How do i get rid of diatoms ?

[gmendez619]

I have a nano tank thats been set up for about 3 months now and whenever i turn on my light for a day my rock and sand just get covered in diatoms. I have live rock but not live sand so i dont know if this is a problem. I currently only have a clownfish in the tank and water parameters are all god. Ammonia 0 nitrite 0 nitrate 0 ph 8.4 sg 1.024

 

[juggalogentry]

Clean up crew time, how many gallons is the nano? get u a blue legged hermit crab or two and let em start munching down

 

[gmendez619]

Its a 10 gallon tank. I had a camel shrimp in there and my clown killed him so idk if i should get any shrimp now. But i will get some crabs. Im thinking about snails and an emerald crab

 

[juggalogentry]

yeah something with a natural defence against a nipper would be your best bet. they will munch down all your "unwantables"

 

[juggalogentry]

defense*

 

[ms705jk]

Post s pic of the algae. Diatoms feed on Silica usually once the the food source is gone after the initial set-up the diatoms should stay gone. Unless you are stirring up the sand bed. How often do you feed?

 

[gmendez619]

I feed the clown everyday twice a day. Not so much just a few pellets thats about it

 

[gmendez619]

 

[fishroomlady]

it seems like kind of a long time to see so many diatoms - how often do you do water changes? it looks like it could be excess nutrients - what do you use to export? I would agree in that you could definitely benefit from upping your CUC.

 

[ms705jk]

Definitely diatoms. Get a cuc. Couple snails and a couple of hermit crabs. No shrimp yet. Are you using r/o with salt mix for your wc's or ocean water?

 

[juggalogentry]

Are you using r/o with salt mix for your wc's or ocean water?

got to it before i could even ask, and how about your sand?

 

[LetItReef]

My tank is almost 3 months old too in two days. Mine occurred mostly on the glass so I did removed them manually by scrubbing it by a sponge and also bought Nerite snails from Reefcleaners. I am in San Diego too

 

[ms705jk]

My tank is almost 3 months old too in two days. Mine occurred mostly on the glass so I did removed them manually by scrubbing it by a sponge and also bought Nerite snails from Reefcleaners. I am in San Diego too

How often do you change your water and filter media. Sounds like you have a phosphate problem. You could be charging your poly fill or cleaning the sponge every week. What is your livestock list?

 

[LetItReef]

Every two wks with ro/di.
Ocellaris, Damsel and Lawnmower blenny on 29g.

 

[ms705jk]

I would suggest that you bump up your wc's to every week. Believe me you will see a huge difference in tank. Nano tanks generally don't have enough filtration to keep up with the bioload we subject our tanks too. Having the lights on for a total of 9 hours max meaning from the beginning of your light cycle to the end. Some people will even argue that 9 is to long. However I found with a weekly water change having my lights on for 9 doesn't make a big difference

 

[ms705jk]

You may also need more then a couple snails in your cuc for a 29g

 

[gmendez619]

I do water changes once a month 25% of it and i use regular drinking water with instant ocean salt mix. I dont have live sand. Just regular dry sand and thats about it. Do you guys think a bag of chemipure will help ?

 

[LetItReef]

You may also need more then a couple snails in your cuc for a 29g

Got some Nerites and Hermit crab

 

[LetItReef]

I would suggest that you bump up your wc's to every week. Believe me you will see a huge difference in tank. Nano tanks generally don't have enough filtration to keep up with the bioload we subject our tanks too. Having the lights on for a total of 9 hours max meaning from the beginning of your light cycle to the end. Some people will even argue that 9 is to long. However I found with a weekly water change having my lights on for 9 doesn't make a big difference

Agree on weekly water change

 

[ms705jk]

I do water changes once a month 25% of it and i use regular drinking water with instant ocean salt mix. I dont have live sand. Just regular dry sand and thats about it. Do you guys think a bag of chemipure will help ?

Chemipure elite. Nothing is going to help if you are using tap water. And definitely not once a month. Try this for a month and answer back to this thread. Clean or replace your first line on filter media. And a half unit chemipure elite pre rinsed with r/o water. Do a 15% wc weekly. I don't know how your nitrate and phosphate reading isn't sky high with a monthly wc