Diatoms???

[topfeeder]

Diatoms? Here is a question for someone who might know. My reef is about 18 months old with live sand mixed with aragonite. Everybody say diatoms is what is the brown stuff on the sand is. "It is what all new tanks have and will go away!" This reef is not that new and it is NOT going away. It can be vacuumed and will come back in a day or two. You can leave it alone and it will not go away. Turn off the MH for days and still it returns in a day or two. Have done all that people say. More flow clean-up crew. Have 100 blue & red legged crabs, 200 Nassarius snail, 20 Bumble Bee snails, Tonga Fighting Conch..
Tank stats. Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0. Nitrate 0, Salinity 1.026, Magnesium 1300+, Phosphates .02 Silicates 0, Calcium 450 KH 10, PH 8.15 AM to 8.25 PM
Anybody want to give some input?

 

[Len]

:welcome:

A couple of possible solutions:
1. Consider a high silicate RO/DI system. I assume you are already using RO/DI for your topoff/WC water.
2. Consider running GFO like Phosban. This is a cheap, simple, effective nutrient/PO4 absorbing media.
3. Run more high quality GAC (activated carbon).

What skimmer are you running? How often are you doing water changes?

I would stop adding Nassarius snails as these are carnivores and not algae eaters. 200 is A LOT. I can't keep a dozen alive in my 176 gallon. If they're dying, they're going to fuel the algae (dead snails are super nutrient rich). The moral of the story is adding clean-up crews is not the solution, but often causes problems. You need to control nutrients to win this battle.

 

[topfeeder]

I have a RO w/ 2 Di cylinders. There no trace of silicates coming out the RO or in the system water!
I do use 1/2 liter of GFO. No Phosban as with a Hanna instrument the PO4 reading is .01.
I use a MTC HSA skimmer. Change 12 to 15% water every two weeks.
I use the Nassarius snails as they do stir the sand. Diatoms are not an algae from what I understand!
My sand must have a ton of life in it as there are always small starfish and worms in it! I see little sign of
the Nassarius snails dieing... So far nothing new from your post but I thank you. There are only a few tangs and a 6 Banggai Cardinal in
the system and they are fed very little. I understand the feeding creates a nutrient load but that can't be the case here.
Of course there must be something feeding the diatoms. but what?

 

[sdbarton42]

Diatoms are an algae. They are a type of phytoplankton that is very abundant within the marine ecosystem. What makes them different from other algae is that they encase themselves in a silicate shell/casing. They are some of the coolest looking creatures I think I have ever seen; you should look them up and check out the pictures. Not sure what they eat, but I know they are a "bloom and bust" organism.

 

[topfeeder]

Thanks for the input but nothing here that will answer the problems in this reef... Thanks

 

[Saltlick]

"They Say" that over time Live Rock just becomes a giant sink of nutrients and no matter what you
do to skim or scrub with GAC, Phosban, etc, you can get weird nutrient based happenins. I think
the timeline is longer than a year and a half, though, and it may also be BS. But I can tell you what
was the cause of MY own personal bloom of that type. Laziness and complacency. Toppin off with
tap water now and again, not testing my water stringently enough, spending more time looking at
my beautiful tank than working on it, etc. No matter how fiercely you test after the fact, it is not the same
as testing regularly prior to the breakout. But like I said, this was MY OWN problem. I tended to say "I let
my tank life tell me whan things are going great and when they are getting worse." Lazy. I hope you discover
the cause of your deallie, like they said, sometimes it goes as fast as it came, and "they also say" that
most of your initial responses actually make the attack worse at first, i.e. water changes.

 

[Len]

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I have a RO w/ 2 Di cylinders. There no trace of silicates coming out the RO or in the system water!
I do use 1/2 liter of GFO. No Phosban as with a Hanna instrument the PO4 reading is .01.
I use a MTC HSA skimmer. Change 12 to 15% water every two weeks.
I use the Nassarius snails as they do stir the sand. Diatoms are not an algae from what I understand!
My sand must have a ton of life in it as there are always small starfish and worms in it! I see little sign of
the Nassarius snails dieing... So far nothing new from your post but I thank you. There are only a few tangs and a 6 Banggai Cardinal in
the system and they are fed very little. I understand the feeding creates a nutrient load but that can't be the case here.
Of course there must be something feeding the diatoms. but what?

Hi. So you are running GFO, just not the Phosban brand? One thing I've found about PO4 measurements is it produces virtually useless results. The reason is all the algae is consuming phosphates, and the readings will ultimately show very little to no phosphates in the water. When I had my dino and cyano bloom, my PO4 measured zero. However, adding Phosban helped eliminate these blooms within a month.

If you have a refugium or room in the sump, you might also want to try Chaeto to compete against the diatoms.

 

[topfeeder]

Len, Yes running GFO but not Phosban. Reason is with a regular test kit PO4 is zero, with a HANNA HI 93713 Photometer - Low Range Phosphate tester it is .02, that is why I didn't run the Phosban. Guess it is worth a try and see, you might have a point! I already have Chaetos in the sump on a night cycle. Thanks

 

[topfeeder]

Len, Yes running GFO but not Phosban. Reason is with a regular test kit PO4 is zero, with a HANNA HI 93713 Photometer - Low Range Phosphate tester it is .02, that is why I didn't run the Phosban. Guess it is worth a try and see, you might have a point! I already have Chaetos in the sump on a night cycle. Thanks

Len, Decided not to add the Phosban as with PO4 being at only .02 I see no reason to do so.....

 

[Microcosmos]

Hey topfeeder, how many gallons is your setup, including sump? And can you post a pic of the tank so there's a better idea of what you have in it? I'm pretty sure Len nailed it square on the head when he said it might be bioload. However as also mentioned tapwater can have silicates in it which are only needed in a small quantity to facilitate a big bloom of diatom algae. Also, how long has this setup been in place? Your best asset in this case, if all else fails, may be time. Time to let beneficial bacteria grow within the rocks, and maybe even time to grow a patch or two of macroalgae!

Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[topfeeder]

Hey topfeeder, how many gallons is your setup, including sump? And can you post a pic of the tank so there's a better idea of what you have in it? I'm pretty sure Len nailed it square on the head when he said it might be bioload. However as also mentioned tapwater can have silicates in it which are only needed in a small quantity to facilitate a big bloom of diatom algae. Also, how long has this setup been in place? Your best asset in this case, if all else fails, may be time. Time to let beneficial bacteria grow within the rocks, and maybe even time to grow a patch or two of macroalgae!

Good luck and keep us posted!

Microcosmos, Thanks for your reply and to answer some of your questions the total gallons in the system is 240 gallons as there is a large sump. No camera to take pictures but it is all SPS, LPS some soft corals and only about 15 inches of fish. Tap-water??? No it is a RODI with 2 DI cartridges and the TDS is zero coming out of it. Silicates test zero. The system is two and a half years old. I have no macro or micro algae in the display tank but a large amount of chetos in the sump. Decided not to add any Phos Guard as the PO4 always test .02 or .03 with the Hanna meter. I think I will go with the time you spoke of but I would think after two and a half years would be enough.

 

[Microcosmos]

Wow, sounds like you're doing everything right... I wish you luck in getting rid of those pesky diatoms!