thewolfman777
Member
what does a diatom bloom look like? Is it good or bad?
brown stuff
- Thread starter thewolfman777
- Start date
thewolfman777
Member
someone please shed some light on this topic. fshhub? mr. tang? where are you guys? 
<img src="graemlins//confused.gif" border="0" alt="[confused]" />
<img src="graemlins//confused.gif" border="0" alt="[confused]" /> 
fshhub
Active Member
being as you are still cycling, it more than likely is diatoms, and if youare about done cycling, you could start your skimmer anytime, but if you are just getting into your spikes, i would wait(this is put here to avoid haveing to type twice), this may help, and i would currently hold off on water changes, until you are done cycling, other than that, jsut adjust your power heads, like baron said adn ride it out, also if you are about done cycling, you may want to start shopping for some snails adn crabs, or what ever you intend to get for algae control, i wouldn't add them yet but figure out what you are getting,
and showing diatoms, my guess is that you are near the end of your cycle, so hang in there, it will all be over soon
and showing diatoms, my guess is that you are near the end of your cycle, so hang in there, it will all be over soon
twoods71
Active Member
A brown, golden brown, or redish brown almost like dust that shows up on the glass, rock, or substrate in a tank that is less then 4 months old is probably diatoms.
The dust that is seen is actually the dead diatom skeletons that are linked together.
Diatoms need silicates to grow and will only live as long as there is a source in the water. Being able to see the brown dust is an indication that the diatoms are dying.
If nothing else is introduced to the tank the silicate supply for the diatoms will eventually be used up. Dying diatoms also add silicates to the water so if you wish to speed up the process you can siphon them out and/or add a few critters that will eat diatoms like astraea snails when the tank is ready..
Silicates can be introduced to the tank in a number of ways. The most common being the water supply, salt mix, type of sand added, or the curing of LR.
To reduce the possibility of diatoms returning in the future use only high quality water (RO for example) when topping off or during water changes and use only a high quality salt mix.
And never add sand or anything else that contain silicates.
The dust that is seen is actually the dead diatom skeletons that are linked together.
Diatoms need silicates to grow and will only live as long as there is a source in the water. Being able to see the brown dust is an indication that the diatoms are dying.
If nothing else is introduced to the tank the silicate supply for the diatoms will eventually be used up. Dying diatoms also add silicates to the water so if you wish to speed up the process you can siphon them out and/or add a few critters that will eat diatoms like astraea snails when the tank is ready..
Silicates can be introduced to the tank in a number of ways. The most common being the water supply, salt mix, type of sand added, or the curing of LR.
To reduce the possibility of diatoms returning in the future use only high quality water (RO for example) when topping off or during water changes and use only a high quality salt mix.
And never add sand or anything else that contain silicates.
thewolfman777
Member
thanks guys, appreciate it. it is currently still spreading. now this in for baron's reply: this is what is confusing me, i have great water movement in my tank aimed in all different directions on the top and bottom. i just added a new light (10000k, 20 watt) and that was when this started to appear and it was on my l/r closest to my lighting. can this still be diatoms?