Welcome to reef keeping. Or should I say patient keeping... Just chill out and let the tank do its thing. Everyone is going to tell you different things and they all may be right. But definitely listen to what lion fish has to say. I'll let you know what I did. For my cycling process. And that is NOTHING, stop testing your water everyday, don't do water changes, you can leave the lights on or off. Let the new tank do its think, then in a few days test the water. This whole process is about patience!!! Some peoples tank cycle faster then others too. My tank only took 12 days to cycle. But the brown algae will go away in time, and once the ammonia and ect go away, then only add a couple of snails or red hermits. Then wait a week and if it doesn't get better add a couple more and so on. This whole hobby is about patiences! And later down the road please don't drive yourself crazy and chase numbers.. It's like a fat kid stepping in the scale every day to see if he lost weight, just let it do its thing
Diatoms Inevitable?
- Thread starter jje2016
- Start date
- Tagged users None
Today marks 29 days. I used Red Sea's Reef Mature Kit. I appreciate the advice! I just get a little nervous when I see everything being covered and that I am not being proactive and addressing it. I will fight the urge and wait it out. Any typical timeframes when I can expect it to go away? Thanks again, always appreciated.
Bunnee911
Valuable Member
It is cyclical. It may come and go several times in your tanks lifetime. FWIW, they are a good thing. They will let you know if something is up. In a mature tank, if you see them, it is a hint to check your water source. They use silicon.
No worries I had a lot more questions and way more nervous for my tank haha, but get yourself the Api marine salt water test kit( I think you already have a test kit so your off to a good start), and also get a hand held refractometer, don't get the one you dip in water and there is a little arm that shows you the salinity. What are your lvls as of now? Ph, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate? Also what size tank do you have?
brandon429
what, exactly, are you doing in your avatar
JJE
Considering algae wrecked tank threads each one left a visually identified invader in place to watch it slowly take over. Name your reason why, but that's the tie in
My vote
Practice winning
clean that stuff out to be different
Perhaps your risk isn't your actual invader, this one does tend to circle out as competition on the maturing reef increases. What if the 50/50 risk chance of algae loss comes from practicing ignoring your self prompt to make the tank clean via manual work
Considering algae wrecked tank threads each one left a visually identified invader in place to watch it slowly take over. Name your reason why, but that's the tie in
My vote
Practice winning
clean that stuff out to be different
Perhaps your risk isn't your actual invader, this one does tend to circle out as competition on the maturing reef increases. What if the 50/50 risk chance of algae loss comes from practicing ignoring your self prompt to make the tank clean via manual work
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brandon429
what, exactly, are you doing in your avatar
Diatoms are inevitable
Ever seeing them in your tank is optional
Search out the role of high white level lighting in early tank invasions
You'll have less if you make the spec bluer or less white and lighting period until coral loading demands full on running
Ever seeing them in your tank is optional
Search out the role of high white level lighting in early tank invasions
You'll have less if you make the spec bluer or less white and lighting period until coral loading demands full on running
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Lionfish Lair
Renee
I just ran across some old photos of my 100g.
It so so nice and clean.....
Then, the big bad wolf came to town. What a mess....
I did not touch the rock to clean it... it just works it way out. Trying to give you something to look forward to. LOL!
It so so nice and clean.....
Then, the big bad wolf came to town. What a mess....
I did not touch the rock to clean it... it just works it way out. Trying to give you something to look forward to. LOL!
Thank you for showing!I just ran across some old photos of my 100g.
It so so nice and clean.....
Then, the big bad wolf came to town. What a mess....
I did not touch the rock to clean it... it just works it way out. Trying to give you something to look forward to. LOL!
Lionfish Lair
Renee
It's hard to imagine it will go away on it's own then it gets really bad.
I find LED lights makes for HORRIBLE diatoms. They even have an uglier color to them. It was hard watching my 28g tank go through that and it lasted a long time.
I find LED lights makes for HORRIBLE diatoms. They even have an uglier color to them. It was hard watching my 28g tank go through that and it lasted a long time.
DeeFromBrooklyn
Active Member
Clean the glass and rock while performing your water changes
FishLover01
Active Member
Being 22 days out, even if you use pure ammonia to start the nitrogen cycle, your tank has not fully cycled. This is a 4-8 week process and in 22 days, you definitely don't need to have fish in there. The clown fish won't make it through the cycle process most likely. You could do small water changes to cut into some of the diatoms but don't do anything massive because you need all the beneficial bacteria to grow. After you get nitrate readings, your tank should be cycled. At that point a 30%-50% water change would be OK. If you cycled with fish, 30%. If you cycled with pure ammonia, 50%. Good Luck.
FishLover01
Active Member
Also, it is diatoms. It definitely is not cyano. Nothing to worry about as far as that goes. You can clean the glass and vacuum the substrate but the diatoms will come right back until your tank gets a little more mature. You could have the tank looking perfect, but it'll be dirty again in about 2-3 days until the tank is fully cycled. Just have patience. It's to be expected in a new tank.
nex64
Active Member
As everyone has mentioned, you are obviously still in the cycling process. Patience is key, yes.
However, if you are looking to speed up your cycle and/or just add beneficial bacteria to your new ecosystem ; id highly recommend something on the lines of Dr tims nitrifying bacteria, I know there are other brands out there others have had success with as well. Personally, I prefer dr tims. At any rate though, good luck with the new tank!
However, if you are looking to speed up your cycle and/or just add beneficial bacteria to your new ecosystem ; id highly recommend something on the lines of Dr tims nitrifying bacteria, I know there are other brands out there others have had success with as well. Personally, I prefer dr tims. At any rate though, good luck with the new tank!
So I had a lot of pretty green algae beginning to form on my rocks but over the last week or so, a lot of the green has gone away and ugly brown has taken over it. What gives? Is this another mini bloom of the diatoms? Or since I've passed the initial diatom bloom... is it something else???
So I had a lot of pretty green algae beginning to form on my rocks but over the last week or so, a lot of the green has gone away and ugly brown has taken over it. What gives? Is this another mini bloom of the diatoms? Or since I've passed the initial diatom bloom... is it something else???
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