Bloody Diatoms!!!!!

ebeez · Oct 9, 2018

I did a 6 day blackout (from Sept 29 to Oct 5) and I thought I was in the clear. Turned the radions back up on Oct 6 only to find the brown film forming on my sand bed by Oct 8! Aaaaaaargh!!!!!!!

tripdad · Oct 9, 2018

I've been battling a severe outbreak of dino's for about 4 months. After losing a lot of acros and much reading on this site and others I installed a UV unit two weekends ago. I am almost, knock on wood, free of them at this point. I blow them off every night into the water column so they can be run through the sump and hopefully thru the UV. It has definitely helped as I was getting nowhere before with manipulating nutrient levels alone. The combination of UV along with the nutrient level manipulation and revved up husbandry seems to have them about gone. Good luck, pest can suck the fun out of reefing fast. Do a search on here for help with the diatoms, I'm sure it's here to be had.

ebeez · Oct 9, 2018

tripdad said:
I've been battling a severe outbreak of dino's for about 4 months. After losing a lot of acros and much reading on this site and others I installed a UV unit two weekends ago. I am almost, knock on wood, free of them at this point. I blow them off every night into the water column so they can be run through the sump and hopefully thru the UV. It has definitely helped as I was getting nowhere before with manipulating nutrient levels alone. The combination of UV along with the nutrient level manipulation and revved up husbandry seems to have them about gone. Good luck, pest can suck the fun out of reefing fast. Do a search on here for help with the diatoms, I'm sure it's here to be had.

Thanks tripdad! Yup I also have installed a UV as well. I just finished mixing up the sand bed and blowing off the rocks. will be doing this for a while as well as dailing down the red/greens on the radions.