Yet another diatom thread

[dinki]

My 55 gal has a diatom 'problem' and it doesn't seem to be going away. The tank finished cycling in mid November and has had diatoms since mid December. Here's my params and stock:
pH 8.2
Temp 77F-78F
Amonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 10-20
Salinity. 1.025 (Oceanic salt)
40 lbs live sand, 45 lbs live rock
2x Ocellaris Clownfish, Royal Gramma, Cleaner Shrimp, 3x Astrea Snail, 10x Nassarius Snail, Fighting Conch, 15x Blueleg Hermit, 2x Redleg Hermit
2x Maxijet 1200s, AquaC Remora PS, unknown HOB filter (300 gph), Nova Extreme HO T5 4x 54W (lights just added a few days ago to replace FW 36W lights).
I think my water source might be at fault. I filled and had been topping off with well water filtered through an under sink filtering system. As of about two weeks ago I've switched to RO water. I normally do a 10% water change every two weeks. I've done one water change with the RO water and have topped off with it for the past two weeks. I do not have a phosphate test so I don't know what my levels are on phosphates.
Other than the dirty look, my tank seems to be doing pretty well. I don't have any type of green/nuisance algae growth. Am I being too impatient?

 

[m0nk]

Well, a 10% water change every two weeks might not be enough, especially if you started out with only filtered well water. RO water also isn't as good as RO/DI water, but it's definitely a great deal better than well water. Chances are there are phosphates and possibly even silicates in the water that are causing this. I'd ramp up water changes to 15% weekly (at least until you have a better idea of what works best for your tank, and the diatoms are gone) and maybe in the short term, until all that original well water has been changed out, do water changes every 3 or 4 days, maybe up to 25-30% each time. It's not the diatoms that I would worry about, they're not too bad, it's the other issues that can crop up as a result of the same things that feed the diatoms.

Oh, and get a phosphate test kit so you can test the water before it goes into your tank.

 

[dinki]

I'm seeing a good bit of bubbling from my sand. Is this common when diatoms start fading or is it something else altogether?

 

[buckeye88]

If it has bubbles on it it's probably cyano bacteria. If they are slimey, than they are more than likley cyano.

 

[superparadise]

My tank is still cycling, and I have brown algae in it with small bubbles as well. Is this cyano bacteria or a diatoms? Is it bad if its cyaono?

 

[efishnsea]

It comes and goes, but keep an eye on it. Use an airline hose to suck it off of the rocks and do a water change as well as a reduction in the light cycle. This method killed all of my problems but it took a few weeks.

 

[flricordia]

Maybe also switch to -- salt. Others I maintain tanks for have bought IO and a few other brands for water changes and it always seems that unwanted algaes begin to appear after around a months time. I insist they go back to -- and within a few months the algaes are gone and the system back on track.

 

[dinki]

Is it 'safe' to switch from Oceanic to Reef Crystals? I thought I saw a thread somewhere that stated problems could arise switching from one salt to another.
I'm able to blast the stuff up off the rock using a turkey baster. Does the cyano come off that easy? I'm really confused as to if mine is actually cyano rather than diatoms. All I know is that it's pretty frickin' ugly! Grrrr!

 

[dinki]

Alright, so I did a little research on cyano bacteria and found several reasons why they might be present:
1) Too much phosphate in the water. I'm not sure what my phosphate level is, so I ordered a test kit online to check it.
2) Lighting. I recently switched from a paltry 36W of 50/50 lights to 216W. The diatom/cyano existed long before I switched lights. I don't know if the additonal wattage is hurting any, but it looks pretty much the same as before increasing the lights.
3) Not enough flow/dead spots. I moved my two maxijet 1200s to bottom back right corner pointed towards bottom back left corner and bottom front left corner pointed to bottom front right corner.
4) Too many nitrates. I changed out the filter media on my HOB filter and continue to skim using AquaC Remora.
Is there anthing else I can do while I wait for my test kit to arrive?

 

[dinki]

Okay, so they say a picture is worth a thousand words. Here's couple. Please take a look and see if you can diagnose what is taking over my tank.

In the FTS you can see that I moved the PHs as mentioned in my previous post.
Somebody, anybody, please PLEASE help me

 

[rcreations]

Those are diatoms alright. I got them right after my tank finished cycling, then it sort of went away after a few weeks. From what I read, it's a common sympton of new tank setups. Just do water changes, reduce lighting and it'll go away on its own. A cleanup crew helps.

 

[dinki]

Alright, so for sure this is diatoms? What about the placement of my powerheads? I'm thinking of getting some hydor flo attachments to vary the flow a lot more.
I guess I might be putting the cart before the horse, but if my phosphates are high, what should I do about that? I've seen some chemicals that help with phosphates. Is it advisable to use these if I find my levels high? In the meantime I'll keep doing water changes. Do I want to disrupt the diatoms so they are in the water column when I change my water? I guess what I'm asking is what's the best way to siphon them out?

 

[dinki]

My phosphate test kit came in today and it reads zero. So now what? Are water changes my only option for getting rid of these? Can anyone address the questions I posed previously?

 

[big]

I just posted this to another Diatom thread, so hee goes again;
OK so you use RO and they keep coming back. My first thought would be too much dissolved silica in the system for some reason. What is the substrate in your tank?? Is it sand, CC , or Aragonite??? Take a look at the issues with this Google "silica in a reed tank". Look closely at the top response. Much easier that typing it all out here. It may be able to help you solve some of your issues with the Diatoms....... Good luck...... Warren

 

[dinki]

Thanks for the reply. I'm using 40 lbs of Caribsea LS that I bought at Petsmart.
I tried searching for the search term you provided but I think I'm getting different results than you. Any chance you could PM me the url or at least hint at the site name. Google results vary from server to server.

 

[big]

Originally Posted by dinki
http:///forum/post/2450879
Thanks for the reply. I'm using 40 lbs of Caribsea LS that I bought at Petsmart.
I tried searching for the search term you provided but I think I'm getting different results than you. Any chance you could PM me the url or at least hint at the site name. Google results vary from server to server.
PM on the way hope it is some help

 

[earlybird]

That is a major case of diatoms. It took my tank about 6 months to rid of diatoms. It kept coming then went away then came back and went. I have not seen any diatoms for a few months now so I'm convinced it will go away.
What I would do is really up your flow for starters. Put a rotating head on one or both of your MJ 1200s. There is a white "fan" in the rotating head. You'll want to cut out a few of the "fan" blades. This will slow the rotation which will create better flow. I would consider adding a sump with a nice size return pump which will aslo help with flow. You can "T" your return lines so you have 2 outputs into your tank which will help. If not I would go with 2 koralia number 2 or 3's in additon to your other powerheads. You can try reducing your photoperiod or turn your lights off for a day or two and see if that helps. Finally, I would try to reduce your nitrates and test your make up water for nitrates and phosphates just to make sure you aren't spinning your wheels. Increase your water change schedule and you could start with a larger than normal water change somewhere between 20-40%. I also think you can get away with a few more nassarius and hermits which will help shift the sand. Look around for cerith snails they are also good sand shifters.

 

[semoluv]

just got this stuff over the last couple of days and want to identify it. can someone help me out?
if it's cyano, suggest a few water changes?
if it's diatoms, i will just sit and wait!

 

[dinki]

Thanks for the tips. I have been contemplating buying a couple of mods for my MJs, but I'm not sure which one to get. I've seen some folks using HydorFlos and others using SureFlows.
I do think that the flow has a lot to do with my problem. Since moving my powerheads the diatoms on the sand have cleared up a lot. I'm really hoping to get this in check soon as it is down right ugly!