About to give up

[Reefingfrustrations]

I've been into this hobby for just over two years now and am constantly fighting uphill battles it seems. I have a simple, straight forward, biocube29 tank that I've literally dumped thousands of dollars into over the past 2 years. I run all of my water through RODI filters, do frequent/weekly water changes, filter changes, installed power heads, a good light, skimmer, etc. I have adjusted my lighting, water flows and done just about every internet hack on Youtube that I can find - all pointless.
Currently, I have a bunch of these ugly looking brown diatoms (I think) all over my sandbed and live rocks. I have a "cleanup crew" of different snails, hermits, etc. I have one fish - a maroon clown. Fortunately my corals and anemone are in good shape, the water is clear and testing normal but my tank looks disgusting. I feel like I've done everything possible to make this worthwhile but it's always 1 step forward 2 steps back. Can someone please help me with some affordable advice to get rid of the ugly in my tank before I post it on Craigslist and walk away from this forever? Thank you in advance for your help!

 

[UnnamedReef]

From your description these sound more like dinos than recurring diatoms. Diatoms would go away without a supply of silicate feeding them.

Hang in there, take a step back and dont give up. Your clownfish needs you!

Do you have access to a microscope, or are you willing to get one that's sufficient ($50 or so)? Sounds like you need to positively ID what you're dealing with. This site has tons of resources and personal testimonials dealing with dinos and other pests (I constantly battle them as well). Find out what you've got, and this community will help you get rid of it.

Also, posting current parameters (alk, calc, mag, nitrate, phosphate) and a bit of detail about your tank (flow source, sump or not, lighting) can help identify what you can adjust to support your efforts.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Sorry to read that, at first glance the tank looks good, not bad at all.

to help us understand your system, can you please advise all the equipment you have on the tank, filtration, lighting, etc... Can you list your current parameters, and how you maintain the parameters, by dosing or by regular water changes, etc.... Can you also list your livestock please, fish and corals? Thanks.

 

[jabberwock]

Your tank actually looks pretty good.

The only thing I could recommend is a https://tbsaltwater.com/shop/pico-package/
and some more time.

Take out some of your other rock if you need to. This spike of biodiversity should give your tank the boost it needs to find stability.

 

[PotatoPig]

Joining in that this doesn’t look bad.

IMO YouTube/Instagram/BRS tanks give a false idea of what people should realistically expect if they’re not experienced experts able to dedicate a substantial amount of time to maintenance.

Eg: LFS tanks - it’s a person’s literal job to clean and maintain these things.

One comment: Dinos seem to thrive in very low nitrate systems. If you have low nitrates then you might want to try increase your stocking - although maybe not easy with the clown, you’ll have to find out if it’ll accep roommates.

 

[Tamberav]

+1 Dino's would be my suspicion.

What are your nutrients?

Does the brown disappear at night and reappear during the day?

 

[CHSUB]

Algae is part of the hobby and you need to manage expectations. If I post a photo of my tank it’s right after a cleanup and not before. I have meet and read many reefers with “perfect” tanks and lots of advice and they all have one thing in common: they are lying! Learning how to deal with algae is the most critical part of the hobby. It’s not about parameters, additives or nutrients, it’s about how to clean it up while keeping your fish healthy. I clean my glass, blow my rock and vacuum, rack my gravel; it’s an on going process. Regardless of my nutrient levels I can deal with algae and make my tank beautiful. I could give you advice about this algae or that method but it is all secondary to manual removal.

 

[Sleeping Giant]

maybe it's time to get a bigger tank, that ones looking full

 

[Twoddler]

Algae is part of the hobby and you need to manage expectations. If I post a photo of my tank it’s right after a cleanup and not before. I have meet and read many reefers with “perfect” tanks and lots of advice and they all have one thing in common: they are lying! Learning how to deal with algae is the most critical part of the hobby. It’s not about parameters, additives or nutrients, it’s about how to clean it up while keeping your fish healthy. I clean my glass, blow my rock and vacuum, rack my gravel; it’s an on going process. Regardless of my nutrient levels I can deal with algae and make my tank beautiful. I could give you advice about this algae or that method but it is all secondary to manual removal.

Totally agree