I think i have diatoms

[tropfishboy]

Diatoms are the algae that grows on the sand bed, Right? What will get rid of the diatoms?

 

[Ben1]

Every one has diatoms, even the tanks that are covered in coraline algae have them. They are a essintial part to the diat of snails and usually are from high silicates. They can grow on sand but are more commonly the brown dusting on your glass. A more common and thicker (usually)fast growing algae that love sand beds is cynobacteria. The reason for them could be many things from low current to high P04.

 

[tropfishboy]

Is there anything that i could buy that will get rid of cyno?

 

[myreeef]

If your tank is a new setup ( < 4-6 months ) a cyano bacteria bloom should be expected. I think everybody gets it in the begining.

One way to minimize the bloom is to shorten the photo period. eg: instead of lights on for 10-12 hours a day, only keep the lights on for 6 hours a day.

Another thing you should consider during this timeframe is adding copepods, amphipods and isopods. check out this thread for more info about them:
http://reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=53249

 

[tropfishboy]

I have a refugium setup. There should be pods in my tank.

 

[rabagley]

Is there anything that i could buy that will get rid of cyno?

No.

You need to alter the conditions that allow cyano to flourish. You almost certainly have high phosphate and/or nitrate levels that are feeding the cyano. This phosphate may not show up on a test kit (the cyano consumes it as it leaches out of rock and sand surfaces).

There are a number of things you can do, but none of them will work instantly, and there's no silver bullet that can quickly fix the situation. First, if this is a new tank, a cyano bloom is completely normal while the algae populations are stabilizing. Normally, there's a brownish diatom bloom, followed by a cyano bloom, followed by sustained blue-green algae growth. to hurry up the process, you can:

First, examine what you're adding to the tank and try to determine if you're overfeeding or adding substances that may be increasing the nutrients in the water.

Second, as already mentioned, how's your circulation? If you look at it, you can observe that cyano forms filmy and insubstantial sheets. If there is good circulation over your rocks, the cyano won't be able to stabilize there. Don't point a powerhead directly at a rock (except from all the way across the tank), but if you can set up strong circular currents (any powerful currents will do), you'll make it very difficult for cyano to get a grip.

Start growing macro algae. The algae will consume many of the same nutrients that the cyano needs to flourish.

Get a live sand crew. Many of the little critters in a live sand seed will consume cyano, though they will take some time to grow to an effective population (a week or more).

If necessary, do regular (daily or every other day) small water changes where you vacuum the cyano off the rocks and sand. This isn't a long term fix, but may be necessary to prevent the cyano from choking out other fixed creatures in your aquarium.

Above all, be patient and don't give up just because your tank looks a little unpolished right now. Every experienced reefkeeper has had to deal with the frustration of a cyano outbreak. We know your pain.

Good luck,
Ross

 

[tropfishboy]

Yes this is a new tank 2 1/2 months. And the algae is a brown color. I do grow macro algae. Spagetti algae with LS and LR in my sump/refuge. My circulation on my LS is weak but on the rocks it is stronger. I try to stir the LS around the hide the algae. I have hermit crabs and a sand star as a cleaning crew. The break out just began right after I added a stronger light to the system. Also, i am seeing alot of green algae growth on the glass of my tank and cleaning twice a day. I have grean, brown and red, algae that i can see from the front in the LS.
Thanks

 

[tropfishboy]

I do weekly 5% water changes with Catalina water. All the levels in the water should be awesome. Lately, i have been adding some tap water with Amquel added with it to the tank because of the heat. But usually add RODI water.