Dinos or diatoms?

jrmailo

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Hi I just started a reef tank (150 gallons). I finished cycling the tank ( 1 month with dr fritz turbo start and ammonia chloride) and have since began adding copepods, live phytoplankton, inverts and corals in that order. Since then these brown algae started growing aggressive on rocks (especially on high flow and lighting area), sand, the glass as well as creeping up the base of some of my corals. These algae often have tiny bubbles on top of it too. Now I am wondering if these are the common diatoms that generally grow in new aquarium or the dinoflagellates. My water Parameters are:

salinity - 1.025
pH - 8.1
DkH - 8.4
Mg - 1600
Ca - 415
PO4 ~ 0.25
No3 ~ 0-2.5

From what I can see, my snails and hermit crab do try to eat them, but so far they have made little to no impact. I heard that dinoflagellates are toxic to inverts (how long would it take before they die after eating the dinos)? Also I am worried that they might start hurting my coral if I let them work it’s way out. Please let me know what you guys think.


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vetteguy53081

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Diatoms. Diatoms are a brown algae that typically appear in a reef tank that has just completed its cycle but they can also appear in an established reef tank. They can cover sand, rock, pumps, glass, you name it. Diatoms look ugly but in most cases they are harmless so the key is to not panic when they appear.
Diatoms feed mainly off of silicates but also consume dissolved organic compounds, phosphate and nitrates. Unfiltered tap water can contain silicates and is a good way to jump start a bloom if you use it to mix salt or to replace water that evaporated from the tank. The best way to prevent this from happening is to filter water through a RODI unit, although you can still get a diatom bloom when using RODI if the cartridge that removes silicates expires.
diatoms are typically harmless to a captive reef and can be beaten once their food source expires. Once you put the kibosh on the source, the outbreak should last a couple of weeks so just be patient and it will pass. For major outbreaks you may want to consider the three day blackout. Diatoms are easily wiped from the glass with a mag float, a turkey baster or a toothbrush can access other areas of the tank. Be prepared for them to re-establish themselves quickly, they are likely to be able to resettle and have exponential growth rates.
To prevent their return, practice good aquarium husbandry by doing regular water changes, keep the substrate clean, don’t overfeed the fish, ensure your skimmer is running at an optimal level and rinse out filter socks and sponges 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.
 

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