diatom problem

[Cozen89]

I have a farely large diatom outbreak. At least that's what I think it is. Lot's of brown algae or rust colored stuff growing on my glass, sand, and live rock.

My situation is I bought an established 30 gallon tank, but upgraded it to a 30 and transfered all the LR and LS. I also added more LR and LS to compensate for the upgrade. My tank has been running 2-3 weeks. I added a HOB refugium with lots of chaeto.

What can be the cause of this and how can I make it go away?

I just added a new T5HO 6 bar light 2 days ago.
I noticed bubbles coming up from under the sand bed.
I feed twice a day. Is this too much?
Not enough flow? I have 2 SEIO 620's and a maxijet 1200, not to mention the pump powering my fuge.

I use to use tap water but just started topping off and water changes with ocean water I bought from my LFS.

I have 5 nassarius snails and 8 ceriths. An emerald crab and a cleaner shrimp. I also noticed my coral beauty eating the diatoms off the glass. What else can I add to help rid this problem? It is also growing in the fuge.

Thanks guys for listening. I know this may not be a major problem, but I am trying to learn about the situation so I know what is causing it and how to prevent it in the future. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

 

[bbehring]

Well if your tank is fairly new, this is real common. Most work to adjust/add flow. You could try some Chemipure http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewI...product=BE1213. Ultimately, you should work to eliminate the source of the problem, not dose it. Usually caused by low flow in a specific area and/or to much nutrients in the water which fuel diatom and cyno blooms.

 

[Randall_James]

Stay easy on the feedings, keep the lighting down a bit and wait it out. Time is about the only reliable weapon on diatoms. The more livestock you add to the tank, the longer and worse the outbreak will be.... keep up on the water changes as well...

EDIT: I would avoid any chemical intervention... new tanks must run through a series of algal outbreaks and is why patience is the key here.

Cheers...

 

[Cozen89]

sounds good guys, I didn't want to use a chemical solution either. I just added another maxijet 1200 so I now have 2 seio 620s and 2 maxi 1200s along with a PH circulating my fuge. this should be plenty for my 50 gallon.

As for a clean up crew which snails do you all recommend? As stated I have 5 nassarius and 8 cerith. I hear turbos eat too fast and will starve. Also that they get really big.

As for lights I guess I'll turn off half of my T5's and see if that helps. Should I turn off the lights over my fuge? Or should I keep the lights on for the chaeto?

I will also cut back on feeding to 1 time a day.

Does liquid coral food add to waste?

 

[Icefire]

Never do top off with ocean/saltwater, water evaporate, not the salt.

You'll get many algae bloom, just ride them out.

Diatom go away after 2 weeks.

 

[Cozen89]

what is the proper amount of light per day? 8 hours for T5 HO's? I think I am currently running my T5's for 10 hours.

 

[Randall_James]

I run lights as long as 12 hours. If you are having diatom/algae issues, then perhaps cut it back to 8 hours or so a day?

Clean up crews are one of those "subjective" things. I run what might be considered very little in clean up critters. Maybe 1 snail per 5 gallons (Astrea) and usually a cucumber for substrate cleaning. Just add slowly and remember it can take them some time to get house in order. If you over populate, they will die off when the food runs out. Patience is the key again...

 

[Gdevine]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9734047#post9734047 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Randall_James
Stay easy on the feedings, keep the lighting down a bit and wait it out. Time is about the only reliable weapon on diatoms. The more livestock you add to the tank, the longer and worse the outbreak will be.... keep up on the water changes as well...

EDIT: I would avoid any chemical intervention... new tanks must run through a series of algal outbreaks and is why patience is the key here.

Cheers...

Chemipure IS NOT a chemical intervention. It may be one of the best filter mediums you can add to a tank. Every pro I know swears buy it to keep unwanted build up of dangerous chemicals and other stuff... Please read and understand befor you EDIT.

http://www.boydenterprisesonline.com/pages/2/index.htm

 

[drummereef]

Re: diatom problem

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9734026#post9734026 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Cozen89
My tank has been running 2-3 weeks.

I use to use tap water but just started topping off and water changes with ocean water I bought from my LFS.

Well, I think the tank is new probably had a mini-cycle from moving it and you are having a typical diatom bloom. I highly recommend investing in a quality RO/DI. It will save you money over time and do great things for your water quality. If the source water has excess nutrients in it, contributing to the problem won't help. Also, do not top-off with salt water. You should only be topping off with fresh water. Salt water will raise the salinity since the salt doesn't evaporate with the water.

 

[Randall_James]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9737799#post9737799 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Gdevine
Chemipure IS NOT a chemical intervention. It may be one of the best filter mediums you can add to a tank. Every pro I know swears buy it to keep unwanted build up of dangerous chemicals and other stuff... Please read and understand befor you EDIT.

http://www.boydenterprisesonline.com/pages/2/index.htm

Relax....

If you have proper husbandry and water change schedules, there is no need for this at all. It is a bandage to typically what is an excess nutrient import or just an immature tank.

Pro swear by it? maybe some do, but many also tell you to keep up with your water changes, and maintain proper feeding regimen and you will not need it.

Any product that says you can use "our stuff" instead of doing water changes is out in left field when it comes to salt water tanks. There are trace minerals that are not going to be replenished without supplementation or water changes. Water changes are far better than any supplementation routine...

I think if you look around and ask, I do not think most "long term" tank keepers go by the "no water change needed" theory.

So you may want to take a step back yourself and read all they claim about this product before jumping on the bandwagon with them

Cheers!

 

[jnb]

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showt...perpage=25&highlight=Ocean Light&pagenumber=1