First Diatoms :(

[Playdope]

First sign of a small patch of some diatoms on the sandbed. Is this normal for a new tank? Should I put any critters in particular in the tank to eat them? Any advice?

Thanks

 

[Ben1]

No offence, did you know there was a search funtion?

If you seach for diatoms you are bound to find all the answers to these questions and much more!

Just a reminder

 

[MNoel]

Yes it's normal and it will go away in time.

 

[Anonymous]

Yes it's normal and it will go away in time.

It may not go away if your source water is not filtered properly. Any silicates added will feed the diatoms. They are also added with food, but as long as you have a good cleanup crew you'll be fine.

 

[reefann]

^YEP
And all tanks have diatoms to some degree it is a completely natural bloom, just need to be sure they are kept in check and not taking over from being well nurished, ie. silicates.

 

[rabagley]

Well, you may want to encourage diatom growth as they are an awesome food source for filter feeders (many corals, clams, sea cucumbers, etc.) as well as being food for your live sand. I dose silica to maintain 1ppm in my tank just to encourage their growth.

One immediate benefit was that the glass was easier to clean. The mix of both blue-green algae and diatoms that grows on my glass now is markedly easier to remove than blue-green algae. Second, nitrates are about half the levels they were before I started dosing silica (diatoms consume dissolved nutrients and many are skimmed out). Phosphate has never been an issue in my tank (sometimes measures at 1ppm) so no real changes there. As for the benefits to my filter feeders, I don't feed as often as I used to, but the corals are growing even faster than before. Not a reliable experiment, I know, but they're getting nutrition from somewhere to be growing as fast as they do.

Far from being irritated or frustrated about a patch of diatoms on your sand, I'd be thrilled. They're an important part of the natural food chain and if you can keep the diatom populations at a sustainable level (below the bloom level), I think you'll be very happy about the positive effects on your tank.

Regards,
Ross

 

[Playdope]

Well, now I've been noticing a few small patches of what looks like cyano in the tank, which I also heard was normal for a new tank. I added some ChemiPure, and have periodically tried to blow what I can of it off the rock with a turkey baster (that works a little, but not all of it comes off).

Any other tips for this stuff?
Do people always get a cyano bloom in the beginning?

 

[Ben1]

Phosphate has never been an issue in my tank (sometimes measures at 1ppm

For P04 isn't 1 ppm high enough to limit calcification and retard all SPS growth?

 

[rabagley]

Whoops, that should read 0.02ppm (barely at the edge of detectability with the Salifert kit which claims to go as low as .015ppm).

I would hazard a guess that I was still thinking silica when I miswrote that value in. Thanks for the catch.

Regards,
Ross