diatoms...still

[emonemo420]

i know diatoms are ugly and a pain but how long do they really last...i know grins said they look like they are going away but that was just cause my powerhead was blowing the sand around but i moved it up a little and where the powerhead isnt blowing ne more the diatoms came back....according to my records they started blooming the 15th but was first noticed the 10th...how much longer do i gotta wait? they are so so so ugly and it makes my tank look dirty (so if i get a room inspection and they see that it could be a write up....yup incentive to clean the tank) is there nething i can do to get rid of em?..i read something about diatom filters? are they cheap? and worth it?

 

[joander123]

if they are lasting what you believe is longer than usual, than it may be that your nutrient levels are off.

Are you using an RO/DI unit?
Are you using any chemical media?
Are your nitrate levels in check?
Are your silica levels in check?
Do you have enough flow in the tank?
Are you sure its diatoms?

Diatoms are basically your tanks way of telling you that its ready to support life, and they generally come when a tank is overstocked, or a tank is just finished cycling. I think that your tank just finished cycling right?

Some things that you can do to help are:
Increase flow
Partial water changes (10-15 %)
Up clean up crew
Remove manually (pain, and they will come back but it does help)
Increase water quality (watch for things like phosphate, nitrate, and silica to be high)
And finally, just wait it out =(.

I know its rough, and they look nasty but your tank if i remember right has not been up and running for very long, so its still establishing.

Patience is hard, but its very important, especially in this hobby =).

Hope this helps,
Jay

 

[Slappy*McFish]

The diatoms went away in about a week in my 75g after the cycle...but then the hair algae appeared.

 

[emonemo420]

Are you using an RO/DI unit? yes
Are you using any chemical media? no
Are your nitrate levels in check? less then 20 ppm just did a water change havent tested it
Are your silica levels in check?dont have a test for it
Do you have enough flow in the tank? 3 powerheads, return pump, HOB fw filter(no media)
Are you sure its diatoms? looks like it

I think that your tank just finished cycling right? yea a few weeks ago

Some things that you can do to help are:
Increase flow- decent flow
Partial water changes (10-15 %)- just did one
Up clean up crew- i could use some more
Remove manually (pain, and they will come back but it does help)- i have a few times
Increase water quality (watch for things like phosphate, nitrate, and silica to be high) no phosphate or silica tests but nitrates are good
And finally, just wait it out =(.-BBBOOOO

and you said a week it took u for urs to go away? id kill for that quickness

 

[Grins]

Took me a little over 2 weeks. Flow, water quality and good old time.

 

[joander123]

in my first tank, it took me about 2 weeks, and i still get blooms now and then, but smaller.

In my second tank, it took me about 2 days, but then as slappy said... hair algae started, and thats even more gross looking.

 

[joander123]

i would def. look into getting a phosphate test, silica isnt as important, and is less likely to cause problems, but can be a cause for high algae growth in a tank, when nothing else appears to be wrong.

Some sands that people use (like pool filter sand) is high in silica, and can cause problems sometimes. Silica is a good thing to have in a reef tank, some advanced reef keepers even dose it like you would calcium, but you really dont want it over levels of 1 ppm.

 

[missc4]

I hate hate diatom myself..Makes the tank look so ugly..When I first started my tank I got it and cleaned all the time knowing that I was fighting a battle I could not win.Finally one day it just went away..Yay for me but that was short lived,I bought a new light for the tank and sure enough got a new diatom bloom,it is not as bad as the first but still it looks bad and still I clean it every other day.But now I have coralline growing on the glass as well so it is even harder to clean now.I am so regretting putting my rock on the back glass now.