diatoms.. a few questions

[Meredith]

In reference to the the "white" wavy stuff people are talking about in their tanks,(not the worms, I have those too) I was cleaning out my tank yesterday, and I took a white paper towel and wiped the glass. It came away brown. Are these diatoms all over my glass and maybe they dont appear to be brown because they are all spread out? ALSO in my filter, I made a post a while ago how it smelled bad, WELL, I was cleaning out the filter as well yesterday, and all this brown yucky stuff was all over the inside, diatoms? What ever it is, THAT is what sinks. Is there any way to prevent this stuff from growing in there?

 

[TankGirl]

Sounds like diatoms on the glass to me.

Once a week rinse your cartridge out in dechlorinated water or spent tank water and dislodge those particles - it is debris that the filter is picking up, and the more it clogs on the filter the less efficient the filter is.

 

[Meredith]

will do!