Help! Diatom problems?

sigs4me · #1 10/23/2007, 08:32 PM

I have what looks like diatom algae covering my sand. It is brown and shrinks at night and expands across the sand again when the lights are on. There are also little bubbles that hang on the sand where the diatom covers. IS this diatom or something else? More important is how do I get rid of it??

Thanks for the help

T.J.

Uyro1 · #2 10/23/2007, 08:36 PM

Well I am not sure what it is but the best way to get rid of it IMO is cerith snails. I have the crap all over everything and I got some ceriths and placed them on the problem and they ate it all. To bad it spread to everything in the tank and I need more snails but that should do it.

demonsp · #3 10/23/2007, 08:38 PM

Sand sifting stock. Conch snails are great daimond gobys are the best sand bed cleaners. Also if you mix the sand up this helps. Dont ever mix all the sand as this would be bad. Do small areas every other day and this would help. Also more flow and less main light untill cleanup crew is in there.

barbra · #4 10/23/2007, 08:38 PM

Get your circulation going if it isn't already and just wait it out. They clear up in no time usually.

I can't say I have seen it shrink or expand, are you sure it's diatoms?

sigs4me · #5 10/23/2007, 08:44 PM

No I'm not sure at all that it's diatoms. That's just a guess on my part. So feel free to chime in if you think it's something else.

Thanks!

demonsp · #6 10/23/2007, 08:46 PM

A pic would be best. In this id site they show some algea.

http://www.melevsreef.com/id/

demonsp · #7 10/23/2007, 08:46 PM

A pic would be best. In this id site they show some algea.

http://www.melevsreef.com/id/

barbra · #8 10/23/2007, 08:46 PM

Diatoms appear as a brown "dust" across your sandbed, not as a solid algal mass that shrinks and expands like a creature out of a horror movie.

sigs4me · #9 10/23/2007, 08:58 PM

It's kind of like dust. It's not a single sheet like a sheet of kelp or anything. It covers each grain of sand individually if that makes any sense. But it definetly expands with light. I'll try to post a pic tomorrow night.

sigs4me · #10 10/23/2007, 08:59 PM

Sorry I couldn't find it on melvs reef.

sigs4me · #11 10/24/2007, 05:37 AM

ttt

Duff Man · #12 10/24/2007, 06:43 AM

Air bubbles makes it sound like cyanobacteria. Cyano loves low flow, try pointing a powerhead at it and see what that does.

funlap · #13 10/24/2007, 07:07 AM

If i was you i would test my water parameters. If your tank is fairly new this phase will pass as everything balances itself. I would just try to keep my calcium, alk, and ph in check and do regular water changes maybe up the flow in the tank and get things movin and maybe minimize lighting for a while depending on livestock that is dependant on light.