Please make the diatom bubble stop!!

[reifermadness]

Holy cow... diatom EVERYWHERE!!! The bad thing is there are about a BILLION bubbles coming up everywhere. So here are my questions:
- How long does it take to go away?
- Is there something more than the clean up crew I can do to get rid of it?
I bought a clean up crew last weekend and they're doing "okay" but not great. I might have way too few janitors for the tank. It's a 47g with 50lbs of live rock. I bought 6 turbo snails and 8 red legged crabs. I think it's too few but I just want to see if there's a ratio of snails and crabs per gallon before I go stuff it full.
Oh the bubbles... the bubbles...

 

[scopus tang]

Originally Posted by ReiferMadness
http:///forum/post/2918972
Holy cow... diatom EVERYWHERE!!! The bad thing is there are about a BILLION bubbles coming up everywhere. So here are my questions:
- How long does it take to go away?
- Is there something more than the clean up crew I can do to get rid of it?
I bought a clean up crew last weekend and they're doing "okay" but not great. I might have way too few janitors for the tank. It's a 47g with 50lbs of live rock. I bought 6 turbo snails and 8 red legged crabs. I think it's too few but I just want to see if there's a ratio of snails and crabs per gallon before I go stuff it full.
Oh the bubbles... the bubbles...
Generally speaking, the only thing to do with a diatom bloom is ride it out (make sure you're using RO water, not tap). Bubbles are probably a seperate issue - diatoms don't usually bubble - they just cover everything in brown. Time to disappear will vary depending on lots of circumstances. Recommendations will vary on clean-up crew; personally I prefer 2 snails to 1 hermit, and I usually run a variety of snail types. Asteria IME help the most with diatoms, but nothing really eats them. I would say that in the future depending on how you feed once you add fish (hopefully you don't have any yet) you will probabaly need to increase numbers.

 

[reifermadness]

Yeah, I don't have any fish yet. That comes later. It's just odd, there are a ton of bubbles just coming up from the sand and off the brown diatoms...
I think I remember them when I had my old 75g but I can't remember.

 

[reifermadness]

Oh, and I am using DI water now. I was topping off with tap during the first 2 weeks of my cycle but for the last two weeks it's been DI only. The snails are just clearing a white path over the rocks but I think it's at the end of the silicates because it's ALL brown now which is what I read is the die off that happens when it is starved out.

 

[scopus tang]

Originally Posted by ReiferMadness
http:///forum/post/2918996
Yeah, I don't have any fish yet. That comes later. It's just odd, there are a ton of bubbles just coming up from the sand and off the brown diatoms...
I think I remember them when I had my old 75g but I can't remember.
Yeah, I remember some bubbles during cycling - don't remember a ton, but there were some. Again, don't really think they're related to the diatoms. Seems to me, they're usually related to gas release from the sandbed as water settles, CO2/nitrogen gas given off by bacterial respiration/converstion of nitrogen through its various forms, and sometimes red slime algae (cyanobacteria).
Good that you switched to RO, hopefully you're right and you're reaching the end stages of the bloom - just remember you may experience a hair algae bloom next. Hang in there, it does get better.

 

[robertmathern]

I agree I got hair alge after my diatom bloom. It is caused from excess nutrents from the die off on your rock. Its not your fault or anything you can do but get a clean up crew. From what you said you have for a cuc it think that is fine for now. Like Scopus said you will have to add more when you add fish. Just add a couple cleaners at a time so you do over do it. Also astrea snails are great but they become quick meals for hermits not always but dont be supprised if you have to keep replaceing your snails from time to time.