Enter the diatoms!

Sooooo, the diatom bloom is havin' a party, and it's in full swing. The pretty algae that I thought was growing on my LR (and it may still be) was either the diatoms starting, OR, they've completely blanketed the algae in their rusty brown dustiness. Is it safe to release the dwarf Ceriths now??? Current Nitrate test is showing between 5-10ppm.

You can release the ceriths, but the diatoms will clear when there isn't enough food to support the population all on their own. 5-10ppm is an acceptable point to start adding livestock. You'll want to acclimate slowly with most species, but this is a good practice because system parameters vary greatly among hobbyists.

A prime example of this is on the back of your salt mix which says... Add half cup per gallon of water to achieve a salinity of 1.021. I don't personally know anyone running their tank at that salinity. So yes, everyone fudges it up to the salinity they prefer to run at which generally varies between 1.023 and 1.026. That's not even taking into account other parameters such as alkalinity or ph, which again is a matter of preference and varies greatly between hobbyists. Get yourself in the habit of slow acclimation process for everything you add now, and you won't be scratching your head wondering why something died within 3 days of being added to your tank (as much) later.

Thanks Pope! :) So the diatoms basically pig out on whatever it is they've found to eat, then will die back when they've eaten themselves out of house and home? I have to admit, they're just not a pleasant sight in the tank. :/

I like to keep my SG at 1.024. Most of the species I've researched that I want to eventually add to my tank will do pretty good there.

I'm going to do a water change again today, do you guys think I should maybe go from 20% and do a 30% change to try to lower the Nitrates a little further? I'm afraid to add any nems or corals or anything until they're lower. Would that possibly help expedite the diatoms going away??

I'd really just let it all sit and just top off until the diatoms are gone. 30% wc probably wouldn't hurt anything tho.

Okie dokie... Thank ya for the help Pope! :)

I'm almost afraid to hold my breath....but after having cleaned the sides of my tank and the equipment last night, it appears that I no longer have that depressing blanket of diatom brown re-coating those surfaces!! OMG! Could it be??? Is the diatom bloom coming to an END?!