matt frizz Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 Could this be caused by leaving my skimmer off for a week? I was waiting until I got my ATO setup to run my skimmer and these popped up again. I've been getting them on and off for months. I had red slime but I got rid of it all but these diatoms just won't go away. This tank has been up since May 2010 and it's my old tank transferred (old tank started May 09). I just set up my fuge and got my skimmer going w/ the ATO. My CUC is definitely sufficient around 45-50 dwarf ceriths, a handful of regular ceriths, 7 Nerites, 1 turbo, 6 nassarius and 10-12 trochus snails. (Thanks to John Maloney for hooking it up on the order w/ the dwarf ceriths. Water params are all in check. I'm thinking that maybe after a couple weeks of the fuge and skimmer going 24/7 this will clear up but in case it doesn't, any suggestions? I feed everyother day frozen mysis or brine shrimp and try to spot feed my corals as best as I can. Flow is also sufficient I have an MP10 and a Koralia 2 going both on the same side of the tank. MP10 blasts in front of the rock work and koralia blasts behind the rock work. I re-did my scape a little while back to provide better flow. Picture of the Diatoms: Ammonia: 0 Nitrate: 0 S.G. 1.024 Cal: 430ppm Mg: 1350ppm Alk: 8.0 Link to comment
CoralWhisperer Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 Same cause as every other post about nuisance algaes and cyano, and diatoms . . . too much nutrients. nobody includes a test for phosphates in these threads . . . Link to comment
matt frizz Posted February 3, 2011 Author Share Posted February 3, 2011 Same cause as every other post about nuisance algaes and cyano, and diatoms . . . too much nutrients. nobody includes a test for phosphates in these threads . . . I dosed phosban twice this week plus I use RO/DI water only. Guess I better pick up a test kit and a TDS meter for my RO/DI. I thought I had finally bought enough equipment! Link to comment
CollegeNano Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 Diatoms are annoying aren't they?! I have a spot in the back corner of my tank that must get minimal flow, and they grow there every now and then. I've just accepted the fact and do an extra water change whenever they arrive in the area. I've heard it's nutrients but nitrate and phosphate read 0 for me (of course from an API test kit). I started dosing vodka recently which maybe also cure my problem. The information might interest you. http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-08/nftt/index.php I would definitely invest in a TDS meter. Although, I'm having trouble trusting mine lately as my RO/DI unit is around 1.5 years and still reading 0 when avg filter life is a year. Link to comment
CoralWhisperer Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 I dosed phosban twice this week plus I use RO/DI water only. Ok, so your starting to export the nutrients, good. But it aint gonna clear up overnight . . . Link to comment
matt frizz Posted February 3, 2011 Author Share Posted February 3, 2011 Diatoms are annoying aren't they?! I have a spot in the back corner of my tank that must get minimal flow, and they grow there every now and then. I've just accepted the fact and do an extra water change whenever they arrive in the area. I've heard it's nutrients but nitrate and phosphate read 0 for me (of course from an API test kit). I started dosing vodka recently which maybe also cure my problem. The information might interest you. http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-08/nftt/index.php I would definitely invest in a TDS meter. Although, I'm having trouble trusting mine lately as my RO/DI unit is around 1.5 years and still reading 0 when avg filter life is a year. Thanks for the read, I got some extra vodka laying around so I may start up a regiment. Ok, so your starting to export the nutrients, good.But it aint gonna clear up overnight . . . Truth. I'm hoping the combo of my skimmer running at a constant water level 24/7, the fuge being set up, and the phosban (probably a water change as well) will clear this up in a week or so. Thanks for the help guys! Link to comment
johnmaloney Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 are you sure it isn't cyano? looks like cyano from the growth pattern. it can come in brown too Link to comment
diablovt750 Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 Is it a new tank? Both of my tanks have gone through a stage where they got this in the begining few weeks. Mine just eventually went away on its own. Link to comment
cptbjorn Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 I agree with John, that looks like cyano. also persistent diatom blooms would require significant amounts of silicon getting in to the tank, which just doesn't happen if you use proper RO water. Link to comment
matt frizz Posted February 3, 2011 Author Share Posted February 3, 2011 It's probably cyano then. It's back. I thought it was diatoms cuz it was brown but its that sludge again. This stuff is persistent. I've battled this for months and thought I had finally gotten rid of it. Link to comment
GokesReef Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 More flow. More CuC. More manual removal. Lights out for a day or 2 will temporarily clear it up, also. Link to comment
CoralWhisperer Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 Dude, dont put vodka in your tank . . . thats one of the most ridiculous things I ever heard Keep running that phosban, maybe throw a bag of chemipure in, and increase of flow can help too. Bad things happen quickly, good things seem to take forever. Just limit nutrients(phosban and chemipure), and it will starve itself out . . . That does NOT look like cyano, just thick diatoms. Either way its from too much nutrients. Link to comment
cptbjorn Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 carbon dosing (such as vodka, also sugar etc) is legit. the idea is that it gives non-photosynthetic bacteria a chance to compete with algae for nutrients by giving them a carbon source, and then the bacteria can be skimmed out. if done correctly it works. http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-08/nftt/index.php http://www.melevsreef.com/vodka_dosing.html Link to comment
MarcG Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 carbon dosing (such as vodka, also sugar etc) is legit. the idea is that it gives non-photosynthetic bacteria a chance to compete with algae for nutrients by giving them a carbon source, and then the bacteria can be skimmed out. if done correctly it works. http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-08/nftt/index.php http://www.melevsreef.com/vodka_dosing.html Carbon dosing is legit but IMO has no place being discussed in the beginners forum and can cause more harm than good if not done correctly. Link to comment
steely185 Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 Make sure you rinse your frozen foods before feeding the tank with them. Maybe cut back on the amount you feed or use a different food if possible. You also may want to cut back on feeding the corals unless they have to be fed (like sun polyps). Most corals will grow fine without feeding. It should limit the nutrients further. Link to comment
cptbjorn Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 Carbon dosing is legit but IMO has no place being discussed in the beginners forum and can cause more harm than good if not done correctly. I agree. Didn't look where I was posting etc. Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.