diatom bloom with fish

[clowntank]

I got a 14g biocube a bit ago, with cycled water, and cured lived rock from a LFS's main tank cycle. I took the water to a closer LFS a couple days later for testing, and told them about how the tank was set up. They tested the water and said it was ready for fish. I got some clownfish, and then a LPS coral a couple days later.

Now I think my tank is starting a diatom bloom..

Is this going to kill anything in my tank? What should I do??

 

[yote]

Your going to have diatoms,no matter how the tanks set up.They happen weather it cycles or not.
It want hurt anything,and eventually they'll go away.All you can do is wait em out and keep your water quality high.
BTW,Welcome to the site.

 

[Oscarsdad608]

Yes welcome to the reef. What kind of LPS did they sell you?

 

[clowntank]

Ok, thanks ! I knew it could happen, I just didn't know if it was bad for the fish.. that's a relief. I really like everything in my tank.:shock:

I believe it's a torch coral. Pink tentacles with greenish tips. I wanted frogspawn but they didn't have any. My clownfish like it though! One started playing around in it on the first day, now they both do.:bounce:

 

[yote]

If the coral strts staying closed because of the clowns,you'll have to make a decision.
But as long as the torch is opening,its all good.

 

[clowntank]

It opened up pretty good the first day. It has also been opening more and more each day.

It does close up once you turn off the antics and only the moon lights are on.. then opens up a little bit. Is that normal?

 

[Oscarsdad608]

Yotes there again. Pretty fast for a man with dialup.

 

[yote]

Yep.That perfectly normal for a torch coral.

I'm actually starting to like my dial-up Oscar:D Saves money for more important things like coral:mrgreen:

 

[Smitty]

Welcome, and yes, diatoms are a natural process to every saltwater tank, which will not harm anything, just stay on top of maintenance, and get a good cuc...

 

[clowntank]

I've got four snails, a hermit, and a young(er) fire shrimp.
Is that enough for a CUC?
I didn't know about the turbo snail, I don't want him to not have enough to eat..

 

[Bifferwine]

It's normal for the coral to close up at night, but what Yote was saying is that LPS corals aren't natural hosts for clowns. But clown's will make their home in almost anything. What happens a lot of times, is that the clown being in the coral irritates it so much that the coral shrivels up and dies. My clowns have killed nearly a dozen LPS corals by doing this. If your clowns irritate the coral to the point that the coral is starting to go downhill, you will have to decide whether you want to keep the clowns or the coral.

There is nothing you can do about diatoms at this point. They are normal for a new tank. If you don't already, get a few nassarius snails to keep your sandbed stirred up. Other than that, you'll just have to wait it out :(

 

[clowntank]

Just curious ....

The brown on the sand and rocks have started to go away, and I'm noticing green on the rocks. Is a green film suppose to grow on the glass too?

Every day I have to use my mag float to clean a green layer off the entire biocube. The water itself is cloudy\green... I did a water change a couple days ago.. Is this normal?

 

[yote]

Yep,Thats normal too.Just keep doing water changes and dont overfeed.
And just when you think you've got the algae whipped,you'll start getting hair algae,and cyano bacteria.

 

[clowntank]

Can you elaborate on the cyano bacteria?
I don't get why there's a green film at the top of my water ;(

 

[yote]

Cyano is whats termed red slime algae.Its generally caused but high nitrates and phosphates,which nearly always happens as your system matures.
The green film is a type of algae thats growing because there is enough nutrients and light for it to thrive.Its a normal part of a new tank.Because the bacteria that feeds on those nutrients hasnt established themselves in the numbers needed just yet.

 

[clowntank]

Maybe I'm just worrying about this too much..but I'm growing pretty concerned with my tank..

The water is getting really green\cloudy.. It's really frustrating, considering I've done water changes. Most of the diatoms are gone from the sand, but still present on the rocks..

If I stick my finger in the water it comes out green :(.
I don't think it's the filter because when I put my finger in the 2nd chamber, it came out crystal clear.

Is this still normal? It's been about a week now.

 

[newreefinsc]

Do they make a nano skimmer for a tank that size? I think that would help with the turbidity. Red algae gave me fits when I started. I think my tank is loaded a little heavy, but it caught up. The first few months, there seems to be a crisis every day. It was easy to want to buy things to fix the situation, but in the end regular water changes and tank maturity have made it all better.

PS, along with an Aqua C Remora, uv sterilizer, phos-lok, B-ionic, extra power heads, etc... Hey, I didn't say I didn't buy anything!

 

[yote]

If the waters that green.Leave the off for 3 or 4 days.And do a decent sized water change right before you turn the lights back on.