J-Dog Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 Can anyone help me figure out what kind of problem I have? I've had this outbreak for the last few weeks, which I thought was getting better, but now looks worse. I had the same outbreak a few months ago, and it went away on its own. But now it is back and worse than ever. Here are a few pics, I hope they help..... It is mostly on the substrate (and a little of the live rock) and it looks like brown hair. This is what it looked like when it first started.... Now it looks like this.... Please help! I need to figure this out, so I can possibly get rid of it. I wanted to start adding more coral and fish, but I am afraid to due to this problem. Thanks again for any input u can give. (nutty) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fpd4308 Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 What are your parameters? Most importantly phosphates, magnesium and nitrates? Are you using RO/DI or tap water? Oh ya and how much flow do you have? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gradth Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 Diatoms. New or newer tank? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePremiumAquarium Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 diatoms +1 normal after larger water changes, in newer tanks, after some instability happens, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C0lin Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 I had some of that too. I looked it up online, and the guys saying it's part of the normal cycling process are right. It should go away soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-Dog Posted April 27, 2011 Author Share Posted April 27, 2011 Every time I test my water I have 0 nitrates and 0 phosphates. I only use R/O water and my tank is almost 1 year old, so I'm not sure if this is normal or not. Does anyone know what is causing this problem? If so, how do I stop it from happening in the future? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 Have you checked the TDS of the water coming out of your RODI? A diatom bloom in an established tank is a sign of available silicates in the water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitchell Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 Every time I test my water I have 0 nitrates and 0 phosphates. I only use R/O water and my tank is almost 1 year old' date=' so I'm not sure if this is normal or not. Does anyone know what is causing this problem? If so, how do I stop it from happening in the future?[/quote'] Diatoms are caused by silicates. Have you added new sand? Some how silica has gotten into your tank and the diatoms will be there until they use up all the silica and then it will die off. You can buy silica removing media that you can use just like carbon and that will hasten the die off. Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGooseWhisperer Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 IIRC Kent "Phosphate Sponge" removes silicates too...does GFO? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-Dog Posted April 27, 2011 Author Share Posted April 27, 2011 Right now I am using Seagel and ChemiPure Elite....I'm not sure if they remove silicates or not. Would a plastic float switch be putting silicates into my water? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitchell Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 IIRC Kent "Phosphate Sponge" removes silicates too...does GFO? Gfo removes very small amounts of silica in the marine aquarium. GFO is only an effective silicate remover in freshwater with a ph of about 9. Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitchell Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 Right now I am using Seagel and ChemiPure Elite....I'm not sure if they remove silicates or not. Would a plastic float switch be putting silicates into my water? Seachem's site says seagel removes silicates. And so does chemipure elites site, but all chemipure elite is is carbon and a small amount of gfo mixed together. I would not believe what either company says, chemipure also says you don't need to do waterchanges while using there product. When was the last time you replaced the di resin in your ro/di unit? Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-Dog Posted April 27, 2011 Author Share Posted April 27, 2011 I've had the RO/DI unit for about 8-9 months.....how do I know when cartridges need changing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 When your TDS rises too high, which is why I asked what your TDS is :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-Dog Posted April 27, 2011 Author Share Posted April 27, 2011 I don't even know what TDS stands for...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 Ahhh, ok -- Total Dissolved Solids, a measure of the stuff still in the water after the RODI has done its thing. There's an inexpensive meter available that you can connect to the output of the RODI; some have a second channel you can connect to the input of the RODI so you can see the relative performance of the filters. There are a few shown here: http://www.airwaterice.com/category/10/ Ideally, your TDS should be as close to zero as possible -- though I'd be happy with <5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitchell Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 Right now since you don't have a meter I would call a couple lfs and ask them if they can test the tds of your water. Make sure to bring the sample in clean plastic bag or ziplock. I would replace the filters if you get a reading over 1 tds. Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-Dog Posted April 27, 2011 Author Share Posted April 27, 2011 OK, I can do that.....But what about the question I had earlier? I asked if my plastic, electronic float switch could be adding silica to my water? I just looked at it and it's covered in some kind of brown, rusty looking stuff. I didn't know plastic could rust from saltwater. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitchell Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 OK' date=' I can do that.....But what about the question I had earlier? I asked if my plastic, electronic float switch could be adding silica to my water? I just looked at it and it's covered in some kind of brown, rusty looking stuff. I didn't know plastic could rust from saltwater.[/quote'] Plastic can't rust. The only thing that can rust is iron because rust is just iron oxide. Can you post a picture of the float switch? It could just be algae growth that looks like rust. And to answer your question the float switch will not add silica to the water. Do you have any ceramic media? Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-Dog Posted April 28, 2011 Author Share Posted April 28, 2011 No ceramic media, only Seagel and ChemiPure. What other media can I add to remove silica? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-Dog Posted April 29, 2011 Author Share Posted April 29, 2011 Got my water tested and the TDS meter come back zero.......so if that is the case, what else could be causing these stupid diatoms? This really sucks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitchell Posted April 29, 2011 Share Posted April 29, 2011 Got my water tested and the TDS meter come back zero.......so if that is the case' date=' what else could be causing these stupid diatoms? This really sucks[/quote'] How often are you doing water changes? I found that my tanks do best with weekly water changes. Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grassi Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 Give us more infos about your tank: how old, size, flow, filtration, light and lighting period, food and additives, maintenance schedule, livestock.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-Dog Posted April 30, 2011 Author Share Posted April 30, 2011 I have a Red Sea Max 250.....If u aren't familiar, it's a 65 gal system which is self-contained. 2 pumps (1st-900gpm, 2nd-450gpm), 6-39w T-5's that usually run about 8 hrs (but down to 5 with this problem arising). I feed about 2-3 times/week, mysis shrimp or flake food, water changes every week or two, and 4 fish (2 clowns, blue damsel, and a coral beauty) + cleaner shrimp. Did I leave anything out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitchell Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 I have a Red Sea Max 250.....If u aren't familiar' date=' it's a 65 gal system which is self-contained. 2 pumps (1st-900gpm, 2nd-450gpm), 6-39w T-5's that usually run about 8 hrs (but down to 5 with this problem arising). I feed about 2-3 times/week, mysis shrimp or flake food, water changes every week or two, and 4 fish (2 clowns, blue damsel, and a coral beauty) + cleaner shrimp. Did I leave anything out?[/quote'] On the red sea web site it says the tank comes with highly porous ceramic filter as part of the biological filtration. If that is true, that could very well be what is causing the problem. Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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