Does chaetomorpha help with removing diatoms?
- Thread starter ItsAName
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I've had diatoms for months, can't seem to beat it 
Brown dust constantly forming on the rocks and sand. Changed all the filters in my rodi, doing constant water changes and sand cleanings, I'm running out of options 
Brown dust constantly forming on the rocks and sand. Changed all the filters in my rodi, doing constant water changes and sand cleanings, I'm running out of options 
Tank is 8 months old. This has been happening for 3 months, killed a bunch of coral because it's relentless. I cleaned the sand yesterday and it looks like this today already. I scrubbed the rocks yesterday and blew them off today so they are looking ok in these pictures. 90gallon tank w/sump, doing 5 gallon changes every two days to clean the sand, and if it starts to take off I do a 15 gallon change once every other week.
SashimiTurtle
Turtle
Is it stringy, easily removed from rocks, CUC won't touch it, little bubbles in it, seems to be less in the morning then it's almost covering everything by the time the lights are about to go out?
No. Chato won't remove diatoms. Adding a small amount of gfo can help pull the silicates out of the water sooner.
That, and time to increase or diversify the cuc perhaps.
That, and time to increase or diversify the cuc perhaps.
Yes. That's 100% it. Well almost 100%. Very very little occurance of the strings and bubbles. I see that now and then, but not so much anymore. If i let it go a long time, like 2 weeks, without trying to clean it, ill see that
SashimiTurtle
Turtle
I think you have dinoflagellates and not diatoms.
The won't clean up large amount of diatoms or Dino's or gha for that matter. Thus the common reccomend of manual removal and increase in number and diversity of cuc. .
https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/choosing-cleanup-crew-critters.107/
https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/choosing-cleanup-crew-critters.107/
The two rocks in the last picture do it appear to me to have been wet for eight months. Are they later additions?Tank is 8 months old. This has been happening for 3 months, killed a bunch of coral because it's relentless. I cleaned the sand yesterday and it looks like this today already. I scrubbed the rocks yesterday and blew them off today so they are looking ok in these pictures. 90gallon tank w/sump, doing 5 gallon changes every two days to clean the sand, and if it starts to take off I do a 15 gallon change once every other week.
What is your cuc comprised of?
Look close. He's got everything. Normal.
justinm
Active Member
There is a balance between phosphate and nitrate, I imagine you are reading 0 in both. You can try to bring your nitrate up to around 2-3ppm to help combat it.
What are your readings? It doesn't look like diatoms not dinoflagellates to me.
What are your readings? It doesn't look like diatoms not dinoflagellates to me.
I was in there with a tooth brush yesterday scrubbing the rocks to get the brown off, while I was doing a water change. They may look newer because those rocks are easier for me to scrub with more force, so I probably got more off of them.
My CUC is trochus and nassarius snails (although my hoeven wrasse killed like half of them in the last 3 months), 2 emerald crabs, 2 hermit crabs, algae tail spot blenny.
Check out that link. I would reccomend turbos , turbans , and astreias. Rock grazing herbivores.
Oh and the new rock thing. The embedded algaes and precursors to corraline aren't showing as much. So new additions can add to the dissolved minerals from the surface of the rock. Silicates and more actualy. One of othe the fuels for mirofaunal growth in addition tonnitrigen and phosphate and light energy.
So new rock can add silicates. Again nothing to worry about.
And I'm personally still waiting to see and actual article from an actual recognized aquarist on nitrate and phosphate balanceing fwiw. Been waiting 8 years now.
And R Farley seems to disagree.
SashimiTurtle
Turtle
Yea Salty, now that I'm on a computer and not my phone outside in the sun I can see better. Those rocks are really white to be 8 months in tank. Mine are around 7 months and really gray with more and more pink and purple growing. I did buy wet live rock tho that had been sitting in a vat(without light) for idk how long. I see a little bit of GHA, some diatoms... good old mixed greens salad, aka reef tank puberty.
I had everlasting diatoms with black sand!!! Was hell but I removed the black sand and added white sand. Diatoms for a couple days and poof gone!! Also the larger cleanup crew will help. Some people do not like urchins as they move things around occasionally. But my urchin has been a champ at eating algae.
