I've (fortunately) never had to deal with diatoms so I don't know that I'll be much help here. But, IIRC, @kharmaguru has a line of sight on dealing with them.
Need help with Diatoms?
- Thread starter Kozman61
- Start date
wvned
Premium Member
They look like diatoms.
What level did Si - silicon test at?
What media are you running in the Seachem Tidal?
Are you using any other wave makers for flow?
Iodine is important. I would add some. There are several products for iodine available. Fluorine I don't know about.
Zinc usually comes from something like a screw (galvanized metal) in the tank or in contact with the water like a hose clamp.
Take a clear glass and fill it with tank water and set it somewhere quiet overnight. Does is form a golden film on the bottom the next day.
I suspect the diatoms are growing in the water and settling to the bottom.
Instead of a 2 day blackout try turning your lights down for a week so no channel runs above 60%. Then slowly increase them.
Increase your flow. More flow is always better.
Most problems in a reef tank come from too much light and not enough flow.
What level did Si - silicon test at?
What media are you running in the Seachem Tidal?
Are you using any other wave makers for flow?
Iodine is important. I would add some. There are several products for iodine available. Fluorine I don't know about.
Zinc usually comes from something like a screw (galvanized metal) in the tank or in contact with the water like a hose clamp.
Take a clear glass and fill it with tank water and set it somewhere quiet overnight. Does is form a golden film on the bottom the next day.
I suspect the diatoms are growing in the water and settling to the bottom.
Instead of a 2 day blackout try turning your lights down for a week so no channel runs above 60%. Then slowly increase them.
Increase your flow. More flow is always better.
Most problems in a reef tank come from too much light and not enough flow.
The SI came back in normal range, 140 vs 101 Ideal. As far as media in the Tidal 55, I have the bottom sponge that came with filter, a bag of Chemi Pure Elite, topped off with a wad of Poly Fil on top . For the Fluval 50 I have the bottom sponge , bag of Matrix media and Poly Fil on top. The flow pump on bottom is a Koralia 600 GPH and top is a dual head Amazon Freesea, 1500 GPH. Any suggestions to move my pumps or leave as is...or do I need stronger pumps?. I will lower lights and give that a try.. I will get some Iodine and add to tank, Yhx for the help
wvned
Premium Member
Do they capture this stuff from the water when you clean them?
The koralia 600 is not big enough to make a difference in a 40 gallon tank.
If I had a 40 gallon breeder I would use 2 MP10s. I had those in my 30 gallon cube.
Thats 5000 gph.
I think you need something close to that. Quite often you use those pumps in a mode where only one runs at a time on an alternating program but that is still 2500 GPH at one time and the flow alternates back and forth.
@griss I haven't had a tank that small in a while. How much does he need?
It is hard to get flow I like in my own tanks, I am not sure how to tell someone else when they have enough.
The koralia 600 is not big enough to make a difference in a 40 gallon tank.
If I had a 40 gallon breeder I would use 2 MP10s. I had those in my 30 gallon cube.
Thats 5000 gph.
I think you need something close to that. Quite often you use those pumps in a mode where only one runs at a time on an alternating program but that is still 2500 GPH at one time and the flow alternates back and forth.
@griss I haven't had a tank that small in a while. How much does he need?
It is hard to get flow I like in my own tanks, I am not sure how to tell someone else when they have enough.
In my 40 breeder, I use (2) 8,000 lph (or 2,113 gph) Jebaos. No issues with flow and my Acros are doing well.
Just what i already suggested in this thread - copious copepods. See what I did there.
Should i try a 30-50% water change, will that help?, change the sand?. I also seem to have algae on my rock, what can I do about that?, add more beneficial bacteria?. It's been since mid November my sand has looked like this, my water parameters seem to be ok, nothing really out of whack - not really sure what the issue is...
wvned
Premium Member
A tank will always grow algae. How fast the algae grows depends mostly on how much light the tank gets.
The trick is to set the light so the algae grows slower than the clean up crew can eat it.
In your tank you create a biome
A biome is an area classified according to the species that live in that location. Temperature range, soil type, and the amount of light and water are unique to a particular place and form the niches for specific species
If your biome is balanced toward diatoms and algae then that is what you will see the most.
You can change the balance of your biome by adding more clean up crew, reducing the light and adding more flow.
The trick is to set the light so the algae grows slower than the clean up crew can eat it.
In your tank you create a biome
A biome is an area classified according to the species that live in that location. Temperature range, soil type, and the amount of light and water are unique to a particular place and form the niches for specific species
If your biome is balanced toward diatoms and algae then that is what you will see the most.
You can change the balance of your biome by adding more clean up crew, reducing the light and adding more flow.
Last edited:
@kharmaguru have you read anything about the coral snow (CaCO3) & bacteria mix helping with diatoms? I remember it helped when I was having the horrible battle with cyano.
@Kozman61 if you want to try the marine snow, here's what I did. I bought some Calcium Carbonate powder off of Amazon. For my system (50 gallons total), I mixed 5ml rodi with 1/3 tsp CaCO3 and 0.5ml Microbacter 7. Then, let it sit for 5 minutes and added to a high flow area of my tank. It really helps clear the water and did help with my cyano. I still dose it daily even though I've eradicated the cyano. But, I have no knowledge if this will help with diatoms.
@Kozman61 if you want to try the marine snow, here's what I did. I bought some Calcium Carbonate powder off of Amazon. For my system (50 gallons total), I mixed 5ml rodi with 1/3 tsp CaCO3 and 0.5ml Microbacter 7. Then, let it sit for 5 minutes and added to a high flow area of my tank. It really helps clear the water and did help with my cyano. I still dose it daily even though I've eradicated the cyano. But, I have no knowledge if this will help with diatoms.
Last edited:
Hong Kong
Active member
I suggest very good sucking and in front scratching fine soft brush of as much you can not disturbing sand and repeat many times
in few days with regular only 10% water change to not create even worse situation if you change
too much water at once. Flow need to be stronger much more than this 2 pumps. Change also
position of this 2 pumps every few days to mix well water. Check in your filtration, sump ect if something
is not stuck as some food or similar...stop all and remove pipes clean them also well with soft long brush
and vinegar is safe for this just after use hot water and flush well twice.
in few days with regular only 10% water change to not create even worse situation if you change
too much water at once. Flow need to be stronger much more than this 2 pumps. Change also
position of this 2 pumps every few days to mix well water. Check in your filtration, sump ect if something
is not stuck as some food or similar...stop all and remove pipes clean them also well with soft long brush
and vinegar is safe for this just after use hot water and flush well twice.
Last edited:
