Diatoms

KurtG wrote on 5/15/2007 8:07 AM:

I've even deliberately added potassium silicate to my
reef tanks, to encourage diatoms, and never had any problems with
diatoms. Things usually balance out soon.

Okay, I give up. Why do you encourage diatoms?



It's a valuable part of the food chain.





I'd say that there's something else wrong besides silicates. Getting a
good RO might help.

Yeah, the municipal water here really sucks and comes from a well. I've
been thinking about running a pre-filter RO just to take a first pass at
removing the crud. My TDS is still 0.

How long have you had your tank? Any recent moves or major changes?

9 months, but only 6 months of that had decent lighting. No recent
changes other then to change the phosphate reactor media which knocked
out the diatoms for about a week. I did start doing a weekly 5 gallon
water change instead of the monthly 30.

Oh, and I did move some rocks around a week ago and again this morning.
My blenny has been tunneling underneath, so some of my rock
formations have become unstable. Maybe that's it.

--Kurt


Then you need to think of your tank as being 6
months old, and it takes 1 year to reach prime. The
more you move things around, the more it has to
readjust, depending on the nature of the move.

And yes, an increase in the stering up of the
substrate will cause an increase of nutrient laden
muck to fertilize the tank. Don't let the idea worry
you, but this change will cause other changes.

For every action, there is a reaction.

Wayne Sallee
Wayne's Pets

Depending on the unit you have, you might be able to
just change the membranes.

Wayne Sallee
Wayne's Pets


KurtG wrote on 5/15/2007 8:38 AM:
Wayne Sallee wrote:
The Kent Marine HiS is a good one.

Doh! Another $300 purchase.

Maybe I could use my current one for drinking water, ice machine, and
pre-filter and then use this baby to get finished aquarium water.

This hobby is eating my lunch.

--Kurt

Wayne Sallee wrote:
Pull the hair algae out. Hemostats are great for this. Then the
remainder hair algae, use a tooth brush to keep it down. Use the tooth
brush by quickly moving it in a side to side motion, like your trying to
blow the hair algae off.

Every time I try doing something like that, some of my fish get stressed out and
die. If there isn't a better way, the tank will stay a jungle.

George Patterson
If you torture the data long enough, eventually it will confess
to anything.

Wayne Sallee wrote:
KurtG wrote on 5/15/2007 8:07 AM:
Okay, I give up. Why do you encourage diatoms?

It's a valuable part of the food chain.



Could you elaborate? I'm curious.

I think I may have just panicked for nothing, but I do have all my
maintenance done w/ shiny clean powerheads, skimmer, and hoses. :-)

I really like muriatic acid for cleaning Ca carbonate. Much faster.

--Kurt

Do they not have hiding places so that when you put
your hand in there, they have sufficient places to
feel safe?

Wayne Sallee
Wayne's Pets


George Patterson wrote on 5/16/2007 8:50 PM:
Wayne Sallee wrote:
Pull the hair algae out. Hemostats are great for this. Then the
remainder hair algae, use a tooth brush to keep it down. Use the tooth
brush by quickly moving it in a side to side motion, like your trying
to blow the hair algae off.

Every time I try doing something like that, some of my fish get stressed
out and die. If there isn't a better way, the tank will stay a jungle.

George Patterson
If you torture the data long enough, eventually it will confess
to anything.

It's a major part of the food chain in the ocean.

In the reef tank, snails eat it. Turbo snails will
starve to death if there is not enough diatoms to
eat. Many fish eat it, leaving kiss marks on the
glass. There are worms that eat it, and when it gets
stirred up, many kinds of filter feeders eat it.
Free phytoplankton.


Wayne Sallee
Wayne's Pets


KurtG wrote on 5/17/2007 8:08 AM:
Wayne Sallee wrote:
KurtG wrote on 5/15/2007 8:07 AM:
Okay, I give up. Why do you encourage diatoms?

It's a valuable part of the food chain.



Could you elaborate? I'm curious.

I think I may have just panicked for nothing, but I do have all my
maintenance done w/ shiny clean powerheads, skimmer, and hoses. :-)

I really like muriatic acid for cleaning Ca carbonate. Much faster.

--Kurt

Wayne Sallee wrote:
Do they not have hiding places so that when you put your hand in there,
they have sufficient places to feel safe?

George Patterson wrote on 5/16/2007 8:50 PM:
Every time I try doing something like that, some of my fish get
stressed out and die. If there isn't a better way, the tank will stay
a jungle.

Hi George,

Can you post a pic and send a link? (Or, just email it to me.) I'm
curious because I've been battling hair algae for quite a while and I
think I'm starting to win (touch wood). I'll do the same.

About once a week, I've been using a soft bottle brush to clean my rocks
of the hair algae. I don't think my fish like it, but they don't seem
to suffer any harm. I have a floss filter in my sump return that
catches it, and I clean/replace it the next day.

It's funny when a stranger walks up to the tank because it goes from a
lively colorful show to an empty tank in a flash. There are lots of
caves and swim throughs in the rock work.

My coraline algae is really starting to grow, and it seems that once
it's established the hair algae doesn't grow back.

But, unless you hit zero phosphates, I think your hair algae will
continue to grow with abandon.

--Kurt

Wayne Sallee wrote:
Many fish eat it, leaving kiss marks
on the glass.

My blenny does that. My kids named him "birdie" for his pecking motions.

Thanks for the answer. I'll just wait and see right now.

--Kurt

George Patterson wrote:
I don't know. The PhosBan gets the level down to about .2, and there it
stays.

What does your test say on RO/DI water? It could be the test.

--Kurt

Wayne Sallee wrote:
Do they not have hiding places so that when you put your hand in there,
they have sufficient places to feel safe?

They have tons of hidy-holes, but I have to hang a filter unit on the tank to
clear the trash out that gets stirred up during this. I suspect that some of
them make a break for it during this time. One time it will be a firefish; the
next time a chromis.

I've got about 120 pounds of live rock, plus a rats nest of dead elkhorn coral
for a small forest in a 125 gallon tank. When I put a scraper in to scrape the
glass, everybody disappears.

George Patterson
If you torture the data long enough, eventually it will confess
to anything.