I've been battling diatoms on my sand bed for the last 3 months and i can't seem to get rid if it. My phosphates are at 0 nitrates at 5. I do weekly 10% water changes, which over the last month I have been doing twice weekly. Vacuum my sand bed every time. Rodi is coming out at 0ppm, and I've been adding prime to all new water. No other algae anywhere in my tank, all coral are open and look fine(other than some of my acans). I added some live rock rubble to my sump, about 3.5 months ago, which I thought was maybe becoming a nitrate sink, so I removed it last weekend. Nothing seems to help, what am I missing??
Diatoms On Sand Bed
- Thread starter Deptron
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reef keeper
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- Nov 19, 2014
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- Hamilton, Ontario
Diatoms essentially use silicates as their food source. What kind of sand did you put in? They will come and go until the silicates are used up, which can take a month, or 3-4 months depending.
It's a new tank, so you can expect all kinds of fun for the next 6-12 months.
I'm currently enjoying GHA. I take solace in knowing that every time I pull some out, I am "exporting" nutrients.
You have chaeto in your sump? It knocks nutrients down pretty well.
It's a new tank, so you can expect all kinds of fun for the next 6-12 months.
I'm currently enjoying GHA. I take solace in knowing that every time I pull some out, I am "exporting" nutrients.
You have chaeto in your sump? It knocks nutrients down pretty well.
reef keeper
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- Nov 19, 2014
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- Hamilton, Ontario
Put it in. It will grow.
What else are you using for filtration? Power heads? How bigs the tank?
I will say before I rebooted my system I changed my rodi system by adding a second carbon block (both from brs) and a second DI. I noticed better growth in my corals, as well as a drop in nuisance stuff - like diatoms.
How many stages is your rodi unit?
What else are you using for filtration? Power heads? How bigs the tank?
I will say before I rebooted my system I changed my rodi system by adding a second carbon block (both from brs) and a second DI. I noticed better growth in my corals, as well as a drop in nuisance stuff - like diatoms.
How many stages is your rodi unit?
AdInfinitum
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- Jan 12, 2012
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- Thorndale, Ontario
Once the free silicates are consumed the bloom will die off. Diatoms build their stony skeletons from them, when they die however the crystalline skeletons are not free for reuse (they become Diatomaceous earth, used as a filter media) so unless your source water is adding more silicates they will subside although always be present but in small numbers. BTW whenever you stir the sand or add new rock you provide more for them to use. Also silicates are one of the most likely substances to slip through RO membranes and will usually not register on Hobbyist level TDS meters and are typically highest in effluents and ground water in the spring.
It's a 93 cube. I have a mp40 and an mp10 running. Reef octopus int150. Rodi is a 5 stage, sediment, carbon, membrane, and 2 di stages. Only two fish in the tank and I would say I feed lightly. Under the rocks where there is no light, the sand is crystal clear. So I should just let the diatoms run their coarse? Stop stirring the sand bed every week?
kapelan
Member
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- Jan 11, 2015
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- Kitchener, Ontario
Light.
What kind of light do you have?
Spectrum and duration of day light?
Diatoms and other types of algae will blow out in white and when long day set up.
Short day like 4-5 hours will kill it fast.
What kind of light do you have?
Spectrum and duration of day light?
Diatoms and other types of algae will blow out in white and when long day set up.
Short day like 4-5 hours will kill it fast.
- Joined
- Mar 10, 2012
- Location
- Rocky Mountains BC
Curious how you're measuring phosphates, as I have gotten as low as 3 parts per billion, yet still didn't have "0".
reef keeper
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- Nov 19, 2014
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- Hamilton, Ontario
Just let em
how on this green earth did you measure that? And how did anything grow with that level of po4
- Joined
- Mar 10, 2012
- Location
- Rocky Mountains BC
Phosphorous checker by Hanna does PPB.
Spot feeding for everything you want to live. Everything else doesn't. no HA, but softies definitely suffer. I did have a few rounds of dinos when I was doing the ultra low nutrient setup, but could have been a cycle-coincidence. I now run ~3PPM and have more growth in lps, but I also get HA in overflows, and some sporadic bubble algae. I'm thinking of lowering PO4 again, but it's almost impossible to find hi-cap GFO.
Spot feeding for everything you want to live. Everything else doesn't. no HA, but softies definitely suffer. I did have a few rounds of dinos when I was doing the ultra low nutrient setup, but could have been a cycle-coincidence. I now run ~3PPM and have more growth in lps, but I also get HA in overflows, and some sporadic bubble algae. I'm thinking of lowering PO4 again, but it's almost impossible to find hi-cap GFO.
AdInfinitum
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- Jan 12, 2012
- Location
- Thorndale, Ontario
GFO is for old Hippies....the cool kids are all doing Lanthanum Chloride these days.....
- Joined
- Mar 10, 2012
- Location
- Rocky Mountains BC
Lol yet another "new miracle product" that will fade with time. Give me my bag of rust and get offa my lawn!!
AdInfinitum
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- Jan 12, 2012
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- Thorndale, Ontario
The thing I like about Lanthanum is that the lower your levels get the less effective it becomes in SW, so it is difficult to strip the PO4 down to nothing. Not so good if your goal is UUULN but my preference is to control the phosphate in a system without stripping it which I found to be a tough balancing act to maintain with HC GFO as tank loads and feeding changed once my old rock had stopped leaching (which actually acted as a bit of a buffer IMO). The trade-off (since there always seems to be one...) is the fact that Lanthanum affects Alk more than GFO once PO4 has been lowered but it is predictable and easy to compensate for. Bear in mind I have yet to use it on a full scale SPS reef but I like the results (number wise) in the two systems I have at the moment and I'm not close to feeling I have it "dialed in".
reef keeper
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- Nov 19, 2014
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- Hamilton, Ontario
where do you get 10 micron socks?
I'm using the high cap from BRS right now since my rocks are leaching pretty bad.
I'm using the high cap from BRS right now since my rocks are leaching pretty bad.
$30/lb
Beanbagfrags is the only place I get GFO from. I do 5lbs at a time. I think I need some as well though. May as well add that to my Bionics stuff. Fack!