Diatom out break!!
- Thread starter cindywhip
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A lot more information about your tank would help. How long has this tank been set up? What size is it? What is your lighting scheme? How much flow do you have? Are you using an RO/DI unit? What is your maintenance schedule and what does it consist of? What do you test for? What are you test results for Nitrates, phosphates, pH, Calcium, Alk and Mg? What, if anything are you dosing or supplementing? How many fish are in your tank? How often, how much and what are you feeding?
Hi 55 gallon all r/o water is used 0 nitrates 0 nitrites 0 ammonia ph 8.2 calcium 420, phos 0.25 ,temp 74.4 its been up 3 months 50% water change every saturday. light outer orbit pro halide & T5. supplements phytoplankton, coral frenzy. I feed mysis and dry flake marine. my skimmer has been filling up every 2 1/2 hours. 6 hrs a day w/halide. there is nothing dead in the tank.
Thanks
I'd start by adjusting your skimmer to skim dryer. Less water, more foam. This will remove more stuff. Your phosphate levels are pretty high.
You're also at the early stage of your tank. Diatom outbreaks are a normal part of a new tank. This could be what you're going through.
What are you supplementing Phytoplankton for? I'm not saying you don't need to, just that you might not need to. What is it that you're feeding with it? Most corals won't eat phytoplankton. Most corals are carnivores so need zooplankton. Coral Frenzy is a great product, but don't overdo it. Phyto will feed pods that are in your tank, but phyto can also contribute to nitrate and phosphate issues.
Until your diatom bloom is gone, I'd suggest cutting way back on feeding.
Also, in your first picture, near the top, to the left of a small pump...is that a filter sock of some kind? If so, make sure you're cleaning in every couple of days. It can contribute to your problem.
Numbers for Alk and Magnesium would be helpful as well, but probably aren't a contributing factor to your diatoms. If you aren't testing for Alk and Magnesium, I'd suggest you do. They're every bit as important as Calcium.
I think you're just experiencing a normal part of "new tank syndrome" It sucks, but we all go through it. You can turn your lights off for 48 hours, without any negative impact on your corals. This will go a long way towards getting rid of the diatoms. I recently had my lights totally off for 3 days, in a predominately SPS tank, because of a dinoflaggelate problem.
You're also at the early stage of your tank. Diatom outbreaks are a normal part of a new tank. This could be what you're going through.
What are you supplementing Phytoplankton for? I'm not saying you don't need to, just that you might not need to. What is it that you're feeding with it? Most corals won't eat phytoplankton. Most corals are carnivores so need zooplankton. Coral Frenzy is a great product, but don't overdo it. Phyto will feed pods that are in your tank, but phyto can also contribute to nitrate and phosphate issues.
Until your diatom bloom is gone, I'd suggest cutting way back on feeding.
Also, in your first picture, near the top, to the left of a small pump...is that a filter sock of some kind? If so, make sure you're cleaning in every couple of days. It can contribute to your problem.
Numbers for Alk and Magnesium would be helpful as well, but probably aren't a contributing factor to your diatoms. If you aren't testing for Alk and Magnesium, I'd suggest you do. They're every bit as important as Calcium.
I think you're just experiencing a normal part of "new tank syndrome" It sucks, but we all go through it. You can turn your lights off for 48 hours, without any negative impact on your corals. This will go a long way towards getting rid of the diatoms. I recently had my lights totally off for 3 days, in a predominately SPS tank, because of a dinoflaggelate problem.
ReefferMan
Fish out of water
It is normal to have some diatoms, that means your tank is going through one of its many normal stages. I would just dust off the rock with a turkey baster once a day keep the temp up to 76 and do normal WC's. Sounds to me like your tank is maturing well. Happy Reefing.......
the phyto is for I know I shouldn't have one this early in the game but its a fire scallop I feed the sun coral the mysis. you really think lights out will be ok ? thats really scary like everyone else theres alot invested here. so I need an r/o with the di to get rid of all the phosphates or could I use phosban?
