diatom bloom after EVERY water change?

[waverz]

I have a 29 gallon BioCube that has been running for about a year now. It has a shallow sand bed which seems to be clean, sapphire aquatics skimmer, nano GFO/carbon reactor, DIY fuge in the first chamber.

I used to do 5 gallon water changes every week and the sand bed has always been brown. Over the holidays i sort of slacked on WC's and my tank has never looked better! Well yesterday I decided it was long enough and did another 5 gallon WC, the following day the sand bed was brown. I don't get it, the TDS of my RODI water is 1 so that shouldn't be an issue.

Anyone have any ideas on why this happens?

[HighlandReefer]

Ideally your RODI water should read 0. The RO resin will hold the silicon but this bond is weak. When the DI resins become saturated, they will begin to release the ions that are held weakly like the silicon. The amount of silicon that can be released (ammonia is another one) once the resin becomes saturated can be substantial. For this reason you want to change your DI resin once you notice that it climbs to 1 ppt.

[stingythingy45]

I've noticed this as well.Just a light diatom coating on the sand bed that will disappear after a week.My TDS is still 0 after the Di resin.
I come to a conclusion..........less water changes=less diatoms.lol

[HighlandReefer]

Another possibility might be if you are using a salt mix which contains vitamins and other organics. These vitamins and organics do serve as a carbon source like when adding vodka, which may stimulate a bloom of algae, cyano, bacteria or diatoms.

[sjames]

Ive always experienced this to some degree.

using salts with and without vitamins, and always 0 tds ro/di source water.

I think its more to do with stirring up the tank.
Stirring things up must liberate some traped nutrients that contribute to the problem.

[jdak]

I get this too... i just look at it as a healthy process

[luther1200]

What salt do you use?

[yerboy]

i have noticed the same thing from time to time.

[bertoni]

I suspect it's nutrients from the water. Many or all salt products have some ammonia in them, and diatoms require plenty of nitrogen and phosphorus from the water column to grow. It's fairly likely that your pest is cyanobacteria or dinoflagellates, but most likely it's a mix.

[Texxxx]

Originally Posted by HighlandReefer

Ideally your RODI water should read 0. The RO resin will hold the silicon but this bond is weak. When the DI resins become saturated, they will begin to release the ions that are held weakly like the silicon. The amount of silicon that can be released (ammonia is another one) once the resin becomes saturated can be substantial. For this reason you want to change your DI resin once you notice that it climbs to 1 ppt.

I had problems with diatom after WC for over 1 1/2 year after I set up my tank. I found out I was having high silicon in my RO/DI water. I was changing my DI the sec it went to 1 TDS. I did some research (will try to find the article) and found out that silicon can start getting into the water BEFORE the TDS went to 1. I started checking my RO water for silica and found that it was true. I started getting silicon in my water when my DI was about 80% used up or before the TDS went to 1. I decided to hook up a GFO reactor on my RO water tank. I make up 50gal of water then turn on the GFO for 24 hours. No more diatoms since. I think the only people that have this problem are people with crappy city water to start with, like mine.

[Genetics]

I found by disconnecting the DI resin after the RO meter solved this issue with me. DI resin will release silicates with only age as a factor and can be easily fixed but disconnecting. Also, the TDS would be lower straight from the RO before going to through the resin.

[Texxxx]

Some of us can only dream of having city water that is fair.
My TDS in our water can be nearly as high as 1000ppm. I think everyone has different problems with there water that has to be fixed in different manners. Most problems need to start with there city water quality report and set up there RO/DI system accordingly. Here is what I have to deal with.
http://water.ci.lubbock.tx.us/waterQualityReport.aspx

[bertoni]

Well, that's not one of the more encouraging tap water reports. How long do your RO membranes last?

[Texxxx]

LOL, Actually membranes aren't too bad. I change it about every 6 mo. Ok thats not good but for my water its not bad. Its the DI resin that is the problem. With my TDS out of my RO running any where from 15-25 it uses DI up real quick. I finally went to 3 DI cartridges and I change 2 every 5-6 weeks. With the 3rd one going to the first in. I got tired of changing 1 every week. I get a lot longer on three than if I keep changing 1 every week for three weeks.

