diatoms

Howdy! This being my first reef tank, I have been dealing with what looks like diatoms for some time (new tank, 17 weeks since start of cycling). I would estimate it started around 7-8 weeks ago, and has pretty much persisted daily. My question is, how long can I expect to be dealing with this...

hey all, ive had some red/brown spots showing up on my sand, lately its gotten a little worse and I don't really feed a whole lot. I got a test done at my lfs last week and everything was zero, (except nitrate which was like 5ppm or w.e) which can obviously be a problem. ive started to feed on a...

Hello! This is my first post and my first reef tank. my tank is 2-3 months old and I have diatoms all over the tank sand. When I siphoned it during my last WC, it came right back. Most likely it’s just the ugly phase however I’m wondering if there’s any possibility it could be my water. The...

Hey, I’ve had a diatom outbreak recently but fixed it, it was all because of my water. But there were diatoms all over it and I haven’t been able to get them off even with picking them off I cannot get them. And I’m not sure what to do because it has not opened up in a while, I’ve never actually...

Hello, I’ve had my tank up and running since the end of August. Around October I started seeing what I thought was diatoms. They started slow then exploded and covered my rocks and sand. The trochus snails are eating it which is making me believe it’s diatoms but at this point I would think they...

Hello everyone! I have a new tank, a little less than 2 months old and I’ve noticed this brown stuff growing in the back while pulling out any extra shrimp my fish didn’t eat. Is this a beginning stage of diatoms? What else should I expect if it is thanks for the help

For reference I’ve had my tank set up and going since august 20th. I noticed the diatoms about 3 weeks ago and as of Sunday cleared off the rocks almost completely. Now we’re right back to where I was before, just 3 days later. I have provided pictures of the tank when the rock was cleared on...

Thought I was having an algea bloom....but have chaeto in sump. Nitrates are 2.0- 2.5 and phosphates are .08 - .04 consistently. Wondering it this is actually Diatoms, and if so, best way to exterminate. I have been running U.V. for 2 days. Very minimal change. Help!?

The other day i noticed these tiny green/brown strands of what i assume to be algae on the glass of my new tank under only the lit up side (one side does not have a light over it yet). The tank has been running for almost exactly one month in total and only 6 days with a light on one side...

Hi, I have two different subjects that need ID-ing. First, I've been battling Amphidinium Dinoflagellates and have been dosing Silica (Brightwell's SpongExcel) to encourage diatoms. Here's the first shot. Looks to me like possibly pennate diatom. Thoughts? Second, Just recently dipped a...

Hi. I’ve been dealing with this for a very long time now with diatoms growing on my sand and I’ve even reduced lighting a lot and they still keep coming. Now I just decided to ask if anyone knew what was growing on my rocks and how I can get rid of them and maybe grow some corraline algae. I’m...

Hello all, I need some help figuring out a plan based on my system for finally getting rid of brown diatoms. My current system is up and running with no issues whatsoever for a few months now and everything inside the tank has gone through QT. (I don't currently have any snails as I currently...

Hi all, I added some old dry rock a couple weeks ago and I started noticing a couple days ago a brown film on them. Today I can clearly see it is like a brown slime. They have some tiny micro bubbles starting to lift it so I can definitely see the slimey-ness. The rocks I added were some old...

Been fighting low phosphates and high nitrates finally got my nitrates from around 100 parts per million to around 25. Keeping my phosphates up by dosing neophos everyday. These things used to disappear when the nitrates were out of control during the night but then would return during the day...

My tank (29g) has been setup for about 2 months now after my tank had an alkalinity crash and I lost most of my fish and CuC. My corals had survived though, which meant I had to put corals and RFA in an immature tank. About 2 weeks ago, my RFA died as well as my xenia and Kenya tree, two corals...

See attached a picture of my tank, but with a horrible brown algae outbreak. First sign was about ten days ago, tank has been set up for a little under two months. Should I just leave it and let my tank get overgrown, or should I remove it/get a clean up crew to eat it? Want to get into growing...

Howdy! Hopefully this isn’t too boring, but figured I’d share my current build and progress. This is my first tank since I was a kid, so any and all advice, criticism or thoughts are more than welcome! Purchased a used Red Sea 350 (73gal display and 18gal sump), 2 AI Hydras, and a Regal Octopus...

Does anyone have an idea what this could be? I have had them pop up on the past and I thought it was Dino’s, but it disappeared for a while and now has made its way back, but now more than ever. Should I dose vibrant? Thank you!

my parameters are in check. i dont know for sure its been many years since i saw cyano. but i think i killed of my diatoms and it seg-wayed into cyano but during that i had a alk swing that ticked off my corals and i think a algae or bacteria problem is why they aren't coming back faster or even...

Ive seen this algae cover the tank and within 2 days of noticing it i started up the UV Skimmer. seemed to be working at stopping the rapid spread. Then i had a alk swing and within 6 hours i saw these white spots on the glass and back of the tank and some corals were ticked. i fixed the alk and...

Hello kind and helpful reefers! I have what hopefully is an easy question. Took a sample of my substrate as I have been having issues with a brown coating on my aquarium that forms once lights go on and go away when they go off. This has been going on for over a month. I don't believe it's...

Hey guys, just trying to figure out what kind of algae I have growing I’m reasonably new to the saltwater hobby is there anyone that can point me down the right path.

Hello! Here's the thing my tank is a 12 gallon nano, 3 months old and my parameters are the following: NO4 0, NO2 0, NO3 10ppm, PO4 0.5, 9dkh, pH 8.4,Ca 445, Mg 1170, SG 1024. All test done with Salifert. Is stocked with a yellow Watchman goby, 4 blue legged ermits and a turbo snail. My problem...

hello and thanks in advanced. I have set a new tank up and it’s around 10 days old at this point. Over the last two days a huge coating of brown algae I believe to be diatoms has covered my rocks, sand and glass. however it is also covered in air bubbles which makes me think it’s not diatoms...

I'm pretty new to the aquarium thing but everything seemed to be going so well the past few months and all of a sudden today the tank and equipment is covered in this brown stuff and bubbles. There were even patches of sand flying around because the bubbles were carrying them through the water...