a strange bloom?

[RaiderFan in NY]

i just did a water change and also added two new fish and there is what looks like a diatom bloom going on. this is my second water change and i don't know if this should happen. before this my tank was really clean. the first bloom happened weeks ago. can someone offer advice? thanks in advance.

[Avi]

Diatoms thrive on silicates in the water. It would seem from the simple facts that you state, that if the diatoms appeared after a water change, that your water source contains silicates. Without more info, that would seem to be the answer to the issue.

[RaiderFan in NY]

i understand your point but

A) its R/O water from my LFS they don't have any problems.

B)why doesn't it happen when i add the same water after it evaporates?

C) how do i get rid of it?

[mixed_reefer]

Look into your salt mix then, if you trust the water. Which salt are you using? Tropic Marin pro reef did it to me every time i put it in my 20g, the next day a few hours after lights were on i had a mess, everytime.

[RaiderFan in NY]

i'm using instant ocean reef crystals.

[mixed_reefer]

Hmmm.. That shouldnt cause an issue with alge. How much are you feeding?

[RaiderFan in NY]

not that much, a few pellets twice a day, once a day a small peice of dried seaweed.

[roadkill3030]

Hows your water flow? I had a diatom bloom not to long ago. I changed to instant ocean and added a maxi-jet 900 and its now its almost gone.

[RaiderFan in NY]

my water flow is fine, i've got 2 koralia #2's in a 46g

[Avi]

If the water's from a trusted source and you seem to have confidence in your source...and it's not the salt or the amount of flow...Then, the next suspect is that when you're doing a water change, maybe you're disrupting the substrate and so it's releasing silicates which the diatoms then thrive on and so you get the result you're getting.

There doesn't seem to be too much more that you can do, other than to shorten the amount of hours that your lights are on and wait it out, because diatom problems will almost certainly abate over time, even if it's not fast enough for your liking, Raiderfan. You could put a phosphate reactor on the tank and use a good quality phosphate-removing medium in it, like Rowaphos...They not only remove phosphates but also remove silicates.

[RaiderFan in NY]

when i did the water change i added the water to my sump. however, i do use a turkey baster on the substrate to remove any unwanted algae growth from the bottom and stir up whatever waste there is to get it in the water column for filtration. should i get a few more snails and a phosphate remover and try that 1st? don't have the extra space for a reactor...or the money.

[Burbs]

how old is the setup and what kind of substrate did you use? could also be your rock if you have any.

[RaiderFan in NY]

setup is about 31/2 months old. about 70lbs LR. the small fine crushed aragonite. LS in rock rubble in a fuge area in my sump....no macro though..have to buy some...that would help remove the phosphate that could be causing it right?

[Burbs]

yeah some macro could help you could also try a phosban reactor

[Burbs]

forgot to add use 2 phosban reactors one with phosban and the other with carbon. this will help but finding the source of the problem would be better.

[Tswifty]

it's silicates... and an RO unit may not remove all of them. I just purchased an additional "silica buster" resin for my unit. Now my unit goes:

IN - RO - Silica Buster - DI - OUT

I'm sure you know, once the diatoms consume the silicates they will die off.

AZDesertRat would be able to explain it much better than I though.

[Avi]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12763317#post12763317 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RaiderFan in NY
....don't have the extra space for a reactor...or the money.

As they've said, phosphates aren't what's supporting the diatoms...it's silicates, though the medium that's used for removing phosphates will also remove silicates. Don't be overly concerned with space or cost when it comes to a reactor...They aren't very expensive at all...

http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem~SearchStr~phosphat%20reactor~action~view~idProduct~KM9331~idCategory~FIFRISPR~category~K ent_Marine_Phos_Reactor_Saltwater_Aquarium_Supplies_Filters_Inline__Specialty_Phosphate_Reactors~ven dor~.html

http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem~SearchStr~phosban%20reactor~action~view~idProduct~TL4311~idCategory~FIFRISPR~category~Tw o_Little_Fishies_Phosban_Reactor_150_Saltwater_Aquarium_Supplies_Filters_Inline__Specialty_Phosphate _Reactors~vendor~.html

...and you can run them with a very small and inexpensive water pump....

http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem~SearchStr~mini%20jet~action~view~idProduct~AS1151~idCategory~FIPHCP~category~Mini_Jet_40 4_Powerhead_Saltwater_Aquarium_Supplies_Powerheads_Compact_Pumps~vendor~~tab~1.html

....and hang the reactor on the side of your sump.

[RaiderFan in NY]

is there any type of additive i can use? i have absolutely no room in my sump or under my stand for another piece of equipment.

[Avi]

Well, the most effective way to use any of the phosphate/silicon removing mediums is in a reactor, in which the flow keeps it suspended (it's called "fluidized) so that the maximum surface area is in contact with water and so removes the unwanted phosphates and silicates most effectively. Using them in any other way risks breaking down the grains of the medium into an overly fine powder which will drastically reduce its value. There are pads that are available and you can put those into an area of water movement, like in a sump or canister filter. You can look into those but make sure that they state on the lable that they do remove silicates in addition to phosphates.

Byt the way, I just noticed that the links I posted above don't work....you can see what a phosphate reactor looks like here, though:

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=11586

You'll see that they take very little room when hung on the side of the sump

[Burbs]

not sure if Chemipure removes silicates but you can look it up, it may work

[RaiderFan in NY]

is there a way to test for silicates? or should i assume if my phosphate is high then i have silicates?

[Avi]

Silicates have no direct relationship with phosphates. They both could be introduced to a reef tank with a poor water source, but other than that they are different. And, sure you can test for silicates...Test kits for silicates are available, so if you want to test for that you'd be able to.

[RaiderFan in NY]

the bloom seems to have died off for the most part. i tested my phosphate level last night and it was at 0.5. is that too high?

[tmz]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12758475#post12758475 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RaiderFan in NY
i'm using instant ocean reef crystals. Had the same issue with a batch of Reef Crystals. Went back to corallife.

[tmz]

Yes, your phosphate is too high. Amazing mine was too without any obvious reason.

[RaiderFan in NY]

is it gonna be harmful in any way? what would happen?

[tmz]

High phospate can inhibit calcification by corals and coraline algae leading to stress and disease. It will also fuel nuisance algae including diatoms, dyanobacteria, derbasia , bryopsis, valonia etc.