So let's try some yeast!

[Flippers4pups]

Here's another one on Fe and diatoms:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3223615/

Maybe @Randy Holmes-Farley can extrapolate on what their findings are for us.

 

[Tjakes680]

Following

 

[Flippers4pups]

I have to say the diatoms on the sand bed are much lighter than before.

 

[Flippers4pups]

I'll do full test of my water pramameters tomorrow evening after work and post them. So far, so good.

 

[GoVols]

Don,
No matter what the final results that you come to are...

This is a great thread and thanks for sharing.

 

[Flippers4pups]

Don,
No matter what the final results that you come to are...

This is a great thread and thanks for sharing.

We'll see! Thanks Freddie!

 

[Mattrg02]

Maybe this would be a good way to remove excess iron? Could excess iron be the cause of acroporas all turning green?

 

[Flippers4pups]

Maybe this would be a good way to remove excess iron? Could excess iron be the cause of acroporas all turning green?

Anything is possible. One would have to have their water tested for Fe to know. How effective a reduction there would be using yeast that way is still unknown.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Maybe this would be a good way to remove excess iron? Could excess iron be the cause of acroporas all turning green?

Unlikely on the coloration issue. Many people dose iron, and Red Sea recommends very high levels (way, way above NSW levels) and do not have such issues.

 

[BillH]

Iron depletes out of a system very very rapidly. I dose 35ml of Fe every 2 days for a connected macro tank. Never any adverse effects and no diatoms.(notable or visable anyway) Heavy dosing of Fe can cause you to get some brown micro algae's to growing heavier, but good snail clean up crew knocks that out. Most all of my red or reddish macro's all thrive under the heavy Fe dosing and I can notice a huge difference in them after just 3-4 days of not dosing, loss of color, rigidness etc.

 

[mcarroll]

Microscope identification. Don't have pictures though. Sorry.

Would love to see your actual pics if you can get some. Do you have your own scope?

At the least it would be useful for you to get a fresh look to see changes in the microbial community. (Me too.)

So, there is some scientific back ground about yeast and it's effects on diatoms. Who knew, right?

So they think bakers yeast will grow/thrive in saltwater???? I could be wrong but I doubt this.

IMO if nutrients are being used it's because the yeast is being used as a food and carbon source by other things in the tank.

 

[Flippers4pups]

Would love to see your actual pics if you can get some. Do you have your own scope?

At the least it would be useful for you to get a fresh look to see changes in the microbial community. (Me too.)


So they think bakers yeast will grow/thrive in saltwater???? I could be wrong but I doubt this.

IMO if nutrients are being used it's because the yeast is being used as a food and carbon source by other things in the tank.

I'll answer your questions when I get home from work.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I'll read it soon. Thanks!

Here's the white paper on the research on yeast and diatoms that was sent to me:

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1529-8817.2007.00359.x

It's just the abstract though, not the whole paper.

These various papers point out that iron limits the growth of diatoms in parts of the ocean.

In general, it is not just diatoms, however, but that iron has been shown to limit photosynthesis overall in parts of the ocean.

In my tank, diatoms were silicate limited, because iron dosing did not encourage their growth, but silicate dosing immediately changes the growth on the glass from green to brown, while iron dosing had no such effect.

 

[Flippers4pups]

Would love to see your actual pics if you can get some. Do you have your own scope?

No I don't, but I do at work.

At the least it would be useful for you to get a fresh look to see changes in the microbial community. (Me too.)

Agreed.

So they think bakers yeast will grow/thrive in saltwater???? I could be wrong but I doubt this.

There was a member here that actually posted pictures of yeast growing in saltwater sample from his tank. So yes, it can. For how long? Don't know.

IMO if nutrients are being used it's because the yeast is being used as a food and carbon source by other things in the tank.

Yeast would definitely be a carbon source and could definitely be a food source for fish, coral, inverts and bacteria, though not ideal.

 

[Flippers4pups]

Update: Diatoms haven't changed. Starting to think that they are growing back as fast a they are being held back. Silicate and Fe must be more than ample to keep feeding them.

Fish, coral and inverts are fine. Corals are doing very well, look very good. (Possibly fed by the yeast?)

Tank glass is very clean. This is a change, as it would fowl with algae quickly each day.

Skimmer is still pulling light tan skimmate.

Water testing will have to wait till tomorrow morning. Too busy this evening.

So, as of now, not much improvement, but I've got a dose coming tomorrow and Sunday. Maybe the tables will turn by the end of the weekend.

 

[mcarroll]

Yeast would definitely be a carbon source

I'm thinking about the "sugar coating" on the yeast. (Not sure of the carbon or nutrient content of the yeast itself.)

I'm not sure what the nutritional makeup of a yeast cell is like from an "active yeast" packet, but I do know they advertise brewer's yeast (my understanding is that this is dead yeast) as being high in vitamin B12.

Also found this on a quick look:

Salinity tolerance does not distinguish marine [yeast] species from terrestrial species because almost all yeasts can grow in sodium chloride concentrations exceeding those normally present in the sea.

From https://doi.org/10.1002/yea.1599 ("Marine Yeasts – a review")

It doesn't address baker's yeast direclty, but still maybe there could be something "live" going on with your yeast in the tank.

 

[Flippers4pups]

Update: Third dose in with lights out this morning. I'm off work, so next is to do some water testing.

 

[Flippers4pups]

Water test:

PH: 7.8 (lights not on)
Alkalinity: 9.6
Calcium: 500
Mag: 1470
N03: 5
P04: .02

 

[taricha]

I can think of one effect that I know would follow the addition of baker's yeast in a reef tank.
Increased ciliates.
Yeast is often used in the culture of ciliates to achieve huge densities. I believe the ciliates feed on the yeast itself as well as the bacteria that grow from the yeast.
Most ciliates live off of bacteria, but some can hunt larger cells like dinos and diatoms. Unfortunately, from what I saw when I messed around with it, the ciliates that eat large cells don't grow well on yeast/bacteria and the ciliates that grow on yeast/bacteria don't eat big cells.

But maybe I just sucked at growing ciliates. Either way, I never poured yeast in a reef tank, so following with great curiosity.

 

[Flippers4pups]

I'll update soon as my lights come on.