Need advice on getting rid of Diatoms

[jrdnsasus]

I am fairly new to saltwater aquariums and have brown algae or diatoms coming in heavily in my tank. I know its part of the cycle but does anyone have any advice on ways I can fight it off other than waiting it out? And is weekly water changes and vacuuming my sand ok/helpful?

 

[Jeff Jarry reef]

I am fairly new to saltwater aquariums and have brown algae or diatoms coming in heavily in my tank. I know its part of the cycle but does anyone have any advice on ways I can fight it off other than waiting it out? And is weekly water changes and vacuuming my sand ok/helpful?

Don't let nitrates levels bottom out. And water changes will make it worse. Just keep dinos blowed off corals. And keep parameters stable as you can. And you can shorten light schedule back. Main thing let it run its course.

 

[homer1475]

If it's truly diatoms and not dino's, you just have to let them burn themselves out. They feed on the silicates in the fresh sand. Once the silicates are used up, they will go away.

Any intervention besides sucking them out, will only prolong the time you have to look at them.

 

[Mark Novack]

UV can help that and more but if it is a first time diatom bloom in a new tank, let it go naturally. Then will come cyanobacteria and you will be sure its the end of the world. About the time the cyanobacteria starts to diminish on its own is a good time to add a healthy UV system. I believe in the full cycle with minimum intervention.

 

[Graemesreef]

Nows probably a good time to start dosing some bacteria its not gonna help the diatoms like others said they will burn themselves out eventually but you will have a much better shot at skipping the cyano phase.

 

[Jekyl]

Time is what you need. Your algae issues are going to get worse. It's all normal. Manage parameters, remove what you can by hand, dose live phyto. No nuclear or expensive options needed.

 

[Hooz]

Copepods. Now is the perfect time to seed copepods.

 

[TheBear78]

I'm through the worst of the diatom stage at 7 months (RSR 425XL) but I still have one area that will often get a brown patch. It's no coincidence that this is a bit of a dead spot in my flow.
Try altering any returns/flow you have to ensure that the sand is getting a good blast even if this initially causes a bit of a mess.

 

[AKL1950]

Have you picked up some snails yet. Cerith and Trochus snails will graze it down.

 

[OfficeReefer]

@Hooz and @AKL1950 are both spot on with answers. These can help with balancing out the bacterial biome in your tank. I recently watched a great presentation by Ryan with BRS Investigates for Reefplooza

Some would also argue against this, however, if you have also done the above and hope to go a bit extra one can add a UV sterilizer to the mix. I've heard these are helpful for newer systems and they came in handy for me on one of my systems in the past.

 

[Jay'sReefBugs]

Homer is spot on if it's diatoms you don't need to do anything it's a natural course your tank is going through .