Diatom Blooms

[reefsforme]

Hi. My 6 gallon Nano cube is almost going to be 1 month old. I have Nature's Ocean Reef Sand, and about 9 lbs. or so of Live Rock. The sand and live rock are starting to get diatom blooms, and even the walls of the aquarium are having them too!!! I am using a portein skimmer, and my lights are on 10 hours a day. Will the diatom bloom subside by itelf, or is there a way of controling it. Thanks!

 

[goisles1]

all new tanks go through this..

I had a crystal clear tank at first. After like 6 weeks had a major Diatom Bloom, followed by a nussiance Algae bloom. Now, my tank is crystal clear again and my algea is minimal.

I'd scale back on your lighting for a while until it's all gone.

A CUC is also a good idea. Once the cycle is finished they do a nice job keeping the glass and substrate nice and tidy.

 

[wun68]

I'm in the same boat and just added my cuc from liveaquaria.com (The Keep It Clean Caribbean Package). In 2 hours I already see the difference in my substrate. It's almost like clean skidmarks =)

 

[roka64]

They will starve out. Diatoms, thrive off of silicates and light. Don't be surprised if you get another one when you replace light bulbs or stir up the sand.