Diatoms

I've developed a nasty case of brownies. I think it's just a
coincidence that I opened a new bag of salt, same company.
No new anything in the tank. I tried an inch of fine sand on
top of the old, but that didn't stop anything. I change 6
gallons of water per week from the 55 gallon tank. Here's a
pic with a few details:
http://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/...l****erID.html
I'd appreciate any suggestions. It is seriously ugly.

rtk

rtk wrote:
I've developed a nasty case of brownies. I think it's just a coincidence
that I opened a new bag of salt, same company. No new anything in the
tank. I tried an inch of fine sand on top of the old, but that didn't
stop anything. I change 6 gallons of water per week from the 55 gallon
tank. Here's a pic with a few details:
http://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/...l****erID.html

I'd appreciate any suggestions. It is seriously ugly.

rtk

What are your water parameters including Nitrates?

Do you have a refugium setup?

What about your lighting? How many hours a day?

--Kurt

KurtG wrote:

rtk wrote:

I've developed a nasty case of brownies. I think it's just a
coincidence that I opened a new bag of salt, same company. No new
anything in the tank. I tried an inch of fine sand on top of the old,
but that didn't stop anything. I change 6 gallons of water per week
from the 55 gallon tank. Here's a pic with a few details:
http://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/...l****erID.html

I'd appreciate any suggestions. It is seriously ugly.

rtk


What are your water parameters including Nitrates?

Do you have a refugium setup?

What about your lighting? How many hours a day?

--Kurt

Zero nitrates. No refugium, but not a full tank of reefs and
fish, either. Protein skimmer, 6 little pumps blowing every
which way. Minimal feeding. Blue lights 12 hours, white 10.
2 x 96 watts. All of this is the same as it was without the
diatoms.

rtk

rtk wrote:
I've developed a nasty case of brownies. I think it's just a coincidence
that I opened a new bag of salt, same company. No new anything in the
tank. I tried an inch of fine sand on top of the old, but that didn't
stop anything. I change 6 gallons of water per week from the 55 gallon
tank. Here's a pic with a few details:
http://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/...l****erID.html

I'd appreciate any suggestions. It is seriously ugly.

rtk

Just add a small conch or two and stop worrying as to the why.

The conch will make short work of diatoms on sand. Problem solved.

If I had to guess as to what is going on... there must be SOME new
source of nutrients that the diatoms are blooming from - you may want to
test your phospate levels, or just try some phosban or other iron
hydroxide based filter media as see if it helps. Could be organic
matter? Is your skimmer clean? What do you have for cleanup crew for the
sand? (I don't see ANYTHING in the way of sand cleaners on the link you
gave) I am thinking that you simply have to much organic matter trapped
in your sand bed. Which is not bad in and of itself...

Add Homonym wrote:

rtk wrote:

I've developed a nasty case of brownies. I think it's just a
coincidence that I opened a new bag of salt, same company. No new
anything in the tank. I tried an inch of fine sand on top of the old,
but that didn't stop anything. I change 6 gallons of water per week
from the 55 gallon tank. Here's a pic with a few details:
http://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/...l****erID.html

I'd appreciate any suggestions. It is seriously ugly.

rtk


Just add a small conch or two and stop worrying as to the why.

The conch will make short work of diatoms on sand. Problem solved.

If I had to guess as to what is going on... there must be SOME new
source of nutrients that the diatoms are blooming from - you may want to
test your phospate levels, or just try some phosban or other iron
hydroxide based filter media as see if it helps. Could be organic
matter? Is your skimmer clean? What do you have for cleanup crew for the
sand? (I don't see ANYTHING in the way of sand cleaners on the link you
gave) I am thinking that you simply have to much organic matter trapped
in your sand bed. Which is not bad in and of itself...


Thank you! I do have a variety of snails. I put a new green
chromis in and never saw him again, so I might have that
little source. I'll stick a brush down the narrow tube of
the skimmer and see if that's messed up. I reduced the
lights to 6 hours a day and will them back up when things
calm down. I'm also siphoning up the ugly ickies every other
day. Now I'll look for a conch.

rtk

Add Homonym wrote:
rtk wrote:
I've developed a nasty case of brownies. I think it's just a
coincidence that I opened a new bag of salt, same company. No new
anything in the tank. I tried an inch of fine sand on top of the old,
but that didn't stop anything. I change 6 gallons of water per week
from the 55 gallon tank. Here's a pic with a few details:
http://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/...l****erID.html

I'd appreciate any suggestions. It is seriously ugly.

rtk

Just add a small conch or two and stop worrying as to the why.

