Diatoms in the sand? ID + solution plz

Here are a few pics of what I have got going. I think it's another minor diatom outbreak leftover from my cycle phase. It is brown. There is no hair. It is on the sand and between the glass and sand.

The coral beauty, hermits and snails have been dining on it, but cannot keep up with the growth.

My first inclination is to take the layer of sand in question and clean it off. Nice and simple. Please let me know if I am way of track. Or just let me know that I am the most brilliant reef master scientist dude on the planet. Either way, I will be happy.

TIA. John.

 

I had the same problem for a little while and got some Nassarius snails (sp?) they cleaned it right up.

 

How many should I get for a 75g tank?

 

To tell you the truth John that is a big bioload for such a young tank. Your signature says born only like two and a half months ago. Have you tested your params lately? If so what are they ? Also don't see any powerheads in signature. Do you have any? Could be a build up of dietrisus. How long did you wait before adding all those fish? I counted 8 !!!! That is ALOT for a tank that young. Your bio filter ( ammonia eating organisims ) probably can not keep up. Slow down and be patient. I know it's hard trust me, I have been guilty of trying to hurry things.: Hope we can help you along the way.

 

And yes these are great for sand tanks. The general rule is one per 3 gallons, but just get like 5 at first to make sure they will do well. Than add accordingly. Good luck keep us posted ! What ever happened with th 10 gallon you were thinking of setting up ? ;D

 

The ten gallon is going to be put together over the next three or four months. One piece of hardware at a time. Then I will convert it. In the meantime, I am going to concentrate on getting a killer skimmer and MH for my 75g.

As for my bioload. Yeah. I know. I am pushing the outer envelope. If I had it to do again, I would stick with 10 inches of fish max for the first six months. As it is, my fish are not that big. I have 16 inches total. I added the blenny last to clean up algae (four inches)

Params NH4: 0 to 0.25, NO2: 0, NO3: 20 (down from 100 a few weeks ago)
pH: 8.2, SG: 1.023. Last water change five days ago. Going to do another one with rodi today (both 30%).

I was thinking about giving my damsels back to the LFS and perhaps getting rid of the hawkfish. That would put me down to 10.

Oh, and powerheads. Besides my return (running at about 450GPH), I have a Maxijet running at about 250GPH. I was thinking about placing my other Rio 2100 behind the rocks and dialing it down to about 300GPH.

Let me know what the recommendations are. Thanks. John.

 

I dont think thats enough flow. Get a Algae free Maxi jet mod and maxijet 1200 and you will see flow

 

I completely agree. You should at least double that flow. I'd get 1 or 2 Koralias if I were you. I have a 38 gallon tank with 2 Koralia #1's, and about 400 additional gph (sump, skimmer, powerfilter), for about 1200 gph. It gives me good flow without being overkill. Those Koralias are great.

 

Yeah....I have been looking a the Koralias. I have been looking at the Maxijet plus mod as well. I will get something within the week. For the meantime, I will sink the extra Rio 2100 and let it go full force (692 GPH if I am not mistaken).

Thanks guys.

 

As far as Nassarius snails:

I would order from Reefcleaners.org. I'm just waiting for some Florida Cerith Snails to come in, then I will place my order for a cleanup crew. I'd recommend using the "Custom cleanup crew option". Fill out the form (tell them what you already have and what fish you still plan on getting) and John will get back to you with a recommendation. Great service, great prices, great selection. What more could you ask for?