Diatoms

[Anna94]

Ever since I set up my tank 2 years ago I've had diatoms. A few months ago I had really bad green algae on the back glass of my tank. I had to scrub that crap off with an aquarium scrub brush. I don't have any live plants, the tank lights are on for 6 hrs. (whites for 3 and blue for 3), and my tank doesn't get any direct sunlight. So I'm thinking my water must have silicates/phosphates in it. I have an otocinclus, but by himself he's not doing a very good job of eating the diatoms so I plan on getting a few more otos. Is there a way I can remove silicates/phosphates from my tank water? An RO/DI system is not an option as I use a python for water changes and I hook it up to my bathroom sink as the bathroom is next to my bedroom where my tank is. I also can't use API Phos-Zorb as I'm already using Purigen in my filter so I have no room for other filtration.

 

[brendenscott]

You should be able to cram a seachem phosguard packet in your filter as that would work great at removing the silicates.

 

[Anna94]

You should be able to cram a seachem phosguard packet in your filter as that would work great at removing the silicates.

Nope, I have a Fluval C3 and with the Purigen and a little bit of my biomedia in the chemical filtration basket, I have absolutely no room for anything else.

 

[brendenscott]

Well you need to reduce your phosphates one way or another. If you have high phosphates in your water you can change water source. You can reduce feeding and do more aquarium cleaning. Or you can add chemical filtration to reduce phosphates. And you can also reduce the intensity of your light.

You could also get a second cheap HOB filter and stick the silicate remover in there.

 

[Anna94]

Well you need to reduce your phosphates one way or another. If you have high phosphates in your water you can change water source. You can reduce feeding and do more aquarium cleaning. Or you can add chemical filtration to reduce phosphates. And you can also reduce the intensity of your light.

You could also get a second cheap HOB filter and stick the silicate remover in there.

I don't have room for another hob filter. Besides, with phosphate removing filtration like API Phos-Zorb, don't they have to be replaced every month?

 

[Fresh2o]

I would get a phosphate test kit to confirm your suspicions.

 

[Anna94]

I would get a phosphate test kit to confirm your suspicions.

I would like to, but I can't afford to spend money on a test kit that I'll only use once. My mom wouldn't appreciate it either.

 

[Fresh2o]

Just trying the save you from purchasing a product designed to remove a substance that is not being measured.
Nerite snails might be an option for dealing with diatoms and various types of algae.

 

[Anna94]

Just trying the save you from purchasing a product designed to remove a substance that is not being measured.
Nerite snails might be an option for dealing with diatoms and various types of algae.

Do I need just the API phosphate test kit or should I get both the Seachem phosphate and silicate test kits?

 

[Fresh2o]

Do I need just the API phosphate test kit or should I get both the Seachem phosphate and silicate test kits?

Not sure. I am not familiar with Seachem's test kits and did not know about the Silicate one. I only have the API Phosphate kit. I used it early on to test the changes I made to the macro fertilizer mix. I'm using a PPS-Pro setup and I actually triple the recommended amount of phosphate to bring the numbers up for my planted tank. With lower phosphate levels I was seeing an increase in green spot algae...yes, weird, huh?
The persistent diatoms in a mature tank is odd. Are you 100% sure it is diatoms? Any chance that it could be blue green algae (or Cyanobacteria)? I've had that a couple of times. Rapid growing pain in the rear. Resorted to using antibiotics to get rid of it.

 

[Anna94]

Not sure. I am not familiar with Seachem's test kits and did not know about the Silicate one. I only have the API Phosphate kit. I used it early on to test the changes I made to the macro fertilizer mix. I'm using a PPS-Pro setup and I actually triple the recommended amount of phosphate to bring the numbers up for my planted tank. With lower phosphate levels I was seeing an increase in green spot algae...yes, weird, huh?
The persistent diatoms in a mature tank is odd. Are you 100% sure it is diatoms? Any chance that it could be blue green algae (or Cyanobacteria)? I've had that a couple of times. Rapid growing pain in the rear. Resorted to using antibiotics to get rid of it.

No, it's diatoms. It looks brown and when I rub it off my glass it comes off like dust.