Am I having a diatom bloom?

[Noobnanoreefer]

Hey guys, I'm relatively new to the reef keeping hobby. My tank has been up and running for about a month now, but recently I've bought some Ricordea Yuma from the fish store and opened my lights. All a sudden this maroon reddish (in blue lights) and brownish colour (in white light) thing starts growing. It is a diatom bloom or Cynobacteria? It doesn't seem to fall out easily even when I blast wind at it with my wavemaker, but came out when I scrape them with a brush. So far, they're on my rock work, substrate and the walls. Thanks for helping out. 

[Noobnanoreefer]

Nevermind, looks like I've found the answer lol 

[seabass]

 to Nano-Reef.com.

 

Sorry we left you hanging so long.  In the first pic, the rock looks very new (and clean).  That, and based on the even distribution, I would guess diatoms.

 

Diatoms are very common.  I'd say that it's rare for a new tank with new sand not to have a bloom shortly after the nitrogen cycle is established, and a normal light cycle is in place.

 

Diatoms utilize silicate for their cell structure.  Once the available silicate is used up, the bloom ceases to be a problem.  I usually try to siphon them out during water changes to permanently export the silicate.  There are some cleanup crew members that eat them too.

 

I suppose that's what you already discovered.  I primarily just wanted to welcome you to the site.

[Noobnanoreefer]

@seabass Thanks for welcoming me here. This is the picture from today. Hmmm, but I can see tiny micro bubbles on some of the rocks ( from what I've researched on my own, seems to be signs of cyno?) Anyway, I'm planning to wait it out a few more weeks untill the cycle completes (should be on 12th of November) and see if it'll go on it's own. If not then I might have a heck load of water changes and cleaning schedules in line 😅  

Edited October 11, 2020 by Noobnanoreefer
Spelling error lol

[DISQUALIFIED-QQ]

hooray tank puberty! I think your tank just needs some maintenance really.

 

if you run just the whites on you may be able to tell whether it is diatom or cyano. for me at least the blue lights make it hard for me to read color. diatoms are generally brown or sometimes green. cyano tends to be maroon or a deep red.

[seabass]

3 hours ago, Noobnanoreefer said:

from what I've researched on my own, seems to be signs of cyno?

While not out of the question, I typically find that cyano usually is proceeded by a buildup of organics (left over food, fish wastes, decaying algae, and the like).  It also is usually concentrated in areas of organics.  See, now you know more about cyano than some people who have been in this hobby for years (and believe that cyano is solely caused by high inorganic nutrient levels).

 

Diatoms are much more common in young tanks, but can occasionally bloom in older tanks due to other conditions.  Diatoms are also generally more widely distributed as the silicate is typically spread throughout the tank (with the source being the sand, rock, or water).  Use of tap water (or exhausted RO/DI) is often another source of silicate.

[Noobnanoreefer]

@seabass Fair enough, I'm not claiming to be an expert or I won't be asking 😹 So in conclusion, it's diatom isn't it?  Thanks for the explaination. 

[Noobnanoreefer]

@Diamonds x Pearls From what I'm seeing under white light, it's definetly brownish colour. 

[seabass]

11 minutes ago, Noobnanoreefer said:

it's diatom isn't it?

Probably, but in reality, if you carefully examined it under a high powered microscope, you might find some other cells too.  But, I think that it's most likely, predominantly, diatoms.

 

I like that you are looking stuff up on your own (in addition to asking questions).  This research and curiosity should really help you in this hobby.

[Noobnanoreefer]

@seabass Now I wish I own a miscroscope 😂 Would've been extra fun. 

[DISQUALIFIED-QQ]

Pretty likely. You won't really know until you borrow, rent, steal, or buy a microscope as Seabass says. There's all kinds of stuff that lives and grows at the micro level. There's marine bacteria even viruses that only live in the water column or bottom. There are also those to don't really fit into a solid category, unicellular animals/protists/other eukarya.

[Noobnanoreefer]

Hey guys it's me again👋 I was wondering when should I do my first water change? Well tbh I did a small water change last week 😅 I heard after the diatom dissapeared, I'll end up with green algae (and that's when I need to do my first water chage?) I wish I have money to buy Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate test kit, stupid corona got my job suspended again 😕 But definetly will be getting those soon. I also bought seachem phosguard and prepared a bucket of freshly mix saltwater just in case. Any thoughts? Thanks. 

[seabass]

1 hour ago, Noobnanoreefer said:

I heard after the diatom dissapeared, I'll end up with green algae (and that's when I need to do my first water chage?)

Not sure where you heard that, but that's not necessary.  Once ammonia starts to go down, you can start doing water changes.  However, most people wait until ammonia becomes undetectable, then they do a large enough water change to bring nitrate down to 5 ppm.  After that, you typically start your normal water change schedule.

 

1 hour ago, Noobnanoreefer said:

I wish I have money to buy Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate test kit

Once the cycle has been established, nitrite tests are basically worthless.  And ammonia test kits are infrequently used (maybe after a death, or if you add another fish, or if you need to cycle another tank or more rocks).  On the other hand, a nitrate kit is worth having.

 

1 hour ago, Noobnanoreefer said:

I also bought seachem phosguard and prepared a bucket of freshly mix saltwater just in case.

Is the PhosGuard for the silicate?  I'd probably just let the diatoms use it up.

 

I might consider trying to siphon the gunk off of the rocks.  You could also try taking a turkey baster and blowing the gunk off.

[Noobnanoreefer]

@seabass Omg you're a life saver! Thank you so much ^^ I don't really have a turkey blaster but I do have a smaller pippet. Can I usea brush instead? 

[seabass]

1 hour ago, Noobnanoreefer said:

Can I usea brush instead?

At this point, sure, no problem (a pipette might work too). Turkey blasters are handy though.  Maybe stop by the dollar store and see what they have.

 

[mcarroll]

Seems like dino's.

 

And I may have missed the test numbers for this tank and history on the tank.  

 

I'd most like to see test numbers for phosphates and nitrates, in order of importance.  No phosphates will mean that this is almost surely dino's.  You could do the shake test too.....shake up a sample of algae to break it up into smithereens.  Then place the sample under lights to see if any of it recoagulates...only dino's can swim to do that.  Diatoms and cyano will not.

[Noobnanoreefer]

@mcarroll The tank is about 1 month old so it's relatively new. I don't have the test kits for nitrate or phosphate atm due to insufficient funding, though I plan to get them soon. The parameters I can give you now: 

Alkalinity: 9.6

PH: 8.5 

Temperature: 24 celcius 

Salinity/ specific gravity: 35ppt (1.025) 

 

Ooh sweet, I'll try that 👍 I've tried blowing them with a pipette, but they keep accumulating back on the rocks and substrate 😕 But it could also be my water source, since I'm using borewell water instead of RODI 🤔 

 

 

[mcarroll]

2 hours ago, Noobnanoreefer said:

I don't have the test kits for nitrate or phosphate atm due to insufficient funding, though I plan to get them soon.

Most local stores will test your water for free (or small fee) so maybe give that a try?

[Noobnanoreefer]

@mcarroll Oh they do?! Alright I'll try and ask them 🙂