This is Diatoms - correct?

RaymondL

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Hi everyone: still new at all of this and turning here for help.

At night when the lights go out, and in the morning all the brown pictured here is nowhere to be seen. When the lights come on and ramp up in PAR, the substance reappears like magic. is this how diatoms behave? Originally, I thought I saw red/purple and thought Cyano, but I don't see any filming on the substrate.

I'm assuming this is a behavior of diatoms, and please have a look at the pictures below. My Nitrates is 7.9ppm, and Phosphates is 0.03ppm - tank is just 10 months old.

20240414_171639_resized.jpg 20240414_171731(0)_resized.jpg
 
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Lavey29

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RaymondL

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Looks to thick for diatoms and at 10 months a tank typically doesn't get diatoms unless you have abundant silicate. .03 phosphate may actually be 0 phosphate with test error ratio and bottomed out nutrients cause issues. Dinos disappear at night also.

Thanks - I forgot I have a microsope! I don't see any bubbles like formations at all unless it's not necessary to have which is an indication of Dinos
 

Lavey29

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Thanks - I forgot I have a microsope! I don't see any bubbles like formations at all unless it's not necessary to have which is an indication of Dinos
Cool use your microscope and check your RODI for silicates if you haven't changed filters in awhile.
 

Idech

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Diatoms don’t disappear at night, they remain the same with or without lights.

Dinos do though and by the color of it, it looks like dinos. You need to find out which type with a microscope. Unless you want to start with the easiest techniques like peroxyde and blackout, then change your approach if it doesn’t work.
 
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RaymondL

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Diatoms don’t disappear at night, they remain the same with or without lights.

Dinos do though and by the color of it, it looks like dinos. You need to find out which type with a microscope. Unless you want to start with the easiest techniques like peroxyde and blackout, then change your approach if it doesn’t work.
I posted separately here with pictures:


Thanks
 
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RaymondL

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Cool use your microscope and check your RODI for silicates if you haven't changed filters in awhile.
Please see here:

 

Lavey29

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Please see here:

If they are the type that go into the water column at night UV will help. If they go into the sand at night I would add a bazillion pods and dose PNS probio weekly. Get nitrates 10 to 15 and phosphate to .1. Reduce lights to 6 hours with blue and uv only no whites. Siphon up during water changes.
 

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