Diatom Battle

shellsea · 12/24/2017, 09:45 AM

I have read quite a bit on topic and see that it may take awhile to regain control but I have been fighting them for over a month. Running some phosgard to try and pull down silicate. Funny thing now. yesterday I did a water change of about 30 gallons on total water of 135 gallons.. diatom bloom this morning seems to be about 5 times worse!!! Could the new saltwater be feeding it? Could my mixing tank be storing phosphates/silicates from when my tds was too high? The battle rages on.

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lapin · 12/24/2017, 01:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shellsea

Funny thing now. yesterday I did a water change of about 30 gallons on total water of 135 gallons.. diatom bloom this morning seems to be about 5 times worse!!!

Sounds like your adding food (silicates) each time you do a water change. Are you using RO/DI or tap water? Maybe your RO/DI filters might need to be changed. If you use water from your LFS it might be the cause. Clean out your mixing tank. Last resort might be to change salt mix.

shellsea · 12/24/2017, 03:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lapin

Sounds like your adding food (silicates) each time you do a water change. Are you using RO/DI or tap water? Maybe your RO/DI filters might need to be changed. If you use water from your LFS it might be the cause. Clean out your mixing tank. Last resort might be to change salt mix.

TDS now reads 0 but it had creeped up to 4 or 5 before I changed filters. Had filled mixing tank (30gallons) a few times before I caught high reading so yea, next task to clean brute can. They do get pretty funky after awhile but I did think it was holding silicates when left dry for awhile.

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outy · 12/25/2017, 12:43 AM

Try some nuclear grade DI resin

2. Strong base deionization

This process uses a strong acid cation and a strong base anion to create mid-range quality deionized water. This upgraded form of deionization removes all the CO2 and silica from the water.

Strong base deionization guarantees water with a resistivity of over 200,000 ohms, or 4-5 microsiemens.

bertoni · 12/25/2017, 11:51 AM

New saltwater will contain some ammonia and silicate. If the pest actually is diatoms, then a number of snails, like Trochus, would be glad to eat them. I dosed silicate into my tank for years for sponge growth, but diatom growth remained undetectable. Controlling phosphate often works well enough for keeping diatoms under control, since diatoms (and all forms of life) require a fair amount of phosphorus to grow.

Lsufan · 12/25/2017, 09:01 PM

Are u positive that it is diatoms? How long has the tank been setup?
It is common to get diatoms in a new setup, but not as likely in a mature system. If u can’t get it under control u may want to make sure that it in fact diatoms & not Dino. Not all Dino has the long stringy snot looking strands until it gets out of control. Some strains look really similar to diatoms on the sandbed.

shellsea · 12/26/2017, 03:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lsufan

Are u positive that it is diatoms? How long has the tank been setup?
It is common to get diatoms in a new setup, but not as likely in a mature system. If u can’t get it under control u may want to make sure that it in fact diatoms & not Dino. Not all Dino has the long stringy snot looking strands until it gets out of control. Some strains look really similar to diatoms on the sandbed.

Well no I’m not sure it is diatoms. Tank is a couple of years old but I had a crash one year ago February when I failed to reconnect control for 2 heaters that cooked all night. Fish and coral died but tank did not recycle and has been restocked with no problems.
It seems to fade overnight and then “reblooms” after lights come on. After water change and vacuuming or stirring sand locations where it is prevalent, reappears in same locations. Picture attached.

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shellsea · 12/26/2017, 03:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bertoni

New saltwater will contain some ammonia and silicate. If the pest actually is diatoms, then a number of snails, like Trochus, would be glad to eat them. I dosed silicate into my tank for years for sponge growth, but diatom growth remained undetectable. Controlling phosphate often works well enough for keeping diatoms under control, since diatoms (and all forms of life) require a fair amount of phosphorus to grow.

Thanks. I suspect the phosphate/silicate Control and a good cleaning of my saltwater storage tank is in order. Guess I’m taking another day off work!

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bertoni · 12/26/2017, 04:02 PM

Okay, please let us know whether that helps.

