Help! Detritus, Diatoms, etc.?

[Troselaw]

Hi All,

Looking for some help. Driving me crazy... tank has been running for about a year and a half. About 2-months ago I had a small cyano outbreak and used chemiclean. Cyano cleared in about a day. I did a water change and vacuumed my sand bed (maybe to much?). A couple days later I started noticing what I thought was detritus/dirt forming on sandbed. I continued to vacuum, move the sand bed around, etc. Will not go away... Thoughts?

 

[Intheflesh]

I had something similar growing in my tank. tried chemiclean, black outs, water changes, syphoning etc.
Nothing really seemed to work; it would be back the next day. I was dosing AF -np pro and pro bio s. I stopped dosing those, and started dosing a Red Sea NoPox copy cat recipe (pretty much 50/50 vodka and vinegar) and started wet skimming. Took about 2 months, but my sand bed has been crystal clear ever since.

 

[Johnson556]

I had it for a while, discovered it was Dino's then did a blackout and started feeding heavy. Went away for almost two months. For the past month I went from 4 cubes a day to 2 cubes a day. Got back from FL yesterday and noticed they came back, thinking its time to go back to 3+ cubes a day

 

[aresangel]

I grabbed a conch to sift the sand bed and that kept it looking better while nutrients balanced out.

 

[gobyvin]

I have never used those products, but highly recommend water changes via shallow vacuuming of sandbed with proper temp and salinity saltwater, increase water flow, reduce stocking levels of fish if you are overstocked, feed judiciously and enjoy your tank!!! Keep it simple! Also if you aren’t rinsing frozen food in RODI before feeding you should try. Cleans it up from the nutrient rich juices... Also keep mechanical filtration clean if you use it...

 

[Troselaw]

I grabbed a conch to sift the sand bed and that kept it looking better while nutrients balanced out.

Funny, I did buy a conch and a sand sifting starfish - no help. What i also should have mentioned is that the Cyano came about a couple weeks after i started using an algae scrubber...

 

[Troselaw]

I have never used those products, but highly recommend water changes via shallow vacuuming of sandbed with proper temp and salinity saltwater, increase water flow, reduce stocking levels of fish if you are overstocked, feed judiciously and enjoy your tank!!! Keep it simple! Also if you aren’t rinsing frozen food in RODI before feeding you should try. Cleans it up from the nutrient rich juices... Also keep mechanical filtration clean if you use it...

I have been vacuuming and did a big water change yesterday - and its worse today.

 

[gobyvin]

What kind of salt? Also, maybe what size tank and how much water movement?

 

[Troselaw]

What kind of salt? Also, maybe what size tank and how much water movement?

Coral Pro. And tons of water movement... the only change in my tank was that I started using an algae scrubber; then, within 3-4 weeks cyano; then, used chemiclean (tank was crystal clear for a couple); then, water change a vacuumed sand bed; then, I started noticing this dirt/detritus.

 

[gobyvin]

The algae scrubber... is it possible the algae in the scrubber is sloughing off and getting broadcast into the display with your return water? Turf algae will slough filaments if agitated by too forceful a flow of water over its surface. Also, if there are enough phosphates and even a little nitrate present and not enough corals and other photosynthetic animals in the DT, then the turf might be seeding your tank with algal spores to take up the nutrients. How long is your photoperiod on the DT and do you run the scrubber 24/7 or reverse daylight of the DT?

 

[Andy V]

Is it safe to assume you are using RO/DI and have confirmed the output water is 0 TDS?

 

[Troselaw]

The algae scrubber... is it possible the algae in the scrubber is sloughing off and getting broadcast into the display with your return water? Turf algae will slough filaments if agitated by too forceful a flow of water over its surface. Also, if there are enough phosphates and even a little nitrate present and not enough corals and other photosynthetic animals in the DT, then the turf might be seeding your tank with algal spores to take up the nutrients. How long is your photoperiod on the DT and do you run the scrubber 24/7 or reverse daylight of the DT?

It could be possible... I have a FOWLR. Been running the Scrubber 24/7.

 

[Intheflesh]

What i also should have mentioned is that the Cyano came about a couple weeks after i started using an algae scrubber...

I wonder if you have an imbalance of phosphates and nitrates? I'm pretty sure that is what my problem was. As soon as I started feeding a little heavier, and cut back on the nitrate/phosphate removal products, the problem started clearing up. Here's an article on the topic:
https://reefbum.com/pests/dosing-nitrates-to-eliminate-cyano/

Quote from the Article:

When using an algae reactor, algae scrubber or refugium to remove both phosphates and nitrates you have to be mindful of one thing….you need enough of both of them for effective removal.

 

[gobyvin]

I like the direction In the Flesh suggested. Since you have a FOWLR, I bet 24/7 algae scrubber lighting is the way to go, that said, you should be harvesting algae and not seeing it stay at a static biomass on the growth screen. If it is static, then it might be sloughing off and settling on the sand or seeding the DT with spores that grow off the bright white sand. Either way, the suggestion that you eliminate variables one by one is a good start. I would stop using the additives and rely on good maintenance and husbandry first, while watching that scrubbers performance closely.

 

[Troselaw]

I was texting with Johnson556 yesterday... We discussed the possibility that my photoperiod for the algae scrubber @ 24/7 was to much and that i should feed a little more.

 

[gobyvin]

Best of luck solving this