When will the diatoms stop??

[njp14333]

I have had a 28g HQI Nano Cube that has been set up for just about one month. I have a royal gramma and two chromis' as well as a mix of coral species in there.

According to tests it has been cycled for like 2 weeks now. Everything (such as nitrate) tests 0 and Ph and alk are good too. I used Seachem's "Stability" and it did seem to make the tank's cycle speed up. Anyway my question is I'm still suffering from the diatoms (at least that's what I think it's called) on the rocks and on sand. Its like a light brown color speckled everywhere. Its the typical break in algae I know that much, but shouldn't it have gone away by now if my tank's cycled, I've done water changes and the water parameters are great? Please help It's driving me crazy having to stir the sand up every day and scrub the rocks like every couple days.

O and ps, the water I use is RO/DI and I run carbon and PhosBan as well as an oceanic nano skimmer.

 

[pIankton]

Nothing you can really do about them. They're always present in your system - your seeing the die-off right now. Your best bet is to leave them alone and they do go away all by themselves. The more you stir, the more headache you'll have.

 

[eho72]

I was doing that too when my tank was first cycling. Scrubbing rocks, cleaning the sand all the time. The algae always come back. The best advice is to just leave it alone for a while and cut down on the lighting. It took me about 4 months till I no longer see the algae. The tank has been crystal clear since.

 

[njp14333]

Thanks for the mental support guys this was driving me mad, in all honesty this is what has driven me out of the hobby in the past but I knew I should have just been more patient.

Anyhow, my question is will 9 hours of light under the 150 HQI be sufficient while it is in this "algae phase"? Let me know if I should go less, more or stay at 9 hours again for just for this algae phase. I would go way less but I have corals so..

 

[DT's_Reef]

You should be able to cut down the lighting hours significantly with 150w of halide on a 28g tank, especially if you don't have SPS corals.

I suggest doing 7 hours maximum for now, and you might even get away with less, depending on what you're keeping.

 

[SNAKEMANVET]

I always do 15% water changes every week while a tank is cycling.I hardly had any diatoms.

 

[njp14333]

I have a few SPS including an acro. So what like 7 hours?

 

[njp14333]

I always do 15% water changes every week while a tank is cycling.I hardly had any diatoms.

I've been changing the water weekly if not more, thanks tho I totally agree it helps. I think it's just the really bright lighting.

 

[SNAKEMANVET]

You could cut back to 5hrs for a few days.

 

[jacksonpt]

Just to add another perspective - make sure your RO/DI water is clean of silicates. I've been fighting diatoms too, and they are always worse after a big water change as my filter membranes/filters need replacing.

 

[njp14333]

Why? Just to kill off the diatoms some?

 

[njp14333]

Just to add another perspective - make sure your RO/DI water is clean of silicates. I've been fighting diatoms too, and they are always worse after a big water change as my filter membranes/filters need replacing.

Thanks but it's not that either. I don't have a test for silicates but my tds meter reads 0 and I also run PhosBan which absorbs silicates too.

 

[DT's_Reef]

You might try a 7 hour lighting period and see if it improves your situation after a few days. If not, then try 5.

There are many threads advocating turning your lights off for a couple days every couple weeks or so.

In my experience, whenever my corals are thriving/growing, I never have algae/diatom issues. I'm guessing it's because the corals compete for nutrients in the water and keep the algae/diatoms at bay (and red slime too).

Maybe consider dosing vodka too.

 

[stingythingy45]

Gee whiz,give it some time and they'll die off on their own.It's only been cycled for 2 weeks.Diatoms can hang around for a month before dying off.

 

[t4zalews]

my tank has been running for almost 4 years now, I had to move it twice, I still get diatoms on the sand...my SPS flourishes and everything else looks great...run phosban and carbon, use RO/DI.....still have diatoms on the sand. I jsut dont get it, sandsifter gobies really do the trick...but then you loose valuable fauna and other organisms in teh sand bed

 

[stingythingy45]

my tank has been running for almost 4 years now, I had to move it twice, I still get diatoms on the sand...my SPS flourishes and everything else looks great...run phosban and carbon, use RO/DI.....still have diatoms on the sand. I jsut dont get it, sandsifter gobies really do the trick...but then you loose valuable fauna and other organisms in teh sand bed

It's silicates.
Your top off water has silicates.

 

[Postyoa28]

Do you change your RODI filters according to the manufacturers recommendations?

 

[njp14333]

yes and I doubt it's silicates either because as I stated my water (both for top off and water change) is ro/di and 0 TDS. There is no silicates. I also run phosban as well so the probability of it being silicates is very low.

 

[njp14333]

I think it just needs time like people have said above, thanks tho.

 

[Alaska_Phil]

Yeah, just give it time. At one month it's still a very new system. And for God's sake leave your rocks and sand bed alone. That's just prolonging the problem by stirring things up and killing the good bacteria that's trying to grow on the rocks and in the sand bed.

Personally, I like to leave a tank with nothing but sand and live rock in it for at least 2 months before adding anything except maybe snails. Really gives the micro critters a head start and results in a much more stable system in the end.

Phil