged hard before lockdown happened again here. I’ll go get some hermits if they have them.

I think the range on the Salifert PO4 kit can get down to 0.01 - 0.02. See if you can see the range. Yeah, dose some Reef Roids and check it again later and see if it’s detectable.

 

[Tyguy35]

I

I think the range on the Salifert PO4 kit can get down to 0.01 - 0.02. See if you can see the range. Yeah, dose some Reef Roids and check it again later and see if it’s detectable.

0.03. All of the algae seems to be gone today other then a small amount on the bottom of the glass. There are a few spots with a shade of green. I’ll dose some of reef roids now. Thank you.

 

[Reefahholic]

0.03. All of the algae seems to be gone today other then a small amount on the bottom of the glass. There are a few spots with a shade of green. I’ll dose some of reef roids now. Thank you.

Yeah, some algae is typical for a new system especially the first year. Just watch it closely and don’t let it get out of control. Manually removing is always a good option up to a certain point.

Sounds like your on the right track. Just keep a little bit of nutrients and avoid strong light. I know it’s hard! We all want to light our reefs from day 1! The light will grow algae (even if it’s a little) and steal the nutrients away from your nitrifiers. This won’t matter later, but in the first few months it does.

 

[Tyguy35]

Yeah, some algae is typical for a new system especially the first year. Just watch it closely and don’t let it get out of control. Manually removing is always a good option up to a certain point.

Sounds like your on the right track. Just keep a little bit of nutrients and avoid strong light. I know it’s hard! We all want to light our reefs from day 1! The light will grow algae (even if it’s a little) and steal the nutrients away from your nitrifiers. This won’t matter later, but in the first few months it does.

After an hour and a bit and a reef roids dose looks like I’m reading 0.03 hard to tell may be just under 0.03

 

[Reefahholic]

After an hour and a bit and a reef roids dose looks like I’m reading 0.03 hard to tell may be just under 0.03

As long as your getting a reading!

 

[Tyguy35]

As long as your getting a reading!

It seems that since we last spoke on here those little sprouts have popped up in a few more spots.

 

[Reefahholic]

It seems that since we last spoke on here those little sprouts have popped up in a few more spots.

Don’t worry, it’s not gonna overrun your tank this early. Keep the lights off. If it’s bryopsis it will look like a little fern or feather like leaf. You can still nuke it later with fluconazole if you needed to.

 

[Reefahholic]

Here’s a great picture:

 

[Tyguy35]

Here’s a great picture:

Not the best photos but this is one. Harder to see with white light. Lights are off and tank covered.

 

[Reefahholic]

Not the best photos but this is one. Harder to see with white light. Lights are off and tank covered.

It doesn’t look like bryopsis in that pic. Just go noob style with it. Start up some bio pellets, fire up a GFO reactor, dose some chemi clean, and then hit it with fluconazole.

Ha..no really...leave it alone and keep those lights off. It’s gonna be fine. You can uncover the tank. Just don’t add a lot of fish or coral right now.

My tank won’t see coral for 4 months.

 

[Reefahholic]

What kind of rock is that BTW and you’re using 0 TDS water right.