So my tank is fairly new (5 weeks) and it's been cycled for about one week. I have a pretty large cleanup crew in there that absolutely killed all the diatoms and algae that I had from the cycle. However, I notice when I do a 5-10% weekly water change that the diatoms tend to flare up a bit. I'm using rodi water so it's not from tap water. Is this normal during the early stages or am I missing something??
Diatoms and water changes?
- Thread starter mfaso24
- Start date
Donkeykong
New member
Test your newly mixed saltwater and see if you have nitrates or phosphates in the new water?
petere1989
New member
its a new tank. you'll have that. try phosguard. its a phosphate media that also takes silicates out (which cause diatoms) but be sure to rinse it thoroughly because it has this fine dust that you don't want in the tank. i'd try that. i did my cycle with phosgaurd and had very very little diatom problems. awesome stuff!
The only problem is I have a sumpless system since my tank is not drilled. All I have is live rock, powerheads and a hob skimmer for filtration.
Right, but my cycle has been completed for a little over a week. How long after the cycle should i have to wait?
And my main concern is, is it normal that it gets worse with water changes? I would think a water change would remove nutrients.
hogfanreefer
Active member
What many of us call the cycle doesn't end with zero ammonia and nitrite. A new tank will go through sometimes several diatom and other algae blooms before it matures. My tank is just over a year old and I had a diatom bloom a few months ago.
Keep practicing good husbandry and it should eventually sort itself out.
Keep practicing good husbandry and it should eventually sort itself out.
Pife
Active member
Agree with the others... a single diatom bloom just doesn't happen - there are multiples. Everything will eventually settle down.
I just had to swap tanks after 7 years and I put in all new sand. Even though I didn't have a cycle (kept everything in water during the switch), I had a nice wonderful diatom bloom on the sand bed after about a week. It went away within a week, but another one hit me within a month but went away quick. Diatoms happen.
Also... if you stir up the sand bed by vacuuming or anything like that, don't be surprised to see diatoms pop up. At least that's what happens in my tank.
I just had to swap tanks after 7 years and I put in all new sand. Even though I didn't have a cycle (kept everything in water during the switch), I had a nice wonderful diatom bloom on the sand bed after about a week. It went away within a week, but another one hit me within a month but went away quick. Diatoms happen.
Also... if you stir up the sand bed by vacuuming or anything like that, don't be surprised to see diatoms pop up. At least that's what happens in my tank.
Huh maybe that's it...should I not vaccum the sand bed? I usually only vaccum off one area where some stuff tends to settle.
When I commented about disturbing the sand bed, I didn't mean the very top layer. I meant if you're getting down an inch or so below the surface. I have no idea why it happens, but when I'd get a bit "aggressive" in my vacuuming, I'd always get a little diatom bloom.
