Diatoms

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

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.

Add Homonym wrote:


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.

I mean the very skinny tube that requires removal of a
plastic screw to put a 1/2 inch cleaner down. I clean the
skimmer twice a week. Tomorrow I'm going to take down the
whole skimmer and scrub all of it.

rtk