diatoms still after 3 months

[ZooZ]

is this normal? 26G tank 35lbs LR 25lbs LS. Ammonia 0 Nitrite 0 Nitrate 10 Phosphate <0.25
2 b/w clowns, 1 damselfish, 1 cleaner shrimp, 1 blood shrimp. 15 Snails, 9hermits, LPS, softies, zoanthids. Good skimmer, Turnover of 27 times. Any suggestions?

 

[kau_cinta_ku]

if you get the nitrates down and the phosphates down that will help so much.

what are you using for water? tap, ro, rodi?

 

[ZooZ]

i use r/o that i buy from my LFS. And i still get nitrates and phosphates...where are they coming from? How they entering the system? I feed very little and have a good cleanup crew

 

[SALT WATER CRAZ]

test the lfs water next time you get some.

Also Phosphates are in a lot of food and stuff.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10436732#post10436732 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ZooZ
i use r/o that i buy from my LFS. And i still get nitrates and phosphates...where are they coming from? How they entering the system? I feed very little and have a good cleanup crew

 

[kidcurry1000]

try turning your lights out it worked for me.

 

[ZooZ]

turning off the lights is just a temporary solution...the issue is where and how to control the nitrates, phosphates....i will test the water when i get home today

 

[danoreef]

yes it is normal My 24 gallon had diatoms for about 4-5 months I had close to all the same clean up crew that you do after the 5th month the diatoms where no more. do not fret patience is the most important ingredient in a successful reef tank.

 

[ZooZ]

agreed...i tell so many people how important patience is. I just wanted to know if its normal and maybe in my case theres somewhere, somehow phosphates contaminating the system. I got to test the water my LFS gives me.

 

[loves saltwater]

Can you tell us more about your set up ? I used to buy water from LFS till I started checking it before putting it in my tank. Ask you LFS if that is the same water they use in their tanks.I suprised to find out that not all LFS use the water they sell.

Sump ?
Skimmer ?
Macro Algea ?
How often do you do water changes ?
What type of food you use flake,frozen ?

 

[Jim_Leyland]

your probably overfeeding, that will cause your phosphates to be high

 

[ZooZ]

i feed so little and i have a good cleanup crew for leftovers. I have a modded AC70 as a fuge with LS, LR and cheato in it. The skimmer i am using is a Wave force 3 by saline solutions running with a AC30 powerhead 176gph. Water changes about every 7 days. I use omega one kelp flakes, tetra marine flakes, ocean nutrition prime reef flakes, omega one garlic pellets. Frozen baby brine shrimp, and frozen bloodworms, my own cultured phyto as well as chromoplex by kent marine. I dose the phyto about once a week and only about 5mL.

 

[loves saltwater]

sounds like your system is proper. You need to get your phosphates closer to 0.
Is you cheato growing alot ?
Do you have a picture of the diatoms ?
I have also read somewhere before that flake food is high in phosphates not sure where I read that I think it was here.

 

[ZooZ]

I dont know how to measure the growth of cheato but i need to remove some about every 10 days. I got a 5600K 27W bulb on the modded AC70 fuge which i think is plenty of light. I'll try to get a shot of the diatoms when it comes back as i just scrubbed the tank using the magfloat. I upgradded one of my powerheads from the AC30 pumping 176gph to a AC50 pumping 270gph. I'll see how that does. I need to find the source of phosphates and solve it or else the diatoms will just keep coming.

 

[danoreef]

do what I do with the chaeto. when it come time to trim I offer it for sale here in the selling forums, I make about 30-40 bucks every time I do it.

 

[mikemartinez]

Cut back on the lights and feed less.. That's what worked for me..

 

[ZooZ]

increased the flow by like 260gph...seems to be helping so far. Toronto has had a heat wave this week from monday till today...Had the tank hitting 84F with sooo much evaporation...like a gallon a day in a 26G bowfront