What should I expect now?

[fishkiller]

Ok, I just replaced my crushed coral w/ live sand. I have a 29 setup for over 7 months now. 30 lbs lr, 2 fish, several corals, all the usual. Please tell me what I SHOULD be seeing in the next few days/weeks? 3 days after I put the sand in, I'm noticing some diatom bloom. Is this normal? Please tell me what IS normal for this situation. Should I hold off on more lr for now? Should I hold off on the new skimmer and the new bulbs? Thanx!

 

[fishkiller]

anybody?

 

[krishj39]

Diatom bloom is very common when adding any sand, IME. I'd hold off on adding the LR till your tank gets back to normal, since your tank is stocked already. Adding LS can cause a mini-cycle, though it hasn't happened to me. But it contains live animals that can and do die off during shipping, meaning it can cause a cycle. As for the skimmer and lights, I see no reason to hold off purchasing and installing them. As for a time frame before your tank should be back to normal, it varies a lot. My guess is 2-3 weeks, but it could be less or a lot longer.

 

[fishkiller]

How long until the diatoms stop appearing? My Yellow watchman goby and coral beauty are eating it slowly.

 

[michaeltx]

the use silicates. so depending on how much silicates that you hae will determine how long they will last. if your topoff water has any silicates in it then they will continue to feed on them RO/RODI takes them out of the water. what you are actually seeing is the remains of ones that have already diead and thats why things are eating them . if they get to bad just use a turkey baster and blw them off the rocks and things.
MIke