# My on- going battle with Diatoms



## peteandhisn3phew (Nov 8, 2008)

I have been doing alot of reading regarding diatoms. I have learned that they thrive of silicates and in order to remove them you need to rid the water of silicates. I found this product. Has anyone ever used it and do you think that it will completely remove the slilcates therefore remove my diatom problem? Any comments or help would be greatly appreciated.

http://www.aquariumguys.com/phosphate.html

Thanks in advance! :thumb:


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## fmueller (Jan 11, 2004)

I would have encouraged you to try it out and report back, but since it says _'currently unavailable'_ that might be easier said than done :-?


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## JALOOS (Sep 6, 2008)

I had issues with diatoms when I first set up my tank but as the water changes were done they disapeared. I guess the new silicone, gravel ect is high in silicates but as soon as they are reduced they will disapear on their own. I would scrub them up a bit and be diligent on your water changes and they should go by the wayside.


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## peteandhisn3phew (Nov 8, 2008)

i have had the tank setup for about 6 months now. I do two 50% water changes a week and it hasnt helped the problem other than i scrape all the diatoms when i do the changes. And i have done this from the beginning. There are other site that carry the product. It either the magnet or using a water purificaition that removes silicates. I would rather go the cheaper route though.


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## kfig7 (Nov 24, 2008)

What kind of lighting do you have? Years a go I had a bad problem with diatoms and tried tons of different stuff to get rid of silicates. Nothing worked. Then someone suggested upgrading my lighting and within a few weeks all the brown algae turned to green.


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## peteandhisn3phew (Nov 8, 2008)

kfig7 said:


> What kind of lighting do you have? Years a go I had a bad problem with diatoms and tried tons of different stuff to get rid of silicates. Nothing worked. Then someone suggested upgrading my lighting and within a few weeks all the brown algae turned to green.


i have a 40 watt 120v flourescent lighting. 8000k Spectrum. I only have the lights on for 6 hours a day. I do have amazon sword and java fern plants. So i dont want to cut back on light too much. :-?


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## kfig7 (Nov 24, 2008)

I didn't mean cut back,I meant upgrading to a more powerful lighting system. Don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting you go out and spend money on a new lighting system at all. Just mentioning what helped for me. I am using a combo of 65watt Dual Daylight 6,700Â°K/10,000Â°K bulbs and Dual Actinic bulbs. I keep the lights on for 10-12 hours a day. You could definitely keep the lights on for more than 6 hours. Actually you probably should because you have plants.


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## boredatwork (Sep 14, 2007)

Diatoms are a tricky subject.

In a new tank I have found it to be true that by increasing the light intensity, or even just the amount of time the lights are on, will encourage green algae to grow, which seems to suppress the diatoms.

However, I also have a problem with diatoms, but in an established tank. It has a been a long struggle, and I haven't been able to get the upper hand. I have tried increasing the amount of time the lights are on, but then I get green water.

Here is some reading that might help.

http://www.skepticalaquarist.com/docs/a ... toms.shtml

I think the two most common fixes are phosphate absorbers and Ottocinclus. But I have not been able to get confirmation that Ottocinclus actually eat diatoms. A lot of people have told my that Ancistrus will eat diatoms, but I have never been able to get mine to, so I am skeptical about the Ottocinclus claims.

Phosphate remover is on my list of things to try. I guess the best way to handle it is to test your water for phosphates first to see if they are high. If they are it could be from extra fish food or from your tap. By testing the tap you can answer that question. If it is from the tap then the phosphate remover would be the way to go. If its not from the tap then it must be from the fish food. And if the phosphates aren't high, then maybe there is something to the silica theory. If that is the case, I don't think there is a test for it so I think the only option then is to try out the silica remover.


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## madmax666 (Sep 11, 2008)

i also have this problem in an established tank. I noticed that i got these after i put my timer in for my lights. i have decreased \the time but it only decreased it by a small amount. I think of this stuff as a fun snack and a good diet for my rainbow shark! HE LOVES it!!!! :fish: i scrub this stuff when it gets on the side or front of the tank but i leave it on the back for a snack.


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## natalie559 (Dec 6, 2007)

boredatwork said:


> I think the two most common fixes are phosphate absorbers and Ottocinclus. But I have not been able to get confirmation that Ottocinclus actually eat diatoms.


I too am having issues with diatoms in my 10G fry tank, been set up now since October. I just keep wiping it off and hoping it won't come back. I remember when I first set it up as tropical a couple years ago I lived in a different city with different water and still had big brown algae problems.

