Ways to Stabalize Po4

[vetteguy53081]

Sorry, I misread and meant to specify CP Elite in my response. Here’s some pictures.

Im seeing diatoms here which can 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. You will also see diatoms with an RODI unit if the cartridge that removes silicates becomes expired. Some cleaner crew to help control it are : Cerith snails, Nerite snails and Trochus snails and also Astraea snails are effective at removing diatoms.
With Dino, biological deficiencies cause the dino structure and your tests will show lower numbers with po4 and no3

 

[Sdoutreefer]

Im seeing diatoms here which can 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. You will also see diatoms with an RODI unit if the cartridge that removes silicates becomes expired. Some cleaner crew to help control it are : Cerith snails, Nerite snails and Trochus snails and also Astraea snails are effective at removing diatoms.
With Dino, biological deficiencies cause the dino structure and your tests will show lower numbers with po4 and no3

Would be a huge relief if it’s just diatoms, although whatever this is, is super stubborn. I took some more pictures to see if someone can get a better ID. One thing to note, it seems to be spreading to my rock and is covering algae, snail shells, and glass in a reddish brown film.

 

[vetteguy53081]

yes- Diatoms. Follow what I mentioned

 

[Sdoutreefer]

yes- Diatoms. Follow what I mentioned

Will do! I get my RODI from my LFS. It’s pretty top notch store, so I’d be surprised if his resins/canisters are expired but I will definetly ask him.

Is there something I can do to combat the silicates? I don’t know if I’ll be able to get my hands on some sponges.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Will do! I get my RODI from my LFS. It’s pretty top notch store, so I’d be surprised if his resins/canisters are expired but I will definetly ask him.

Is there something I can do to combat the silicates? I don’t know if I’ll be able to get my hands on some sponges.

If you added any new dry rock, that would be a cause. I would test the purchased water as more than once Ive seen LFS water as a cause and they didnt even realize.
Assure phos level not elevated. Overfeeding also a cause

 

[Sdoutreefer]

If you added any new dry rock, that would be a cause. I would test the purchased water as more than once Ive seen LFS water as a cause and they didnt even realize.
Assure phos level not elevated. Overfeeding also a cause

No new dry rock. It's all old live rock, that was dead. Some marco base rock, but majority is from a past tank.

My Po4 seems to be wavering between 0.05 - 0.02. This is typically due to me skipping a day of reef roids. I'm happy with those levels, but my sand bed isn't.

Also to note, my sand is all dry sand. I realize it takes a while to get the dry sand to become "alive" but the timing of it all just seems weird, and I know for a fact I bottomed out my Po4 with my most recent water change a week and a half ago. This tank is roughly 6 months old.

I utilized chemi-clean a while back and it did a wonderful job combating whatever was on my sand bed. But not even 2 weeks after my sand bed became a mess.

 

[vetteguy53081]

No new dry rock. It's all old live rock, that was dead. Some marco base rock, but majority is from a past tank.

My Po4 seems to be wavering between 0.05 - 0.02. This is typically due to me skipping a day of reef roids. I'm happy with those levels, but my sand bed isn't.

Also to note, my sand is all dry sand. I realize it takes a while to get the dry sand to become "alive" but the timing of it all just seems weird, and I know for a fact I bottomed out my Po4 with my most recent water change a week and a half ago. This tank is roughly 6 months old.

I utilized chemi-clean a while back and it did a wonderful job combating whatever was on my sand bed. But not even 2 weeks after my sand bed became a mess.

Chemi clean often an alternative and not solution. Reduce white intensity a few days and add snails mentioned
Is tank by chance at or near a window?

 

[Sdoutreefer]

Chemi clean often an alternative and not solution. Reduce white intensity a few days and add snails mentioned
Is tank by chance at or near a window?

How many would you recommend? I’ve got a gambit of snails, mainly trochus (x10) Ninja star snails(x10) ceriths (maybe 5. Had a few die) and a turbo trochus. Also have a tuxedo urchin and about 5 blue leg hermits and 10 scarlet hermits.

Thanks for your help.

 

[vetteguy53081]

How many would you recommend? I’ve got a gambit of snails, mainly trochus (x10) Ninja star snails(x10) ceriths (maybe 5. Had a few die) and a turbo trochus. Also have a tuxedo urchin and about 5 blue leg hermits and 10 scarlet hermits.

Thanks for your help.

5 each and acclimate them well

 

[Sdoutreefer]

5 each and acclimate them well

Thanks!!

 

[Sdoutreefer]

Reviving this thread as I’m pretty confident I’m not fighting diatoms. Checkout these pictures. Stuff is starting to develop a bit further and it’s looking like I’ve got dinos. I haven’t ran any tests yet today but will get around to posting those when I can.

 

[Zyk5280b]

Looking like a mix with dinos, blow off the rocks and Do you have anything shifting the sand? I'd recommend a small conch in there to clean the top of the sand bed.

 

[Sdoutreefer]

Looking like a mix with dinos, blow off the rocks and Do you have anything shifting the sand? I'd recommend a small conch in there to clean the top of the sand bed.

I’ve got 3 pretty good sized nassarius snails. Anything else to sift the sand?? I’m worried that with a conch, my Halloween hermit is gonna have a hay day. He already goes after my nassarius snails when they’re out…. I have to play referee when it’s feeding time.

 

[Sdoutreefer]

Alright, ran some tests…
Po4: 0.04
No3: 2.4

Without a telescope I realize it’s not exactly possible to confirm, but seeing these numbers does line up with Dinos.

I plan to do a tank blackout in the upcoming week, assuming that’s enough time to get my No3 and Po4 up a bit. I’m not too mad about my Po4, but my No3 is definetly low. Going to shoot to get No3 within 7ppm-10ppm and Po4 up to about 0.07-1.0ppm.

While I do the blackout I’ll be feeding live phyto. I dumped (4) 16oz. Bottles of pods last week and the week before, so I think I’ve got enough pods in my system (hopefully).

Wish me luck!

 

[Zyk5280b]

I’ve got 3 pretty good sized nassarius snails. Anything else to sift the sand?? I’m worried that with a conch, my Halloween hermit is gonna have a hay day. He already goes after my nassarius snails when they’re out…. I have to play referee when it’s feeding time.

No worries there, the conch has a blade under his shell . I've never had an issue with hermits and conch aggression. They do a lot better then nass snails as they actually scavenge and agitated the top of the sand bed.

 

[Sdoutreefer]

No worries there, the conch has a blade under his shell . I've never had an issue with hermits and conch aggression. They do a lot better then nass snails as they actually scavenge and agitated the top of the sand bed.

That’s a solid point. Thanks for the feedback!!