Diatoms

[jaylam]

Some of you are aware of the problems I have been having lately.

Well at the weekend I replaced both light tubes, done a water change and added some cheato today I come home to Diatoms on the sandbed.

I am thinking of doing the 2-3 days of lights off to see if this helps, will my leater and zoas be ok?

 

[seffieuk]

I'm just wondering if its diatoms you have got, take a look at this:

http/reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-11/rhf/index.php

Dino can look very much like diatoms

Seffie x

 

[jaylam]

I'm just wondering if its diatoms you have got, take a look at this:

http/reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-11/rhf/index.php

Dino can look very much like diatoms

Seffie x

Thanks seffieuk I googled it and have to be honest what I have doesnt look like this. I could try raising the Ph after all I have tried pretty much everything else.

 

[chr15_8]

how long has the tank been running?

Any idea on the phosphate levels?

My tank is currently just over 3 weeks old and over the last 4/5 days I have had diatoms but there are currently slowly disappearing now. Once they have used up the nutrients they should disappear.

 

[jaylam]

how long has the tank been running?

Any idea on the phosphate levels?

My tank is currently just over 3 weeks old and over the last 4/5 days I have had diatoms but there are currently slowly disappearing now. Once they have used up the nutrients they should disappear.

Tank has been running for 6 months, Phosphate levels are 0 thanks to the PhosBan reactor.

Last night I turned all the lights off and covered the aquarium, doing a 3 day's of darkness then will fire it back up and see what happens.

I have raised the Ph slightly as well to see if this helps.

 

[chr15_8]

How long have you had the diatoms?

IMO doing a black out will just cover the problem and something i would do as a very last resorts. Are you sure phosphates are 0 as ive heard most kits are hard to tell?

Do you have anything to sift the sand such as snails?

 

[jaylam]

How long have you had the diatoms?

IMO doing a black out will just cover the problem and something i would do as a very last resorts. Are you sure phosphates are 0 as ive heard most kits are hard to tell?

Do you have anything to sift the sand such as snails?

My Phosphates before installing the reactor were 4ppm, now the test kit shows 0.

I have 7 snails, 1 chalk goby, 4 hermits, 4 peppermint shrimp and 1 cleaner shrimp.

Well today I got home from work after the first day of blackout and everything is still alive, will do it for 2 more days then see what its like when I put the lights back on.

 

[Donya]

Taking away all light seems to me like it would actually create other problems even if it offers a temporary aesthetic improvement. Diatoms usually burn themselves out after a while anyway and get eaten by the CUC. Unless they're suddenly coating and stressing other photosynthetic things in the tank like corals, it's really easiest to just let them use up what they're going to use up and then get eaten. By cutting the light out, it defeats the purpose of adding the chaeto and risks creating more nutrients at the end than you started out with (since half of the photosynthetic process in the tank that would use it up will have to shut down in the tank and small algaes and such may die off during that time). You're probably seeing the diatoms because your WC added some silicates or something for the diatoms to use up, which means they're likely to come back at some point unless something like the chaeto is allowed to get a foothold and hog the nutrients.