Diatoms? SOS - the typical new reefer concerns

[Hella_reezys]

Hi reef community,

My name is Jess. I recently started a saltwater tank with my partner and it's been a little over a month now. We have a Fluval 13.5 g and cycled fully about 2 weeks ago. We added 2 clowns and 2 corals and just over the past week I started seeing some brown algae spots around the tank bottom glass and on the rock. We are a bare bottom tank and used dry rock with fishless cycle. I did a water test this morning in preparation to do a 10% change just to get Nitrates down as I heard that may affect diatom bloom (please correct me if I'm wrong) the Nitrates were at about 20ppm this morning after feeding last night. I measured/ tested again and ammonia is at 0. Nitrites are at 0 and Nitrates are at 10ppm now. Wondering if anyone can ID these before I do my water change. Is this just the usual ugly phase stage 1 that everyone goes through? And finally, should I scrap or scrub these when doing my water change?

Thanks so much! Really appreciate any tips/tricks/suggestions ya'll can provide. Take care and stay salty!

 

[bevo5]

Hey there - welcome to the club, and to a future of endlessly worrying about whatever new issue you spot!

I suppose an expert on here would need a shot of them under a microscope to be sure, but all signs point to diatoms. It's just a natural part of the process, and will probably get worse before they just completely go away.

The key to whatever happens in that tank is to just attack it slowly. In a tank that size, you could really swing things out of whack with water changes in a hurry. Nitrates at 20 aren't that bad, and there's more potential harm in dropping them to zero (don't ever say the word dinos three times).

I'd just let things progress a bit and add your clean up crew. A bunch of snails will make sure work out of that stuff, and it'll be gone soon enough. Getting a ton of snails is always fun. A lot of folks here use reefcleaners.com - but your LFS will have plenty on hand as well.

 

[Hella_reezys]

Thank you so much for the reassurance! It is an endless worry but what can we say, tanks are our babies. Hahah!

Perfect, I super appreciate the advice and will let them do their thang! Going to pick up a clean up crew this weekend. Ty also for the suggestion I'll check out that website now.

Take care and happy reefing always!

Jess

 

[vetteguy53081]

theres always mixed feelings with presence of diatoms. A few things to know which may help you understand 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.

 

[attiland]

Hi reef community,

My name is Jess. I recently started a saltwater tank with my partner and it's been a little over a month now. We have a Fluval 13.5 g and cycled fully about 2 weeks ago. We added 2 clowns and 2 corals and just over the past week I started seeing some brown algae spots around the tank bottom glass and on the rock. We are a bare bottom tank and used dry rock with fishless cycle. I did a water test this morning in preparation to do a 10% change just to get Nitrates down as I heard that may affect diatom bloom (please correct me if I'm wrong) the Nitrates were at about 20ppm this morning after feeding last night. I measured/ tested again and ammonia is at 0. Nitrites are at 0 and Nitrates are at 10ppm now. Wondering if anyone can ID these before I do my water change. Is this just the usual ugly phase stage 1 that everyone goes through? And finally, should I scrap or scrub these when doing my water change?

Thanks so much! Really appreciate any tips/tricks/suggestions ya'll can provide. Take care and stay salty!

I and only if it is diatoms they will go by themselves no action required. Silicates will limit them and once they have used it all they will just disappear. @bevo5 gave you excellent advise You need a microscope to be sure what you have.