Remove diatoms to help chaeto grow?

MarshallB

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Problem is my chaeto is just withering away. I suspect the Diatoms are sucking away everything in the water and out competing it. I've read in some threads to not remove the diatoms until they start dying off. Should I just pull out the chaeto for now and buy a new ball once the diatoms die off? I started to dose a small amount of chaeto grow to see if it made an impact for a week. I noticed no new growth so i stopped dosing as to not increase any micros since it doesn't seem like the chaeto is using it.

I suspect its diatoms becomes it comes off in sheets. Snails are also not dying to it so I assume it isnt dino. It also doesn't seem to be growing on any of my coral.

My tank has only been up for about 3 moths.

Nitrates are normally between 10 and 0. For the past 2 weeks they have been at 0 with testing every 3 days.Phosphate ranges from 0 to .5. I alternate feeding half a cub of mysis, a small pinch of flakes, or enough pellets that each fish gets 3-4 pellets each.

For lighting I'm using a Kessile h380. My light schedule is 8 hours on in the display tank. I have the refugium light come on an hour before lights go out and off when the lights come on.

I had a powerhead in the sump, but it was constantly releasing small bits of chaeto into the tank. Not that big of a deal, but it was just clogging up the filter socks.

My TDS is 0. I assume the silicate is coming from the new substrate and dry rock. I've noticed a bit of green algae starting to grow in spots and coralline algae is starting to show up in specs all around the tank.
 
Can we get a pic of these diatoms? The only algae that I know of that comes in sheets is cyanobacteria....

What's your water change schedule? Have you considered doing a partial blackout just to give the chaeto time to start regrowing?
 

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