What am I doing wrong?

[Salty Cracker]

Still new to the whole reef thing and looking for some answers. For some reason I have diatom on the front half of my tank on the sand bed, but not the back half. Is the reason I'm getting the brown on the sand bed on the front half and not the back half. Is this because of the placement of my lights being in the back of the tank?

 

[Sk8r]

Water flow, probably. It's an ordinary problem, diatoms. Do use ro/di water only. And just be patient. Your tank will go through all sorts of blooms and color changes. Keep your water changes at 10% a week and try to keep your parameters like mine in my sig line, quarantine all new fish including the first, and generally just be patient: most blooms work themselves out. If you do get hair algae, then a GFO will be indicated.

 

[Salty Cracker]

Thanks. I am not using a RODI system yet just tap water. My wife is buying a six stage for me for Christmas so I have to wait. It's a 50 gallon breeder tank with a skimmer, carbon/gfo reactor, fluval filter and 50/50 T5 lighting. Maybe you can answer my next question. when I get the RODI system at the end of the month, what would be the best way to go about replacing that tap water? Just through 10% weekly water changes? Or do a bigger water change?

 

[Rognin]

I'd go a bit bigger, like 25-30% to try and get rid of more for the first month or so.

 

[Sk8r]

To get rid of anything that got in from tapwater, I'd suggest running a square of polyfilter---not cheap but very efficient--until it's clearly getting yucky; and if you get hair algae, that's phosphate, and a small gfo reactor would be useful. You can use it later to run carbon at need, so it's not a waste. And do your regular water changes. Polyfilter takes out anything metallic, and GFO sops up phosphates, and your live rock will eat up any Nitrate. So in about 3 months, you should have good water.

 

[whosurcaddie]

Just so you know where they are coming from diatoms are caused by excessive silicates. Unfiltered tap water is overrun with silicates. Once you get your RO/DI setup and start changing water you should see a change in as little as two weeks maybe less when they start to consume all of they're food source.

For now I would only do top off water until you get your RO unit going.

 

[JammyBirch]

What sk8tr and others said, the diatoms will eventually go away, mine are about gone. RODI is critical but you'll still get diatoms with a new tank.

Mine got quite bad where all of my sand and rock was completely covered with stringy brown stuff. Cerith snails will eat it that's what I have working on it all night... When it starts to go away you will be cleaning your skimmer every other day...

Hang in there it looks terrible but is normal.