Tips for getting rid of a diatom bloom?

[loweryphil]

Sick of this rusty look on my sand and glass. My tank has been up for 5 weeks. I cant cut the lighting off because i have corals in there

 

[CodyRVA]

Sick of this rusty look on my sand and glass. My tank has been up for 5 weeks. I cant cut the lighting off because i have corals in there

Be patient, let it do its thing! Has it finished cycling yet? If so, adding a CUC (clean up crew) will help. What are your parameters at the moment?

 

[diablomaster9045]

Check your RO/DI water. I had diatoms for weeks then finally tested my RO/DI water and the TDS was 185. Changed filters and it all cleared up.

 

[loweryphil]

Yeah my levels are all 0 i had an out break about two weeks ago so did a water change then introduced a clean up crew 4 hermits and 8 snails, two peppermints and it cleared up. Now all of a sudden im having an out break again. I dont use RO i use tap with prime. I know this is apparently a big no no but my corals and coraline and fish are all flourishing. Its not a huge outbreak. Just a bit on the power heads and on the big shells in the live sand.

 

[CodyRVA]

Yeah my levels are all 0 i had an out break about two weeks ago so did a water change then introduced a clean up crew 4 hermits and 8 snails, two peppermints and it cleared up. Now all of a sudden im having an out break again. I dont use RO i use tap with prime. I know this is apparently a big no no but my corals and coraline and fish are all flourishing. Its not a huge outbreak. Just a bit on the power heads and on the big shells in the live sand.

If your tank is only 5 weeks old... this is par for the course. What kind of snails did you add? And yea if you're not using RODI, you'll be constantly fighting self inflicted wounds. What corals do you have?

 

[loweryphil]

 

[diablomaster9045]

I dont use RO i use tap with prime.

I think you found your problem.

What test kits are you testing with and what tests that you are getting 0?

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

I dont use RO i use tap with prime.

if its truly diatoms. Its probably the water.
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2003/1/aafeature1

 

[loweryphil]

I have a yuma a hammer and zoas. I will be doing a big water change on thursday with RO that im going to buy from the shop. This is my first salt water tank. I follwed the instructions to the T APART from RO water. The snails were small turbos

 

[loweryphil]

Picture is above

 

[loweryphil]

if its truly diatoms. Its probably the water.
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2003/1/aafeature1

Its no where near as bad as that. Its just an annoying tinge that seems to go then come back. Will this pass?

 

[loweryphil]

Doesnt look so bad for 5 weeks does it?

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Its no where near as bad as that. Its just an annoying tinge that seems to go then come back. Will this pass?

yes, but not if you add silicates. check out the article.
Another good tip is to clean your water buckets well, and buy an inexpensive TDS meter. when you buy the water test it. you can get one for around $14. sadly its not always good to trust too much.
where I live we have chloramines and other nasty stuff to clean the pipes. That spells doom even for goldfish.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Doesnt look so bad for 5 weeks does it?

no not at all. The live rock pieces were a good choice. It really does give stability to a system quite quickly.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

fwiw here on R2r I see a lot of bad water probs.

 

[loweryphil]

It really does. Everything seems to be doing great. Im noticing new things coming out of my live rock daily. Very interesting! I plan on doing a 50% water change with salted RO on thursday and see how things go from there.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

It really does. Everything seems to be doing great. Im noticing new things coming out of my live rock daily. Very interesting! I plan on doing a 50% water change with salted RO on thursday and see how things go from there.

And If you have the patience, you can just do regular water changes and theyl fade away too. A lot of folks freak on diatoms. but if you read the article I linked, Randy Doesn't(and hes a pretty well known reef chemist), in fact he doses controlled amounts of silicate to encourage some diatom growth. I tend to agree actually.
The other thing is, it may not be diatoms at all. could be a simple algae or cyano and part of the totally normal ugly phase. Even live rock start ups have them.
And again IMO, not really anything to worry about and a needed part of the process, unless one over stocks and over feeds the tank. Then it'll probably go poorly.
Its part of the bio filter maturation.

 

[loweryphil]

Thanks for the advice. I will give that a read in ten minutes. I only have 4 fish in there and feed every other day or if not every two days. Never daily. Only one fish died on me the day after i introduced them which was down to a growth it already had on its mouth. Everything else, snails inverts fish and corals are fine! I guess after the 50% RO change on thursday ill just let it be and continue to 20% ro bi weekly. Really impressed how everything is doing well minus the "ugly stage"

 

[george1381]

It all comes down to beneficial bacteria, the bacteria colony is not mature yet. I've seen tanks 6-9months even up to a year without being truly cycled. It's a long road more so for some than others. Just have to be patient and do your research, There is alot of B.S.out there on the Web you will eventually get to a regimen that you are comfortable with and works for you tank. TIME is key!

 

[loweryphil]

It all comes down to beneficial bacteria, the bacteria colony is not mature yet. I've seen tanks 6-9months even up to a year without being truly cycled. It's a long road more so for some than others. Just have to be patient and do your research, There is alot of B.S.out there on the Web you will eventually get to a regimen that you are comfortable with and works for you tank. TIME is key!

Thanks, all that rock is live and live sand and to add to it i added DR Tims live bacteria also to give it a boost.