In need of some help - what is growing on my sandbed?

[Miemaes]

you should include your light and settings. The Chemiclean probably restarted uglies which I'm guessing your lighting you didn't lower and gradually increase. The green on the rocks I think suggests that too. I'd like to hear what the pro's suggest.

I think you are right about the chemiclean. I got this after i used the product and I kept my lights at the usual setting. I do think that the green is some sort of coraline. It’s rock hard and not fuzzy. I might be wrong though…

 

[Miemaes]

That looks more like diatoms to me than Dino’s but a microscope would confirm… yes ambient lighting could play a role in that.

I really don’t want to have to move my aquarium to the basement

 

[vetteguy53081]

Simple diatoms
Add a few nassarius snails and assure RODI cartridges not expired

 

[Miemaes]

Simple diatoms
Add a few nassarius snails and assure RODI cartridges not expired

Thx. I’ll probably put in a new cartridge order just to be safe

 

[fushi]

Thx. I’ll probably put in a new cartridge order just to be safe

I recommend using a microscope to identify what it is before buying anything to fix it.

But if its Diatoms from high silicate in RODI water I recommend adding an extra stage to your RODI with a Silica-Buster cartridge, my RODI water went from off the charts to 0. And let the diatoms die off naturally as they use all the silica in your tank and get removed by your filter socks.

 

[Miemaes]

I recommend using a microscope to identify what it is before buying anything to fix it.

But if its Diatoms from high silicate in RODI water (TDS meters don't pick up silicates) I recommend adding an extra stage to your RODI with a Silica-Buster cartridge, my RODI water went from off the charts to 0.

What filtration system do you use? I don’t think I can hook that one up to my current one. How can I measure the silicates? Is there a test kit around? I have a smaller aquarium in my office that doesn’t receive much natural light and that one looks ok.

 

[fushi]

What filtration system do you use? I don’t think I can hook that one up to my current one. How can I measure the silicates? Is there a test kit around? I have a smaller aquarium in my office that doesn’t receive much natural light and that one looks ok.

There are test kits for silicates but I just buy ICP tests that also test my RO water (ATI, Oceamo, Fauna Marine)

As for adding a another cartridge to your RODI I just added one of these off amazon after my regular di chamber. If your RO system uses standard 1/4 tubing you can basicly just attach it to the output.

fittings

 

[Ziggy17]

Unless your eyes can magnify 400 times, it’s impossible to look and tell what they are, and you are just guessing. Even then you have a 50/50 shot at being right or wrong. Dinos and Diatoms can look the exact same on a sand bed. They both can appear as dust. Dinos don’t always have stringy threads coming off with bubbles. My Dino’s didn’t. They looked exactly like diatoms do but it was LCA.

Also, Diatoms use silicate as there source of nutrition, so unless you recently added silicate to the tank in the form of new dry rock or RO water (not RODI) that was full of silicate, it’s not likely diatoms. Once the silicate is gone, the diatoms die off and disappear. It’s part of the ugly stage. But as long as you keep the Di stage fresh, there shouldn’t be any silicate in your RODI water. There are specialty cartridges you can buy, but I don’t use them and my Si is nil as per my RODI ICP test.

Dinos however, love to pop up after the use of chemiclean and other chemical grenades like razor. Those chemicals nuke all the healthy bacteria in the tank, which opens the door wide open for Dinos to take over. And with Dinos, the longer you wait, the worse they get and longer it takes to out compete them.

Get yourself a cheap microscope and have a look. The microscope is a great tool for the hobby anyhow. Just reading the full picture of the cause and effect, I’d be willing to bet a shiny nickel it’s Dinos, but I wouldn’t say I knew for sure just by looking at a picture.

 

[BubblesandSqueak]

Also, Diatoms use silicate as there source of nutrition, so unless you recently added silicate to the tank in the form of new dry rock or RO water (not RODI) that was full of silicate, it’s not likely diatoms. Once the silicate is gone, the diatoms die off and disappear. It’s part of the ugly stage. But as long as you keep the Di stage fresh, there shouldn’t be any silicate in your RODI water. There are specialty cartridges you can buy, but I don’t use them and my Si is nil as per my RODI ICP test.

Doesn't RO remove 90%+ of silica? If it was RO water, would less than 10% in a 10% water change still cause that much of a diatom bloom? unless it was a bad filter..? Just curios if that small % of RO over DI would change it that much?

 

[Ziggy17]

Doesn't RO remove 90%+ of silica? If it was RO water, would less than 10% in a 10% water change still cause that much of a diatom bloom? unless it was a bad filter..? Just curios if that small % of RO over DI would change it that much?

I’m not an expert on RO, but I don’t think it removes silicates. The Di stage will, but it’s impossible to know for sure how much without an ICP. Silicate doesn’t register as TDS, so even if you meter reads 0, it can be present, but to what extent is difficult to say. With a high quality Di resin, it will scrub out the Si in the water. I know this because I have 2 ICP tests to verify mine does. However, once the Di resin has lived out its lifespan, it will not only be in affective in scrubbing out TDS, but it also releases all the impurities that it captured while it was working. Which is a big concern considering what it has filtered out over a few months… that’s why they recommend changing out the Di resin a when the colour change occurs from blue to brown at an inch from the top. That way, the impurities stay in the resin and not Leech back. The beauty of colour changing resin!

Apologies if this is common knowledge to most, just thought I’d mention it to the OP.

 

[saltyfins]

Hi everyone,

I have a 33g that has been up and running since October last year. I’ve had diatoms, then cyano… which looked like a dark purple slimy residue on my rock. I removed as much as possible and used chemiclean in my tank. I got rid of that but now it looks like I have a mix of things that I can’t figure out. I have a rusty brown coating on my sand that appears the next day again. I turn the sand with a turkey baster… looks all fresh and white and the next day it has that same rust colored coating again. Especially in the areas where it receives most light. I also spot stringy bits sticking out of the sand and see it sporadically here and there on a coral. My alk: 8, Ca: 400, Phosphate: 0, Nitrate: 0-2, PH: 8.3 and Magnesium: 1350 Any idea what it can be and what I can do? I just want to have clear sand after all these months of effort…

dino's. that's from using chemiclean. same thing happened to me, and it's relentless. get a microscope then join Macks dino group!!

 

[Miemaes]

There are test kits for silicates but I just buy ICP tests that also test my RO water (ATI, Oceamo, Fauna Marine)

As for adding a another cartridge to your RODI I just added one of these off amazon after my regular di chamber. If your RO system uses standard 1/4 tubing you can basicly just attach it to the output.

fittings

Thanks a lot for the share! This was very helpful

 

[Idech]

I really don’t want to have to move my aquarium to the basement

Daylight insn’t a problem unless it shines directly on the aquarium.