Diatoms... Now what?

[FsuNole]

Tank is about a month old. Just started seeing brown spots on the rocks and sand today. Wondering if I should do a water change or let it run its course. All the water tests come back perfect. Ph 8, ammonia 0, No2 0, No3 5

Also I've yet to change the filter sock. Was going to do that tomorrow. Will that remove a lot of positive bacteria? Not running any skimmer in my sump incase that's important. Lrwfo

[alf1096]

Do you have your power heads running

[Hokies83]

There part of the Algae cycle from the sand / rocks when there food in gone they will go.

I dose Area 51 for pods so i got plenty of it and the green stuff.. but having lotsa pods for a mandy one day is worth it imo.

[FsuNole]

Originally Posted by alf1096

Do you have your power heads running

Yes

[tanked37]

You can let it run it's course. It's going to have to run it's course with or without a water change. I would run a skimmer from here on out 24/7. No reason not to do that. Don't worry about beneficial bacteria in the filter sock as there is tons of bacteria everywhere else. So, change your filter sock if needed.

[hollister]

What size tank and what type of PH's ?

[FsuNole]

58 gallon dt, 20 gallon sump. Mag 7 return, hydor 850 ph. 60 lbs dry rock, 40 lbs dry sand, 4 lbs live rock

[FsuNole]

Haven't touched anything but it appears to be reducing... Wasn't super bad to start, but could this be due to the lights being off all night?

[sellersmd]

give it time. the worst thing you can do is rush a reef tank.

[unchin]

You could try adding some snails at this point. They love diatoms.

[FsuNole]

Originally Posted by tanked37

You can let it run it's course. It's going to have to run it's course with or without a water change. I would run a skimmer from here on out 24/7. No reason not to do that. Don't worry about beneficial bacteria in the filter sock as there is tons of bacteria everywhere else. So, change your filter sock if needed.

I don't have a skimmer and wasn't planning on getting one for a while. The filer sock was pretty dirty so I swapped it out and threw it in the wash. The diatoms have come back since this morning. I already have a small cuc, maybe 20 snails and 3 scarlet hermits.

I've only done one water change 2 weeks ago, another small 10% isn't recommend?

[tanked37]

Originally Posted by FsuNole

I don't have a skimmer and wasn't planning on getting one for a while. The filer sock was pretty dirty so I swapped it out and threw it in the wash. The diatoms have come back since this morning. I already have a small cuc, maybe 20 snails and 3 scarlet hermits.

I've only done one water change 2 weeks ago, another small 10% isn't recommend?

You're really going to be battling nitrates and algae of all kinds without a skimmer. If this is going to be a reef tank, then I'm off the opinion that a skimmer is an absolute must. Then again, it's your tank, I'm not in the business of trying to convince ppl to do stuff, so do w/e you want. The next thing you are going to encounter will be green hair algae and cyano. Not a question of if, but when it comes you'll wish you had a skimmer and probably a PO4 reactor.

[FsuNole]

Originally Posted by tanked37

You're really going to be battling nitrates and algae of all kinds without a skimmer. If this is going to be a reef tank, then I'm off the opinion that a skimmer is an absolute must. Then again, it's your tank, I'm not in the business of trying to convince ppl to do stuff, so do w/e you want. The next thing you are going to encounter will be green hair algae and cyano. Not a question of if, but when it comes you'll wish you had a skimmer and probably a PO4 reactor.

I'm not really doing a reef tank, mainly a fowlr. Maybe some mushrooms and zoas but that's it. I adjusted the ph today and noticed there was a patch that disappeared. I may do a skimmer in a few months but for right now its not in the budget.

[spartachris]

You could try an algae scrubber. There's a huge thread on those here. I've had good luck with mine on my old tank and already seeing nitrates plummet on my new tank (from 5 to .2 in two weeks).

[tanked37]

Originally Posted by FsuNole

I'm not really doing a reef tank, mainly a fowlr. Maybe some mushrooms and zoas but that's it. I adjusted the ph today and noticed there was a patch that disappeared. I may do a skimmer in a few months but for right now its not in the budget.

The only reason I said a skimmer was mandatory in a reef tank was b/c corals are more delicate to keep than fish and won't do well in a algae/cyano filled tank. Algae and cyano can grow over corals, etc. The only reason you can get by w/o a skimmer in a FOWLR tank is b/c it won't really bother the fish, but will certainly bother the aquarist. In fact, algae/cyano is even more likely to be worse in a FOWLR tank since corals main diet is fish waste and without corals the fish waste is more likely going to be used in the growth of algae and cyano. It may not be in your budget, but the cheapest person spends the most and algae/cyano is something you want to prevent not combat. Ever see a thread start with the title, "I finally beat cyano after a long battle!".

But yeah, like the other poster mentioned an algae scrubber is a great alternative! I'm trying to figure out how I can incorporate an algae scrubber now, and I have a refugium, skimmer, PO4 reactor, UV sterilizer, etc.