early outbreak

[aqujoe247]

Starting to get diatoms on the sand and P/H flow nozzles. I believe its from the L/R that I added, which had been cooking for 3 mos., but there was alot of die-off I couldn't scrub off. How bad of a cycleis my tank is going through? I put a phosphate remover sheet even though it tested-0.

 

[BoomerD]

Live rock shouldn't cause diatoms. How old is the tank? Diatom blooms are pretty normal for newer tanks. Just one of the many "cycles" they go thru as they mature.

 

[lcstorc]

What kind of water do you use? I had a big outbreak when I was using tap water, but once I switched to ro it has gone away.

 

[Gina]

Diatoms are a normal process to go through with new tanks.
Do you have any snails that will help get it under control?
Cerith is one that would be a good choice.

 

[aqujoe247]

Everthing was transferred from my 55g except the 25-30lbs of LR that was in a seperate 10g, it came from a tank that crashed which is why I cooked it for 3 months. I read in the KB that even cured rock could start a minor cycle, because some bacteria could die off when taken out of water.

The water I use is RO from the LFS, and has tested well.
I had about 40 snails and all but 5 died during the transfer. Is there a possibilty that 55g salinity was 1.024 and the initially 90g was at 1.019 could have cause a new cycle?

 

[aqujoe247]

Hey Gina, did you and Mark ever find out if it was a bacteria problem in your tank? Have you since been able to keep corals?

 

[BoomerD]

New rock COULD start a cycle, but that does't affect diatoms. A new tank, even with cured rock and such will still go thru all the cycles. It's still a new tank...patience...

 

[cheeks69]

New rock COULD start a cycle, but that does't affect diatoms. A new tank, even with cured rock and such will still go thru all the cycles. It's still a new tank...patience...

Ditto ^^^

except the 25-30lbs of LR that was in a seperate 10g, it came from a tank that crashed which is why I cooked it for 3 months.

While you were cooking it was there vigorous flow ? For the rock to effectively shed detritus buildup you will need strong flow. I wouldn't be too concerned though, it'll go away.

 

[aqujoe247]

Thanks Boomer. I wasn't sure if it was considered a new tank if everything came from a existing tank.

Cheeks the flow should have been stronger now that I think about it. This explains all the buildup that I couldnt scrub off. The first three days my ammonia and nitrates went up so I did a w/c 2nd & 4th day, which zero the ammon. and trates. Do you think this completed the cycle?

 

[Gina]

Hey Gina, did you and Mark ever find out if it was a bacteria problem in your tank? Have you since been able to keep corals?

What we were seeing was the beginning of cyanobacteria.
We are still dealing with it but, it seems to be less and less.
We are scrubbing our LR with a toothbrush on the end of a siphoning tube and have hooked up a phosphate reactor.
We are now dealing with a lime green algae.

We have 4 Mushrooms which appear to be doing ok.

Still haven't really figured out where our problems are coming from since everything we've tested from fresh water to tank water is ok.

 

[aqujoe247]

Sandbed has clear of algea and PCI skimmer has started to pull out out dark tea looking liquid. I added 2 smaller snails(Nassarius?) that are supposed to clean the sandbed and 1 bigger snail(Cerith?) that went under the sandbed and has come out yet.

I also removed the sandsifting starfish after reading that it could kill the livesand, and added 2 smaller shrimp that the LFS labeled as cleaner shrimp, but have yest to fin if they need iodine.

Also new to the tank is a 3" Lawnmower Blenny and a 2" Royal Gramma. Will show pics ASAP.

 

[lcstorc]

They should be able to get the iodine they need from regular water changes with a good salt.
Waiting for pics. Grin.
Sounds like things are going well.

 

[aqujoe247]

the royal gramma is swimming sideways and up side down, is this normal? If not what should I do to correct this?