DustingrahamRRA Posted February 12, 2019 Share Posted February 12, 2019 I must admit, I am no where near perfect. As a few of you know, I have a 240 gallon display that I take great pride in but I have one lasting problem...those damn diatoms. So I'll start from the beginning. I 'adopted' a 180 from a guy who couldn't take care of it anymore. It was horrible, GHA was everywhere and nutrients were absolutly through the roof. So I scrubbed all the rocks off, not a trace of GHA was left. I put 100 percent all new sand in the 240 and moved about 10 percent of his water over and dosed bacteria to help with the massive bacteria removal. about two days later, we moved the livestock in and to this day, they live happily ever after in their new home. But from the start, diatoms were a huge issue. I ran GFO, no effect. Reduced the lights, no effect. I stir the sand bed surface once a week, and the next day it is back. I have a sand sifting star and a diamond back goby who constantly is sifting the sand. I run two MP-40's on each side of the tank at full blast. My phosphate is like .02 and nitrates sit at 6. I can't keep Cheato alive in the sump even with a kessil refugium light. Coral is doing great, inverts loving it besides a moody GBTA which no matter what I do, will never be happy. So I come asking for suggestions. the tank is 7 months old at this point so I'm out of answers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muttley000 Posted February 12, 2019 Share Posted February 12, 2019 Some questions... Have you ever tried elevating the nutrients? How long were you lighting the cheato? DustingrahamRRA 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crimsonvice Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 I would say more flow and try increasing nitrates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DustingrahamRRA Posted February 13, 2019 Author Share Posted February 13, 2019 15 hours ago, Muttley000 said: Some questions... Have you ever tried elevating the nutrients? How long were you lighting the cheato? I've had them high at one point. That only seemed to encourage Cyanno-bacteria growth. I lit the cheato opposite of what the main display was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DustingrahamRRA Posted February 13, 2019 Author Share Posted February 13, 2019 11 hours ago, crimsonvice said: I would say more flow and try increasing nitrates. Raising flow was what I was thinking. I just had one of my MP-40's die so I guess it is time for an upgrade anyway. I was thinking of maxspect gyre's or something similar. Have any suggestions on powerheads? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesse Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 1 minute ago, DustingrahamRRA said: I've had them high at one point. That only seemed to encourage Cyanno-bacteria growth. I lit the cheato opposite of what the main display was. Same here with the cheato growth but I’ve always ran light on the sump opposite the tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crimsonvice Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 I would almost lean to more flow then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crimsonvice Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 3 minutes ago, DustingrahamRRA said: Raising flow was what I was thinking. I just had one of my MP-40's die so I guess it is time for an upgrade anyway. I was thinking of maxspect gyre's or something similar. Have any suggestions on powerheads? I like the gyres, I would say 2 xf250s. They do need to be cleaned often. I will take one out every other month and let it sit in a bucket of 50/50 vinegar water over night, running. sometimes people run into problems if they pull them apart to clean them. there are a bunch of parts, so it usually is because something is not put back together right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flounder Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 Gyre is amazing and they come apart easy to clean with backup set of heads. So you can use it and clean at the same time. I have never had any of the problems others speak of. Maybe @crimsonvice is on to something with putting them back together properly. DustingrahamRRA 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crimsonvice Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 A lot of people will complain of a sqeek after re assembly. It is because of the spacers and bearings. It you are not paying attention you can push them together to tight and it will cause a squeeky wheel noise. So as long as you pay attention and are careful it shouldn't be a big deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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