Thanks for helping me!!
Thanks for helping me!!
An RO/DI unit is much better than just an RO unit. Test your tap water for phosphates, then test your RO water for phosphates. That'll tell you if it's coming from your water. If not, it's coming from your feeding. I know lights out is a scary thing to think about. I was worried, but I was dealing with Dinos which are MUCH worse than Diatoms, so I took drastic measures. I have very high light demanding SPS in that tank. I kept the lights totally off for 3 days. Everything is just fine and Dinos are gone. If you're uncomfortable with lights out, just give the Diatoms time to go through their normal cycle. They should go away after awhile. Unfortunately, sometimes they don't. That's when I'd try lights out. In the meantime, find out where your phosphates are coming from, tap water or food. Phosban is very useful and can work, but use it carefully and do some research on it. Don't start out with the full recommended amount. Start with less and work your way up. Some people have had bad results with starting out with the full dosage.
LOL You're right, you shouldn't have a Flame Scallop, yet...or ever. Unfortunately, they don't have a very high survival rate, even in well established tanks. There's just not enough food for them. Keeping enough food in a tank for a Flame Scallop AND keeping a healthy tank for corals just don't go together.
Glad your feeding your Sun Coral mysis. How are you feeding it? If you're feeding it with a turkey baster, or other methods of target feeding, a lot of the food is get blown around the tank, and contributing to your problem. You can cut the top off of a 1 liter water bottle, place the bottle over the sun corals, add food through the bottle cap, replace the bottle cap and leave the cap on them for awhile. Once they've had time to eat, you can remove the bottle. This will allow them to get plenty of food, without having excess food in the tank.
LOL You're right, you shouldn't have a Flame Scallop, yet...or ever. Unfortunately, they don't have a very high survival rate, even in well established tanks. There's just not enough food for them. Keeping enough food in a tank for a Flame Scallop AND keeping a healthy tank for corals just don't go together.
Glad your feeding your Sun Coral mysis. How are you feeding it? If you're feeding it with a turkey baster, or other methods of target feeding, a lot of the food is get blown around the tank, and contributing to your problem. You can cut the top off of a 1 liter water bottle, place the bottle over the sun corals, add food through the bottle cap, replace the bottle cap and leave the cap on them for awhile. Once they've had time to eat, you can remove the bottle. This will allow them to get plenty of food, without having excess food in the tank.
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my tap tests 0.5 phos my tank tests 0.25. yes I now he probably wont make it .I saw him and he was so beautiful the next thing I new he was in my car going home I try to read up on critters but I made a mistake
right before this outbreak I was tring to feed the sun and it looked like a blizzard in my tank mysis everywhere I have since discovered a better way to feed it thats not such a mess this all happen saturday by monday morning there was brown stuff everywhere so I'm sure the mini blizzard didn't help matters.I will try lights out do you think 24 hrs will help?and I will buy a DI unit and leave the phosban as a last resort.
right before this outbreak I was tring to feed the sun and it looked like a blizzard in my tank mysis everywhere I have since discovered a better way to feed it thats not such a mess this all happen saturday by monday morning there was brown stuff everywhere so I'm sure the mini blizzard didn't help matters.I will try lights out do you think 24 hrs will help?and I will buy a DI unit and leave the phosban as a last resort.
Lights out for 24 hours might be enough. It's worth a try. There's also a few threads about interrupting lights mid day, as a way of controlling algae outbreaks. It seems that corals start benefiting from light in a shorter time than algae do. Some have suggested that turning your lights out for a couple of hours, mid day, will stop the algae from reaching it's photo period. This is said to interrupt their growth pattern and help control it's spread. I've never really tried this, so I can't comment on it's effectiveness, but I've read enough to believe it may have some merit.
gotfish
Well-known member
Many people with freshwater planted tanks use an interrupted photo period. Algae is more prevalent with freshwater planted tanks because of the added fertilization. I've never done it on my planted tanks, but know many do.
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