Currently there are not so many problems in the 90G mbuna tank and no problems in the 29G planted tank. Not sure if that points to a water, phos or silica problem for me. . .

In the 29G planted I have otos and they do an amazing job keeping the brown algae away. When the two plastic plants in the 10G get covered in brown algae I grab them and put them in the 29g tank for the night for the otos to clean. And they clean it every time. What a treat for them! I need to try and catch a couple and put them in the 10G.


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## madmax666 (Sep 11, 2008)

yeah i would love to add some otos but i dont thinks thats happening...7inch beast vs. algae eating worms... thats the way it would work in my tank. I didnt have this problem in my 10gallon tank with tropicals (not setup). My brother has a 29 high or something. He has LOTS of green algae and my dad got him algae eaters...i told him to get ottos. dad, "these were only 3 bucks! the ottos were 7..." Now my bro has algae still but that is because he has only an undergravel with one powerhead. I like the green algae in his tank because its got mollies in it so i think it helps it look very natural. I am hoping to switch out my bulbs in the summer after hopefully get some projects done after i convince my dad to help :roll: . A diy CO2 then i will do the lights. I am also working on a sump. But its too cold for anything now. Bye bye ski money...good news is 400 dollars for UPGRADES!!!!!!!!!!! :thumb:


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## boredatwork (Sep 14, 2007)

*** been told Otto's are not a problem with bigger fish because they are capable of keeping themselves alive.


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## peteandhisn3phew (Nov 8, 2008)

I thought of the ottos but i have a sand subsrate and i dont think they are capable of eating the diatoms off the sand. The Diatoms on the glass dont bother me its what grows on the floor. When you referred to more light intensity, did you mean a higher wattage or higher bulb spectrum? Do you think that my JD would effect a otto? Jack is a very angry guy.


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## illusions2281 (Jan 25, 2009)

i too have a problem with datoms... i just set up my tank around new years so i'm hoping its going to convert to green algae like they say.... my light is on 4 hrs in the morn and 4 hrs at night


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## peteandhisn3phew (Nov 8, 2008)

well since my last post i have noticed that the green algae is starting to take over. Once this algae takes over, will i be able to use a algaecide? And if it so will it bring the diatoms back?


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## KaiserSousay (Nov 2, 2008)

> green algae is starting to take over


Would I like to get hit in the head or stomach..well neither, but thanx for asking.
I too have this silacate, diatom, brown algae thing ongoing mess. Pretty sure it is in my tap water and being replenished at water changes.
I do not want to trade one mess for another, green or brown.
I think I would rather go after the root, phosphate/silacate removers, as getting getting little guys to clean up the mess my water makes just rubs me the wrong way.


> algaecide?


Sorry, but I would rather have the algea than put any of that stuff in my tank.


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## boredatwork (Sep 14, 2007)

A pleco will easily take care of green algae.


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## Curator (Feb 18, 2009)

Oto's eat allot more algae, both green and brown, than my old pleco ever did... I put some otos in my friends 55 gallon that was full of diatoms, and the 5 of them tore the stuff apart in only a few days...Maybe they where just really hungry? (while when I used to have a huge tank with a really huge pleco, he never ate anything other than fallen fish food and algae wafers, if I stopped feeding them to him in hopes he would eat the algae, he just started to slowly starve...:/...


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## Terrence23 (Oct 2, 2008)

Curator said:


> Oto's eat allot more algae, both green and brown, than my old pleco ever did... I put some otos in my friends 55 gallon that was full of diatoms, and the 5 of them tore the stuff apart in only a few days...Maybe they where just really hungry? (while when I used to have a huge tank with a really huge pleco, he never ate anything other than fallen fish food and algae wafers, if I stopped feeding them to him in hopes he would eat the algae, he just started to slowly starve...:/...


Regular plecos won't eat much algae plus they get really big and create a lot of waste. Get a bristlenose or albino bristlenose pleco instead. They will eliminate any type of algae except the nasty black beard stuff and don't get bigger than a few inches long. The bristles on the male plecos are really cool looking too in a cthulu type of way.

I keep them in both of my fry tanks and there's never a spot of brown diatom algae any more and I used to have a big problem with it. They even eat the white hair algae that sometimes crops up.


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## peteandhisn3phew (Nov 8, 2008)

Will the bristle nose survive with my JD? Hes about 4 inches and is nasty. He is in a 55 gallon with a Texas that doesnt show his face much. I`d hate to see him put in there and get torn up.


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## peteandhisn3phew (Nov 8, 2008)

sorry i mean otos


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