Sandbed issues

[Metam]

hi friends,

recently, just started reefing. And realised that my sandbed sometimes will turn brown but after off my T5, next day, realised that the sandbed does back to lighted colour.

Why is that so?

[blueheaven]

Those are probably single celled diatom algae

Quite common in newly started tanks and will go away if you maintain good water parameters

[Metam]

but my tank begin few months already. I started with fishes only. But now, with some corals. that y need to log in more often to seek advise. Is it because of lighting and MH? Cos i on my MH for 3 hrs daily only with T5 3 hrs...will that affect? And if so, how am i supposed to keep my sandbed clean like last time?

[Kelmen]

if they are diatom, some invertebrate will feed on them, like snails and sea cucumber, etc.

certain hermit will do too.

you can stock some hardy invertebrates for control purpose.

[Metam]

ok, thanks bro kel and blue

will take note of that...few more questions since in here liao.

Im using beckett now, just spend $$ to buy ...cos they said good for corals. But my NO3 still stands at 20ppm...i saw some reefers can lower to 0ppm. How am i supposed to do that?

And also, i did control my feeding after weeks of endless looking at old threads which may resulted to my high NO3...

Must i do a massive change of water?

[blueheaven]

To completely cure diatoms, prevent sillicates from going into your tank

You can run rowaphos and use RO/DI or DI water for any addition to your tank

[Metam]

To completely cure diatoms, prevent sillicates from going into your tank

You can run rowaphos and use RO/DI or DI water for any addition to your tank

ok, i read abt these too. Slicate...but can i store my water for one weeks then use.normally this is what i do...

[blueheaven]

I doubt that will work

The sillicate ions will still be in the water

Best is to at least use a deioniser to remove the ions

[Metam]

I doubt that will work

The sillicate ions will still be in the water

Best is to at least use a deioniser to remove the ions

where can i purchase it ? and any recommedation on these products?thanks pal

[Reefbum]

Welcome bro to world of reefing.As your tank is just a few months old, don't fess up by those diatoms. It will generally clear by itself when the tank matures which can take about a year. The word is not to panic into doing something stupid.

As for maintaning water quality, do have a schedule and stick to it.There are many ways to go about this and often than not beginners don't read enough for their own good. Instead they fully rely on the other reefers.What works for one doesn't mean it will work for you.I am sure you can find lots of info from books and internet.

Much said, hope you will enjoy this hobby.Cheers.

[wil_lee76]

yes bro metam,

no worries at all. wait for your tank to mature. let nature take courses and of coz, maintain your maintance schedule!

[FuEl]

If they form a brown mat with bubbles beneath you probably have dinoflagellates. Normally they will grow over the sand and when enough bubbles are trapped beneath from photosynthesis, the whole mat will float eventually. Additional water current in addition to the above recommendations might help further. Either remove the silicates by running rowaphos or waiting for the silicates to be used up completely. During this time you should only top up with treated tapwater.

[iantoh]

hi Metam, just my two cents contribution ya.

if youre using tap water to top up your tank's water, youll always face diatom issues, unless you are willing to spend on expensive phosphate and silicate removers. the thing is, silicates dont evaporate, so letting the water sit for any amount of time wont remove it. to truly resolve this issue, and prevent further input of silicates into your system, youd either have to purchase an RO/DI unit, or use distilled water. lots of bros here use distilled water to good effect, and its quite cheap. Alpheus 12x 1.5 litre bottles in a carton for $5 at Shing Siong supermart. of course, theres the hassle of carrying it back home, but the alternative is an RO/DI unit which might cost $200.

if youre having a nitrates issue, then perhaps you might like to consider planting some macroalgaes in your system- in your sump or something- to help with nutrient export. macroalgaes will uptake both nitrates and phosphates (at roughly a ratio of 16:1) so it'll help reduce both to a degree. by the way, how deep is your sandbed? for a sandbed to adequately facilitate complete nitrogen cycling, that is, to accomodate bacteria that will convert nitrates back into nitrogen and oxygen gas, youll need at least 2inches of fine sand to create the anoxic and anaerobic layers. with a shallow sandbed, that is, of one inch or thereabouts, your sandbed will likely only process ammonia to nitrites, and nitrites to nitrates, with the final stage being nitrates, which then accumulates. (theres also the issue of ammonification but lets leave that out for now)

if youre running a beckett, and have powerful flow, you might consider BB, but if nitrates is the issue, then i'd suggest not. all the same bro, best wishes on resolving your diatom problem.

cheers,

ian

[Metam]

wow! great advise guys! thanks for your time and efforts. Will monitor this and see how lah! plans my $$ carefully!

cheers.