The conch will make short work of diatoms on sand. Problem solved.

If I had to guess as to what is going on... there must be SOME new
source of nutrients that the diatoms are blooming from - you may want to
test your phospate levels, or just try some phosban or other iron
hydroxide based filter media as see if it helps. Could be organic
matter? Is your skimmer clean? What do you have for cleanup crew for the
sand? (I don't see ANYTHING in the way of sand cleaners on the link you
gave) I am thinking that you simply have to much organic matter trapped
in your sand bed. Which is not bad in and of itself...


Normally Diatom blooms come from Silca. And your water source is
normally the main source of diatoms. Are you using RO/DI water? If not
I would be willing to bet that you have silca in your water source and
that is causing the diatom bloom.

Also adding that inch of fine sand could have released some silca into
the tank also, if it was added before the bloom I would say it was the
source, but with it being added after the bloom it could not have caused
the initial bloom.

Kim

kim gross wrote:
Normally Diatom blooms come from Silca.

Silica, right? Silicon dioxide which acidifies when dissolved in water.

And your water source is
normally the main source of diatoms.

You meant silica again, right?


Are you using RO/DI water? If not
I would be willing to bet that you have silca in your water source and
that is causing the diatom bloom.

Interesting. I heard that silica doesn't belong in a reef aquarium, but
I never knew why.

--Kurt

rtk wrote:

Thank you! I do have a variety of snails. I put a new green chromis in
and never saw him again, so I might have that little source. I'll stick
a brush down the narrow tube of the skimmer and see if that's messed up.
I reduced the lights to 6 hours a day and will them back up when things
calm down. I'm also siphoning up the ugly ickies every other day. Now
I'll look for a conch.

rtk

what type of snails? Turbo's and astreas don't do much for the sand.
Cerith and Nassariuses do a good job of eating stuff off (and slightly
under) the sand.

Problem with conchs is of course thay can get quite big. But they eat
the crap up faster than snails, in my experience. (which is somewhat
limited)

By the "narrow tube" of the skimmer... you mentioned you had an aqua c
remora I think? Do you mean the "spray injection" tube? You might check
that, but what I meant is is there crap growing on the inside of the
reaction chamber and or intake tube? Do you have the preskimmer/baffle
thingy that they sell as an option for the remora's? If not, and if
there is crap growing inside the reaction chamber, it COULD be that your
skimmer is putting out water with more dissolved organics in it than the
water that is going INTO it.

kim gross wrote:
Add Homonym wrote:

rtk wrote:

I've developed a nasty case of brownies. I think it's just a
coincidence that I opened a new bag of salt, same company. No new
anything in the tank. I tried an inch of fine sand on top of the old,
but that didn't stop anything. I change 6 gallons of water per week
from the 55 gallon tank. Here's a pic with a few details:
http://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/...l****erID.html

I'd appreciate any suggestions. It is seriously ugly.

rtk


Just add a small conch or two and stop worrying as to the why.

The conch will make short work of diatoms on sand. Problem solved.

If I had to guess as to what is going on... there must be SOME new
source of nutrients that the diatoms are blooming from - you may want
to test your phospate levels, or just try some phosban or other iron
hydroxide based filter media as see if it helps. Could be organic
matter? Is your skimmer clean? What do you have for cleanup crew for
the sand? (I don't see ANYTHING in the way of sand cleaners on the
link you gave) I am thinking that you simply have to much organic
matter trapped in your sand bed. Which is not bad in and of itself...


Normally Diatom blooms come from Silca. And your water source is
normally the main source of diatoms. Are you using RO/DI water? If not
I would be willing to bet that you have silca in your water source and
that is causing the diatom bloom.

Also adding that inch of fine sand could have released some silca into
the tank also, if it was added before the bloom I would say it was the
source, but with it being added after the bloom it could not have caused
the initial bloom.

Kim

Yes. Of course. Likely you hit it right on the head.

KurtG wrote:

Interesting. I heard that silica doesn't belong in a reef aquarium, but
I never knew why.

--Kurt

I don't understand what the big deal is. Diatoms are harmless.