Stringy brown diatoms. How to remove silicates without removing po4

[chevegan]

I've got one down in storage. I'll try it tonight

 

[Velcro]

I've got one down in storage. I'll try it tonight

How many watts? The key is SLOW flow... less than 200gph.

 

[chevegan]

it's a 9w. My tank is 23 gallons true water volume

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Yea that's just super minor ugly phase in a brand new tank man.

 

[chevegan]

Have a rio 600 but no fittings or barbs on me so gotta wait till tomorrow. See if this works

 

[chevegan]

Thanks man. Yeah good news is since starting this hobby 13 years ago I am soooo much more patient. Poop happens and you move on. I tore down my tank when I moved states so this is my first tank in a few years.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Thanks man. Yeah good news is since starting this hobby 13 years ago I am soooo much more patient. Poop happens and you move on. I tore down my tank when I moved states so this is my first tank in a few years.

It'll pass.

 

[Rip Van Winkle]

If I can suggest something, look where it's gathering. If it's gathering in areas of dead or low flow, I'd suggest drastically upping the flow temporarily to see if that makes any changes within a 12-24 hr period. If it dissipates after upping the flow, then I'd suggest increasing flow as part of your solution.

 

[landlubber]

It'll pass.

it may pass but in how long and will the corals withstand it along the way? my zoanthids are all affected by the same problem and my substrate has been brown for close to 6 months now.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

it may pass but in how long and will the corals withstand it along the way? my zoanthids are all affected by the same problem and my substrate has been brown for close to 6 months now.

I haven't seen yours. I'd go with velcros advice and perhaps peroxide

 

[chevegan]

what peroxide does everyone use where do I get it. It would be my first time with it

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Grocery store honestly. In a young tank I would be concerned about its use unless the problem is quite bad.

 

[chevegan]

Like the topical kind? Cleaning section? I'd like it as backup if I can't beat it with conventional means

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Yea like for cleaning cuts and such. It's in my toolkit for all kinds of reef stuff.
It's pretty handy.

 

[chevegan]

uv is set up. Slow flow fingers crossed

 

[Velcro]

Hopefully it's enough wattage, but i wouldn't be surprised if you need more.

 

[Velcro]

Also, blow the hell out of your rocks/sand with a powerhead a few hours after lights go out

 

[kennedpa]

Your RO water should never be over 0. I just finished a battle. I am back dosing aminos and carbon with no issues. You need to correct that ASAP. Currently I run a RO buddy for pressure boosting to keep my RO membrane >95-96% rejection. My setup is sediment 1 micron, 1 micron CTO carbon block, 0.6 micron CTO carbon block, chloramine 0.5 micron block, RO membrane, DI resin cartridge, silcabuster cartridge - water.

 

[Forsaken77]

Like the topical kind? Cleaning section? I'd like it as backup if I can't beat it with conventional means

The best products I use for my RO/DI system are the GE RO Save.Z 1-micron sediment filter from BRS. It lasts twice as long as cheaper filters and with minimal pressure drops.

The carbon block is the Matrikx CTO Plus carbon block at 0.6-microns. BRS also sells a universal block if you have chloramines.

Then I finish it off with a Spectrapure High Capacity Silicabuster DI cartridge from Marine Depot. It removes all Silicates, Phosphates and Nitrates from RO water.

Just some helpful items I know work great. Because with 50 tds from the tap, which is low, you shouldn't even be close to anything above zero after the DI. If your membrane got dried out or tainted with chlorine or chloramines, it will ruin it.

Also, and I was reading about this a few days ago, most all salt mixes use silicates. I found a chart that listed 10 different brands and had all of the major elements listed for each salt, not just the major 3, and whether it was low, equivalent, high, or really high in comparison to what it should be, including Nitrogen and Phosphates. I can't find it, but Silicates could also be coming from the salt mix

 

[Forsaken77]

What is that fish in your profile picture?