Need some help on a couple of things.

[goblinshark]

Hello everyone. I need some help with two problems I am having right now with my new 38 gallon reef tank.
Problem #1: I am getting a diatom bloom right now that is pretty bad, it is all over the sand rocks and glass. Now this tank is only 3 weeks old and I do understand that this normal while cycling, but I never got this stuff in my nano reef while it was cycling. How long do these blooms normally last? What can I do to help in removing this stuff? I should be getting my Salifert kit in a few days so I will have parameters to give if needed. I have in there right now 8 turbo snails 2 reg. and 6 golden, 4 cerith snails, 1 fighting conch, 3 scarlet hermits, 1 emerald crab, and 2 cukes. I know that I need to add to the clean up crew but I don't want to do so until I finish getting the rest of my live rock (in case of an ammonia spike) and deal with problem #2.
Problem #2: I have a little mantis Shrimp in my tank. How do I remove the little monster? I know exactly what hole it live in. I have tried a funnel type mantis trap that I made myself with no luck, I also tried to catch it using a technique that I use while I am diving and want to catch one for what ever reason it is getting a small amount of sand and putting it in it's home and when he comes out to remove all the sand you quickly scoop it up with a net (didn't work, it made a door out of the sand and closes the entrance to the whole in the rock with the sand about 30 minutes before lights out. This thing is constantly taunting me by sticking its head out of the hole looks at me for a bit and then goes back in but it only comes out when someone is looking at it. It is about 1 inch max but I know that they pack a good punch. Now I don't want to kill the entire rock but I want him out. Any suggestions?
Thank a lot!

 

[carrie1429]

Your tank is still cycling and the diatom bloom last for a couple weeks and will go away on its own or with the help of inverts. I had a mantis shrimp too, little monsters. I've heard that you can take the rock out of water and use a turkey baster and shoot super saline water in the hole that he lives in, he should come shooting out of the rock, I've never had good luck with this techniqe but other people have, the only way I got the shrimp out of my rock is because I gave the rock a very hot freshwater dip. I lost all the coraline growth on it but if grew back in a couple months.

 

[goblinshark]

Hello Carrie, thanks for the help. Well, I finally got the little guy out of my live rock today by putting the rock in a bucket with only about one inch of water in the bottom. It took about 2 hours max to get him out. He is very small at about 3/4" and it is a smasher type. Now get ready for this my brother is going to set up a 5 gallon tank for it. I was about to make a mantis shrimp kabob for my starving tomato clown when he broke the news to me. As far as I can tell nothing died from the lr. The owner from one of LFS in my area told me about this technique (this guy actually knows what he is doing and gives good advice) and he said that it works almost every time. I also finished putting in the refuge today after replacing the plastic tub for a custom glass tank so all is good. I'll post some pics in a few days. What eats diatoms? My fighting conch eats this 24/7 but he can't handle it all by himself, the turbos are eating it off the rocks but they aren't doing a very good job and the cerith snails have dug into my sand and I haven't seen them since tuesday when I put them in (same day that the diatom bloom began), and the hermits aren't doing much in the form of eating this, neither is the emerald, but my clown must really be starving since it has been eating the diatoms off the rocks too lol it is always hungry.
Thanks again!

 

[keisersosei]

I set up a 2 gallon tank for the mantis I got in a live rock shipment. They're interesting creatures and extremely easy to care for. Sorry I can't help with the diatom problem, I was actually about to post the same question. I do have something to add to it, however: Are diatoms caused by high phosphates, and if so, what is considered a high phosphate level?

 

[carrie1429]

Goblin Shark,
So you got lazy hermit crabs, usually they do a great job in cleaning up diatoms. What cleaned up all my diatoms were my chocolate chip starfish. They did a great job in getting it all off the sand and LR. They don't do well in a tank with corals, polyps, or other species of starfish, because they like to eat all three. I have 3 choc. chip stars and I love them, they are pretty cool with good personalities, although many people have said they eat snails but I have had mine for 6 months and they never bothers anything. Just thought I'd share that
Well happy to hear you got that mantis shrmp out, if they are not removed they start eating your fish and inverts, a real pain <img src="graemlins//yeahright.gif" border="0" alt="[yeahright]" /> At least you actually saw yours come out of the rock, I only thought I got rid of mine. Since I gave the rock a freshwater dip I never actually saw the shrimp come out I only thought I killed it or something he could of just moved to another rock. A lot of people just keep them the manits in a species only tank, they are really interesting critters, or you can sell them to the pets store, don't know many stores that will take them though.
Keisersosei,
Sorry I don't if high phosphates can create diatoms, my guess would be no, high phospahtes usually make hair algea grow but I don't know about diatoms.

 

[beth]

Phosphate and silica is the food source for diatoms. What type of substrate do you have? And what is the phosphate reading of your pre-mixed water?
Diatoms are to be expected in a new system. Basically, when the food source is depleted, then the diatoms will die down. However, if your water source has phosphate then you are basically feeding the diatoms. Also, flake foods tend to be high phosphate. Crabs don't really eat diatoms, however, their digging activity does help to turn the substrate over so that the diatoms get burried. Trochus snails eat diatoms...in fact, they eat so much of it that they can starve if you don't have enough diatoms for them. I have 2 large trochus and they wiped all my diatoms out...had 4 but 2 died for lack of food. However, you have a new tank, and you should not add these snails until your tank is well cycled. Also, these snails clean glass and rocks, not too much on the substrate.

 

[keisersosei]

I have a DSB and the phosphates of my pre-mixed water is 0. I've never actually checked it after adding salt but the RO/DI water I'm using is 0 and I'm using Instant Ocean salt which claims to be phosphate-free. You said that a new system is bound to have diatom blooms. Is this because a new system naturally contains phosphates and silica? It shouldn't have to do with cycling since there is no phosphate or silica involved in the nitrogen cycle. What is considered a high phosphate level? Mine is about .15.