Diatoms are killing me lately

[larrysaltisfun]

Have dark brown diatoms all over my glass and rocks just got progressively worse .TDS is reading zero Randy I saw a threat of you from 1999 on reefs.com where you got the water quality Association of America put their two cents in

Ican run phos guard. I’m currently running ferric oxide. The problem was much less pronounced when I was doing 10% weekly water changes when I went to 20% biweekly water changes the diatoms are appearing much worse.

Phosphates are about .13 nitrates running between 22 and 32 depending on when during a cycle I’m checking in any suggestions on how to get rid of these once and for all or is siphoning more frequently really the only thing I can do?

 

[Fish Fan]

Maybe this guide from the late Miami Reef will help:
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/beating-dinoflagellates-a-complete-guide.1129648/

Good luck!

 

[larrysaltisfun]

Thank you

 

[larrysaltisfun]

Maybe this guide from the late Miami Reef will help:
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/beating-dinoflagellates-a-complete-guide.1129648/

Good luck!

That’s for Dino’s. Nutrients are definitely not bottomed out anything on diatoms?

 

[whalewhalewhale]

Diatoms or Dinoflagellates? You will need a microscope to identify as some dinoflagellate species appear identical to the naked eye.

Diatoms aren't really something to be worried about as almost every herbivorous snail out there likes to eat them. Dinoflagellates on the other hand you want to address asap.

 

[Fish Fan]

That’s for Dino’s. Nutrients are definitely not bottomed out anything on diatoms?

D'oh! My bad, my brain saw "dinoflagellates"

 

[Fish Fan]

Honestly though, if you're seeing growth on your glass and elsewhere, I'd bet those were dino's or more likely a combination of Dino's and diatoms. Typically, diatoms are limited to the sand bed. Dino's are the more difficult pest to deal with, so I'd double check. Microscopy is the definitive way, but you can deal with both diatoms and Dino's without a microscope too, it's just a little less efficient. You can also use a $30 kid's microscope to ID, you don't need an expensive lab quality 'scope for this.

 

[petcellar]

Agree with above. If truly diatoms usually can win with more cuc.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Diatoms are more often a golden brown, with dinos a darker brown.

Do you have a picture?

 

[larrysaltisfun]

Diatoms are more often a golden brown, with dinos a darker brown.

Do you have a picture?

Sorry Randy I just saw your response. Here is a video and some photos it looks to me very wavy like bryopsis? But ither was dark rust colored area also which resembled the way cyano bacteria flakes off

I have since done a water change scrubbed as much off as I could there are no air bubbles.

This all started after I went to my own RODI system I know, for a fact, I did not have silicates in my previous water, which came from the LFS secondary to ICP

my TDS on my own system is zero but I have not done an ICP since I started with my own water. This also all started after I treated with chemi clean to get rid of a bad case of Cyanobacteria . I don’t know if that gave other opportunistic algae’s a chance to go nuts.

 

[larrysaltisfun]

There is a combination of dark brown flaky stuff as well as this wavy algae also

 

[larrysaltisfun]

I don’t think my video is coming through

 

[vetteguy53081]

Have dark brown diatoms all over my glass and rocks just got progressively worse .TDS is reading zero Randy I saw a threat of you from 1999 on reefs.com where you got the water quality Association of America put their two cents in

Ican run phos guard. I’m currently running ferric oxide. The problem was much less pronounced when I was doing 10% weekly water changes when I went to 20% biweekly water changes the diatoms are appearing much worse.

Phosphates are about .13 nitrates running between 22 and 32 depending on when during a cycle I’m checking in any suggestions on how to get rid of these once and for all or is siphoning more frequently really the only thing I can do?

Diatoms are a brown algae that typically appear in a tank which has just completed its cycle but they can also appear in an established reef tank and looks ugly but in most cases are harmless and feed mainly off of silicates as well as dissolved organic compounds, phosphate and nitrates. Tap water can contain silicates and is a good way to get a bloom if you use it to mix salt or to replace water that evaporated from the tank. Using an RODI unit helps, although you can still get diatoms with an RODI unit if the cartridge that removes silicates becomes expired.
Diatoms are typically harmless and can be beaten once their food source is gone.
For major outbreaks you may want to consider a three day blackout. They are easily wiped from the glass with a mag float, a turkey baster or a toothbrush can cover other areas of the tank. Be prepared for them to re-establish themselves quickly after a cleaning as they are likely to be able to reappear and have re-growth rates.
To prevent their return, do regular water changes, keep the bedding clean, don’t overfeed tank, ensure your skimmer is running at an optimal level and keep filter socks and sponges clean on a regular basis.
Some cleaner crew to help control it are : Cerith snails, Nerite snails and Trochus snails and also Astraea snails are effective at removing diatoms.

 

[Jimbo327]

It looks like green hair algae.

Bryopsis has more feathery. Can't really tell from your photos as they are not very focused. If it is bryopsis, only known solution is fluconazole.

 

[larrysaltisfun]

Thank you both for your reply. It was golden Brown and I was sure I had diatoms in the very beginning when I first cycled the tank, but as I mentioned above this new mess started after I wiped out Cyanobacteria with chemi clean. I’m not using tapwater but RODI water . there are no bubbles in the rust colored stuff , would bubbles be 100% present if it was Dino’s? this mimics cyanobacteria in terms of how it comes off the rock almost in sheets, but it is not reddish like cyano bacteria. I think I have two things going on here hair algae and this other rust colored stuff.

 

[Dan_P]

Thank you both for your reply. It was golden Brown and I was sure I had diatoms in the very beginning when I first cycled the tank, but as I mentioned above this new mess started after I wiped out Cyanobacteria with chemi clean. I’m not using tapwater but RODI water . there are no bubbles in the rust colored stuff , would bubbles be 100% present if it was Dino’s? this mimics cyanobacteria in terms of how it comes off the rock almost in sheets, but it is not reddish like cyano bacteria. I think I have two things going on here hair algae and this other rust colored stuff.

The photos you posted show you have a massive growth of what looks like hair algae, not diatoms or dinoflagellates.

 

[larrysaltisfun]

I think it’s a combo of one of the other plus hair algae. I didn’t get a good picture of the powdery stuff that I cleaned off.

 

[EnterName]

These are diatoms (microscope verified) just so you can compare.

The hair algae would probably be brown as well if you had a serious diatom outbreak as they like to attach to hair algae.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Diatoms are brown powdery algae, its very unusual to have a diatom breakout once you get past the first few months. On the video it looks like a really bad case of hair algae to me, like really bad. Something is off with the tank for it to get that bad. If you can tell us more about the system, tank size, stocking, how much are you feeding, filtration, etc...

 

[larrysaltisfun]

Diatoms are brown powdery algae, its very unusual to have a diatom breakout once you get past the first few months. On the video it looks like a really bad case of hair algae to me, like really bad. Something is off with the tank for it to get that bad. If you can tell us more about the system, tank size, stocking, how much are you feeding, filtration, etc...

I’ve got two SICCE SDC 7return pumps nitrates 25 phosphate .15

I’ve been doing 20% water changes Q week RODI has zero TDS

57 watt UV sterilizer on a 210 gallon tank

3 zebrasomas 1 blue hippo 1 Kole 1 powder brown one magnificent, fox face, and one dwarf angel

Running GFO Rox carbon and filter socks

Clean up crew about 10 snails four crabs, two peppermint shrimp ( I know this is understaffed)

Four sicce voyager four powerheads

I mentioned before treating with chemiclean to knock out cyano bacteria
Does anyone have any experience with this, causing other oportunistic algae’s , the opportunity to go nuts because I think that may happened