Diatom Bloom
 

Does the diatom bloom on a new tank before, during, or at the tail end of the cycle. My 50 gallon is now in full diatom bloom, spreading everywhere. I neglected to test the water daily due to work issues and very late nights and early mornings.

it depends did you overstock,add fishes before cycle finished, too much nutrients in the tank, too much lighting, not doing enough wc changes will all cause the diatom bloom.although it's normal in a new tank not all people get it.you don't have to test the water params everyday but regular small wc do go a long way in an empty cycling tank and if there's no real plants in there there shouldn't be a lot of light.without fishes there's no need to feed the tank either.get the bottled bacteria.at the end of the cycle you can add carbon in.

Diatoms are normal in a beginning tank. No matter what you do to it, they will come, and believe it or not, will go away by themselves.

I know its normal I just wasn't sure if it happens during a cycle or towards the end. I have done weekly 10% WC's and there is no stock in the tank. Only rock and crushed coral. I am enjoying watching this thing change.

i din't get a diatom bloom that clouded the whole tank like you.my lr just turned brown and thats the first step before getting coraline algae growth.
all i added was lr,bacter vital, bio digest and bioptim and let it cycle with a power head fixed to a spray bar inside the tank for water movement.after that i added the skimmer one week after the cycle started then at the end of the second week i added the NP pellets,zeolites and crushed coral to the filter and run it.by the next day all levels were perfect. ammonia 0, nitrites 0,nitrates 0, phosphate was at 1.0 ( which is going to gradually go down to 0.3 ), ph was at 8.3,calcium was at 460 and salinity 1.025

Normally happens in the middle and will run out to the end of the cycle. Water changes take out Ammonia and Nitrites and things, it does not take out the algae and bacteria on the rocks and substrate.

Thank you everyone for the replies. After testing the tank for the last couple of days I can tell that I am on the downward edge of my cycle. The bloom is growing in size and I even noticed a small white snail crawling along the glass. It was white, almost transparent, it must have been a hitchhiker from my life rock. I will be placing my order for a CUC on thursday with Reef Cleaners. I plan on getting a prefabbed crew for a 30 size tank then in a couple of months when the tank is more established adding another set to it. This will take me through vacation and when I get back I will set up my QT Tank and get my first set of Clowns.

clowns will get aggressive towards one another esp maroons better look them up before buying

I plan on getting two Ocellaris Clownfish. I want to get them young so they can pair up without any issues.

I think I want to have a dwarf angel as the show piece. Haven't decided what type yet.

I want to promote reefcleaners.org. I ordered a CUC through them and even though I haven't recieved yet, I want to say their pricing and customer service is top notch.

just try to make sure you get the tank bred type.they last longer and are more stable and suited for the home aquaria.
angels will nip and eat polyps so a fot or fowlr is best