Dinos or Diatoms?

[Polyp Punk]

Hey guys ,
My tank is a over a year old. I battled Dino’s for a while because my nutrients bottomed out. My nutrients have been elevated for a while and I used UV to get rid of the Dino’s. I still have this brown algae on the sandbed that’s not really traveling into the rocks as fast as the Dino’s did and it looks a little different not as many air bubbles and strings like the Dino’s had so I was was thinking diatoms ? Picture below let me know what you think !

 

[blaxsun]

Could be diatoms. What do you have for sand cleanup crew?

 

[Polyp Punk]

Could be diatoms. What do you have for sand cleanup crew?

Starfish some snails sea urchin and fire shrimp… I can prob get some more snails any recommendations for good diatom eaters? I feel like I wana get to the root of the issue tho… but it does look like diatoms and not Dino right ? This tank has been a nightmare. I’ll never start with dry rock ever again. I always started with live rock and never had this many issues settling in.

 

[Lavey29]

It's probably silicate in your RODI causing minor diatoms. I get the same. Plus if you have diatoms they outcompete dinos so you have a defense line too.

 

[Polyp Punk]

It's probably silicate in your RODI causing minor diatoms. I get the same. Plus if you have diatoms they outcompete dinos so you have a defense line too.

I changed everyone of my filters except my RO membrane cuz that’s supposed to last a while … you think It would help if I
change the RO membrane ? I’m getting 0 TDS every other filter is fresh

 

[Lavey29]

I changed everyone of my filters except my RO membrane cuz that’s supposed to last a while … you think It would help if I
change the RO membrane ? I’m getting 0 TDS every other filter is fresh

I get 0 reading too. BRS has an add on filter called a silicate buster that would help most likely. You need some silicate in your tank for overall health.

 

[roggy23]

Looks like diatoms.

 

[vetteguy53081]

These are diatoms which are a brown algae that typically appear in a reef tank that has just completed its cycle but they can also appear in an established reef tank. They can cover sand, rock, pumps, glass, you name it. Diatoms look ugly but in most cases they are harmless so the key is to not panic when they appear.
Diatoms feed mainly off of silicates but also consume dissolved organic compounds, phosphate and nitrates. Unfiltered tap water can contain silicates and is a good way to jump start a bloom if you use it to mix salt or to replace water that evaporated from the tank. The best way to prevent this from happening is to filter water through a RODI unit, although you can still get a diatom bloom when using RODI if the cartridge that removes silicates expires.
Diatoms are typically harmless to a captive reef and can be beaten once their food source expires. Once you put the kibosh on the source, the outbreak should last a couple of weeks so just be patient and it will pass.
For major outbreaks you may want to consider the three day blackout. Diatoms are easily wiped from the glass with a mag float, a turkey baster or a toothbrush can access other areas of the tank. Be prepared for them to re-establish themselves quickly, they are likely to be able to resettle and have exponential growth rates.
To prevent their return, practice good aquarium husbandry by doing regular water changes, keep the substrate clean, don’t overfeed the fish, ensure your skimmer is running at an optimal level and rinse out filter socks and sponges on a regular basis.
Some cleaner crew to help control it are : Cerith snails, Nerite snails and Trochus snails and also Astraea snails are effective at removing diatoms.

 

[saltyhog]

It's impossible for anyone to say by looking at the tank if it's diatoms or dinoflagellates. LCA and sometimes SCA can look EXACTLY like diatoms. It's not at all unusual to successfully treat a UV sensitive species such as Coolia or Ostreopsis and have LCA appear afterward. Best practice is to get access to a microscope to get a positive ID.

 

[Polyp Punk]

It's impossible for anyone to say by looking at the tank if it's diatoms or dinoflagellates. LCA and sometimes SCA can look EXACTLY like diatoms. It's not at all unusual to successfully treat a UV sensitive species such as Coolia or Ostreopsis and have LCA appear afterward. Best practice is to get access to a microscope to get a positive ID.

How do you deal with the LCA afterwards? I am starting to see a ton of coraline algae growing on the rocks and snails which is always a great sign but I just can’t shake this crap on the sandbed.

 

[saltyhog]

How do you deal with the LCA afterwards? I am starting to see a ton of coraline algae growing on the rocks and snails which is always a great sign but I just can’t shake this crap on the sandbed.

If you know it's LCA, you dose water glass to elicit a competing diatom bloom. Along with this keep nutrients elevated and dose phyto frequently.

 

[Polyp Punk]

If you know it's LCA, you dose water glass to elicit a competing diatom bloom. Along with this keep nutrients elevated and dose phyto frequently.

Water glass ? I never heard of it … it’s starting to get really really dark brown. I havnt seen it this color. Maybe it’s dying off ? I’m not sure :-/

 

[Polyp Punk]

If you know it's LCA, you dose water glass to elicit a competing diatom bloom. Along with this keep nutrients elevated and dose phyto frequently.

Any recommendations for a water glass product? Will the sponge expel from brightwell work ? It’s silicate ment to feed sponges etc. if not which water glass product do you use ?

 

[roggy23]

Any recommendations for a water glass product? Will the sponge expel from brightwell work ? It’s silicate ment to feed sponges etc. if not which water glass product do you use ?

Did you get your answer to which water glass to use?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Any recommendations for a water glass product? Will the sponge expel from brightwell work ? It’s silicate ment to feed sponges etc. if not which water glass product do you use ?

magic eraser sponge Original works great- no Unscented- original formula

 

[roggy23]

Any recommendations for a water glass product? Will the sponge expel from brightwell work ? It’s silicate ment to feed sponges etc. if not which water glass product do you use ?

 

[Lavey29]

Cool never heard of this before. I'm curious if it will help with the OP problem as I have similar on my sand also here and there.

OP did you ever point of sale ID with a microscope?

 

[Polyp Punk]

Cool never heard of this before. I'm curious if it will help with the OP problem as I have similar on my sand also here and there.

OP did you ever point of sale ID with a microscope?

No I did not. I rip cleaned my sand and bottomed out my nutrients cuz my phosphate was sky high and it seems to disappear. I’m hoping the next few weeks easing my nutrients back up slowly some other bacteria or algae will grab hold instead of the Dino’. I’m also dosing microbacter 7. The rip clean of the sand bed seemed to help alot ! Fingers crossed !

 

[Polyp Punk]

magic eraser sponge Original works great- no Unscented- original formula

Magic eraser? The sponge that cleans walls ? lol or is it a solution? I’m debating if I should go with the sponge excel that made for aquariums or the other product the gentleman recommended that’s not an aquarium product. I’m kind of nervous adding regular water glass :/

 

[Tommy e]

Could be hermophatomia