[bertoni]

Ouch! That sounds expensive. I'll consider myself lucky. My TDS at the tap is more like 50 ppm.

[Texxxx]

I probably spend around $150 or so on filters and resin a year from BRS. My saving grace is that I have owned a business for 30 years and 60-80 work weeks has allowed me not to have to worry about money.

[dun2run]

I have also had a similiar problem with the diatoms and cyano. I have recently connected the dual gfo reactor from BRS and am running gfo and carbon for about a month now and am still getting the brown and red "dust". But only on my sand.

[dav3b]

Originally Posted by Texxxx

I had problems with diatom after WC for over 1 1/2 year after I set up my tank. I found out I was having high silicon in my RO/DI water. I was changing my DI the sec it went to 1 TDS. I did some research (will try to find the article) and found out that silicon can start getting into the water BEFORE the TDS went to 1. I started checking my RO water for silica and found that it was true. I started getting silicon in my water when my DI was about 80% used up or before the TDS went to 1. I decided to hook up a GFO reactor on my RO water tank. I make up 50gal of water then turn on the GFO for 24 hours. No more diatoms since. I think the only people that have this problem are people with crappy city water to start with, like mine.

Let me get this straight. You run the GFO on your make up water? Most people hook the GFO directly to their fish tank.

Thanks.

[Texxxx]

Yes I have GFO running on my RO/DI water tank. I also have one running on my fish tank. This is not necessary for 99% of the people here, but I am having to deal with some really crappy city water.

[incloud]

Following, my water is horrible. Thinking about double filtering my salt water before changes. Tank looks terrible after water Cha!ges. Usually by morning.

[mcgyvr]

Originally Posted by incloud

Following, my water is horrible. Thinking about double filtering my salt water before changes. Tank looks terrible after water Cha!ges. Usually by morning.

Following an 8year old inactive post?..
And didnt provide any useful information to continue the discussion..
Good luck...

[incloud]

Originally Posted by mcgyvr

Following an 8year old inactive post?..
And didnt provide any useful information to continue the discussion..
Good luck...

Thanks! Was on my phone so didn't notice. I don't believe information expires so figured it may be worth my efforts to find a solution to my similar problem.

[mcgyvr]

Originally Posted by incloud

Thanks! Was on my phone so didn't notice. I don't believe information expires so figured it may be worth my efforts to find a solution to my similar problem.

Well... can you at least provide better information about your specific problem then?..
Avoid using terms like horrible and terrible that are left up to opinion..

Have you had your water tested for anything?
What specific numbers about your water can you report?
Do you have an RO/DI system? What is the incoming TDS? outgoing TDS post DI stage? How many gallons can you make before you need to change filters or resin?
What specifically is "terrible" about your tank post water change? cloudy? diatom bloom? Got pictures?
etc...etc...
The more valid/useful information the better your chance for success..

[incloud]

I haven't had my water tested by the city. I change my sediment stage filter once it starts turning brown, carbon every other water change, and DI when it changes color. Problem is even with all new fresh filtration and zero TDS I still get Diatoms after every water change which makes my tank look terrible. By terrible I mean brown all over everything but other than that crystal clear and healthy. I can't specify how many gallons due to the fact that it happens regardless of new filtration or old. My system is overall 340 gallons and I do 40 gallon changes every other week. When I don't do water changes the tank stays gorgeous but of course they are somewhat necessary so I fight the diatoms every time. It just gets old and I've arranged to have a friend that does water purification come over and actually test the water to determine the best route to take in order to have better water quality. Thanks for your inquiry!

[bertoni]

If the TDS meter is okay, then I suspect the issue is the salt product, although the tank might be on the borderline as far as fixed nitrogen in the water column. All salt mixes will contain some ammonia, and thus add a bit of algae fertilizer. If it's easy to do, I might try getting a second opinion on the TDS meter, and then I'd check some freshly-mixed saltwater for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and phosphate.