diatom blues....

[kidkaos520]

So I have been searching and searching to figure out what I have going on in my tank and I believe it it diatoms rather than brown algea...would post a pic on here but I kinda special and dont know how to do it but I can email the pic to someone and they can post for me. Anyway other than riding this bad boy out what are some other ways to help i.e. certain snails, conch more hermits etc....thanks in advance. BTW water levels are all normal

 

[ynnhoj86]

Is your tank still cycling? Also where are you getting your water?

 

[aquaph8]

Did you add sand lately? Diatoms normally will go away on their own in time. They can also be caused by silicates from your water source. Siphon them out with water changes to help remove silicates and give it some time.

 

[brettinteriors]

Check your phosphates. Run gfo. if I don't I get algea and the purple blankets and no animal will fix it. is it red purple brownish slimy looking stuff
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[kidkaos520]

I would say more brown rust looking and I get my water from sea

 

[spieszak]

my understanding is that diatoms live off of silicate, most often found in your sand. Once the silicates are gone, they die off from lack of food. If your tank isn't new, and you haven't added sand, I'd be concerned it wasn't diatoms. If that is the case, posting a picture would probably be best for help with getting it identified.

 

[brettinteriors]

I bet its cyanobacteria

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[kidkaos520]

I usually get my water from sea this didn't start till I added a light to the tank. The sand that is in there was used in a prior tank and rinsed

 

[abfds001]

What kind of light did you add. The reason I ask is that I once changed my light on my mantis/frag tank from (50/50) T5's to a (50/50) PC's and noticed a change in green growth. Then the brown and reds started to emerge, did some serious water changes and nothing. come to find out that the shift in spectrum had changed as a result of the bulbs being used. Went back to T5's and problem is slowing fading away.