Cant beat this brown diatoms covering the sand and glass

[Mollydog]

Wanting to add more life to the tank.
battling diatoms for 10 months in my new setup. Need advice to get back on track

 

[Bogue Chitto]

You probably need to run GFO to bring down phosphates. Check your parameters and see what all is out of wack.

 

[cloak]

Are you using RO/DI water or tap? You might have an abundance of Silicates in the water as well as Phosphates.

http://www.reefcleaners.org/nuisance-algae-id-guide

 

[Mollydog]

thanks for the reply's I am running GFO and ro/di.
every thing seam be good. not sure if lighting could be a problem lights are on from 4:40 pm to 11m every day should I get a test kit for silicates

 

[heathlindner25]

Which salt are you using? I had the same problem with reef crystals a few months ago

 

[Mollydog]

I use instant ocean sea salt

 

[Bogue Chitto]

Do you have sand on the bottom? It usually has silicates that prolong the diatoms. I had that trouble too.

 

[Quiet_Ivy]

thanks for the reply's I am running GFO and ro/di.
every thing seam be good. not sure if lighting could be a problem lights are on from 4:40 pm to 11m every day should I get a test kit for silicates

You've had diatoms for 10 months? Yikes, that's got to be annoying. Have you replaced your rodi carbon/di resins? Testing for silicates is a good idea, and the TDS of the source water. Not to panic you, but are you sure this is diatoms? Sometimes cyano or worse, dino looks a lot like diatoms. Lighting isn't an issue unless you're using T5 or metal halides and the bulbs are old.

hth
Ivy

 

[Mollydog]

My tank is 90 gallon with a 40 gallon breeder tank for a sump.
I do have t- 5 lights.
I did start the tank with tap water,live rock from a neglected tank and about 50% of the water ( I KNOW THAT WAS BAD NOW ) I have a new ro/di system now i been using it for 6 months. I believe it to be diatoms , I can clean the glass and sand and in a few hours it starts to come back. I do have sugar fine sand on the bottom (what a pain) I stir the sand and clean the glass every other day.Should i just leave it alone and wait it out ( Frustrated in (California).

 

[UNCsalt]

I may have missed it, could be a flow issue also? Anyway you can post a pic of the setup? Also what is your feeding schedule consist of?? Do you currently have a clean up crew?

 

[cloak]

Here's a good article regarding Silicates.

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2003/1/aafeature1

HTH.

 

[Mollydog]

six snales feed every other day scared to add more life to the tank until
i get thing under http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=334649&stc=1&d=1448650028control. Here are some pic ov my setuhttp://www.reefcentral.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=334650&stchttp://www.reefcentral.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=334651&stc=1&d=1448650http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=334652&stc=1&d=1448650028028=1&d=1448650028p.

 

[Mollydog]

more pichttp://www.reefcentral.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=334653&stc=1&d=http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmhttp://www.reefcentral.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=334655&stc=1&d=1448650363entid=334654&stc=1&d=14486503631448650363

 

[CStrickland]

Might help to bring a powerhead as low as you can without stirring the sand up, so crud won't settle there
Are you doing anything to remove them from the system like run a filter sock after you stir the sand to capture them, or vacuuming them out of the sand?
What is your water change schedule?

I wouldn't feel like you cant proceed with stocking the tank over this. It's not very bad at all. Nobody's sand stays nice and white.

 

[skp]

My tank is 90 gallon with a 40 gallon breeder tank for a sump.
I do have t- 5 lights.
I did start the tank with tap water,live rock from a neglected tank and about 50% of the water ( I KNOW THAT WAS BAD NOW ) I have a new ro/di system now i been using it for 6 months. I believe it to be diatoms , I can clean the glass and sand and in a few hours it starts to come back. I do have sugar fine sand on the bottom (what a pain) I stir the sand and clean the glass every other day.Should i just leave it alone and wait it out ( Frustrated in (California).

I don't think you should stir the sand. Usually, I see a pod population explode during a diatom bloom. Do you see hundreds of pods on the glass if you don't clean the glass?

 

[UNCsalt]

agree, not too bad. Do you know have some sort of macro algae in the center fuge in your sump? yeah, bring down your power heads a touch and see if that helps. Do you have any snails in your DT?

 

[cloak]

After seeing those pictures I'm not exactly sure what the problem is. Like mentioned above, you can't really expect for there to be no algae whatsoever in your tank... Also, where's all the life at? At 10 months your tank should be flourishing right now. I hope your not OVERthinking things. GL.

 

[Mollydog]

I change the water ever two weeks 20% I dont see any pods I vac into a filter sock and then change the water. the pic look grate the diatoms are on the sand and glass not on the rock

 

[Quiet_Ivy]

After seeing the pics I'm with Cloak. Your tank looks fine! Stirring up the sand may be contributing to the longer than usual diatom outbreak. I'd also feed daily and consider adding some soft coral frags to seed micro-critters.

hope that helps a bit,
Ivy

 

[Mollydog]

So should i let the diatoms build on the sand and clean the glass till it burns out
i did have an out break of white sponges just before the diatoms