Justin0329
Reefing newb
Ok, So my tank is aproxamately 6 months running and I have been fighting diatoms. A lot of diatoms! I was told that it may be due to high phosphates so, as recomended, I started using distilled water for my water changes. It seems as though the diatoms have not reduced in the slightest bit. I then read that they will run their natural course and eventually run out of "food" and disappear. My question is how long does this process take? I understand parameters have a lot to do with it along with feeding. I have a 55 gallon tank along with a 25 gallon sump for a total of roughly 80 gallons minus the displacement of rock and sand. Ammonia reads 0, Nitrites 0 and Nitrates <5. Its been a long hard battle to get the Nitrates this low but its been really stable at 5 or less for about 2 months. My protein skimmer has been performing great in my opinion and the skimmate is dumped once a week on fridays. I do 2 water changes a week (tuesdays and fridays), 5 gallons at a time for a total of 10 gallons a week. I don't know what else to add to my schedule or what to do differently. Oh, and i feed a small ammount every night. I have 2 ocellaris clowns, one coral beauty angel, 2 blue damsels (I know, I know...) along with one green emerald crab, one decorator crab, 3 blue leg hermits, and 2 turbo snails. My lights consist of a single 48" fixture containing 2 actinic, and 2 10,000k bulbs along with blue moonlight led's. Total wattage is 260w. Bulbs are very new.
Sorry this is getting long, but I need advice!
Thanks in advance!!!
Oh, and I keep my temp around 78 F
Sorry this is getting long, but I need advice!
Thanks in advance!!!
Oh, and I keep my temp around 78 F
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