Help with diatoms

[tiababygirl2]

hello my tank has been cycle for 3+years .only thing i did do I added a few piece of rock but that came after/during first water change..and the rock that was cycled . but Diatoms will not go away .I've done 20% water changes weekly .,the coral and fish are happy {if not even happier during this out break} has been 3 almost 4 weeks now . it starts on the sand bed then the glass and then the rock .I clean everything weekly .
the only thing different is I'm been using Aiptasia -x..could this cuase this problem? I'm just so upset .I've been doing salt water for over 10 yrs and rarely had a problem when setting up a new tank.
please help me figure this out.
thanks Ruth

 

[coralsnaked]

Well I have to assume that rock was added nearly three + years ago if added after 1st water change. That wouldnot be an issue this far up the road w/ such a mature tank. I amsure you know that diatoms are fueled by nitrates and phospahates...so figure out how they are being introduced to the tank and cut them out...in addition if you have stopped or slowed in the exportation of them...then restart your exportation aggressively.

Test for trates and phates and see where you are at currently. Trates shouyld be < 3 and phates < 0.165 to slow or stop algae growth. Carbon has helped me in the past as well as aggressive skimming. Run a GFO reactor w/ Phosban or Phosguard foir the PO4 and be sure to keep all filters as clean as possible.

Merry Skerry

 

[tiababygirl2]

I have try running GFo right when it started..the rock is more then 3 yrs old .some as old 10yrs.currently runnig tank with Chemi Pure Elite. tank is beautiful{clear} corals are fully extended..
now tonight air bubbles on everything .rock back of glass.going to turn off power heads.
I think its my salt mix .going to order new salt this weekend.
gheez its just driving me crazy .
There is one more thing i forgot to mention I had a whole colony of xenia die right when this all started.{thought maybe it died from the aiptias X

 

[SushiGirl]

I would suspect the Aiptasia-X if that's when it started. Diatoms feed mainly on silicates, so maybe the Aiptasia-X is fueling that.

 

[bertoni]

The outbreak might be dinoflagellates or cyanobacteria. The frequent water changes might be encouraging the bloom by adding trace elements and maybe some fixed nitrogen. That said, the Xenia might be making its way out of the system still. I might try increasing the amount of GFO a bit, or changing it more frequently.