Lsufan · 12/26/2017, 08:32 PM

Dino are photosynthetic, so they will go away at night & get worse & worse throughout the day. Water changes also fuel Dino for whatever reason. Everything u mention are tell tell signs of Dino. What are your nutrient levels? It’s not always the case but the majority of people who get Dino in tanks that aren’t recently setup usually have really low nutrients.

The problem is u really can’t be 100 percent sure without a microscope. They have a thread on here that explains a way to I’d Dino that may not be 100% accurate but it is about as close as u can get without a scope. What u do is drain a little through a coffee filter or paper towel into a cup. Let it sit for about 10 minutes & look at it to see if it all came back together. Dino will separate going through the paper towel but as it sits it will form back together. If it doesn’t then it is likely diatoms.

I’m not saying u definitely have Dino, but it is worth looking into & doing that test if u can’t locate a scope. I would hate for u to go through what I did in my first setup. What I had I thought for sure was diatoms & looked exactly like your photo. I fought it for 6 months until I figured out it was actually Dino.

12/24/2017, 09:45 AM	#1
shellsea Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Destin, Fl. Posts: 479	Diatom Battle I have read quite a bit on topic and see that it may take awhile to regain control but I have been fighting them for over a month. Running some phosgard to try and pull down silicate. Funny thing now. yesterday I did a water change of about 30 gallons on total water of 135 gallons.. diatom bloom this morning seems to be about 5 times worse!!! Could the new saltwater be feeding it? Could my mixing tank be storing phosphates/silicates from when my tds was too high? The battle rages on. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk __________________ Jack "Shellsea" 120 mixed reef, Reef Breeder Photon 48, Apex and a proud owner of a Lifereef Skimmer

12/25/2017, 11:51 AM	#5
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	New saltwater will contain some ammonia and silicate. If the pest actually is diatoms, then a number of snails, like Trochus, would be glad to eat them. I dosed silicate into my tank for years for sponge growth, but diatom growth remained undetectable. Controlling phosphate often works well enough for keeping diatoms under control, since diatoms (and all forms of life) require a fair amount of phosphorus to grow. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

12/26/2017, 04:02 PM	#9
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	Okay, please let us know whether that helps. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

12/25/2017, 12:43 AM	#4
outy Moved On Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: auburn CA Posts: 4,021	Try some nuclear grade DI resin 2. Strong base deionization This process uses a strong acid cation and a strong base anion to create mid-range quality deionized water. This upgraded form of deionization removes all the CO2 and silica from the water. Strong base deionization guarantees water with a resistivity of over 200,000 ohms, or 4-5 microsiemens.

12/25/2017, 09:01 PM	#6
Lsufan Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Location: Baton Rouge Posts: 1,410	Are u positive that it is diatoms? How long has the tank been setup? It is common to get diatoms in a new setup, but not as likely in a mature system. If u can’t get it under control u may want to make sure that it in fact diatoms & not Dino. Not all Dino has the long stringy snot looking strands until it gets out of control. Some strains look really similar to diatoms on the sandbed.

12/26/2017, 08:32 PM	#10
Lsufan Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Location: Baton Rouge Posts: 1,410	Dino are photosynthetic, so they will go away at night & get worse & worse throughout the day. Water changes also fuel Dino for whatever reason. Everything u mention are tell tell signs of Dino. What are your nutrient levels? It’s not always the case but the majority of people who get Dino in tanks that aren’t recently setup usually have really low nutrients. The problem is u really can’t be 100 percent sure without a microscope. They have a thread on here that explains a way to I’d Dino that may not be 100% accurate but it is about as close as u can get without a scope. What u do is drain a little through a coffee filter or paper towel into a cup. Let it sit for about 10 minutes & look at it to see if it all came back together. Dino will separate going through the paper towel but as it sits it will form back together. If it doesn’t then it is likely diatoms. I’m not saying u definitely have Dino, but it is worth looking into & doing that test if u can’t locate a scope. I would hate for u to go through what I did in my first setup. What I had I thought for sure was diatoms & looked exactly like your photo. I fought it for 6 months until I figured out it was actually Dino.