Diatom Filter - Report and a Question...

[Darb21]

I went through a bout of Green Water after the tank was set up. Tried blackout and it helped somewhat, but the condition persisted. Then ordered a Diamtom Filter. Funny thing is that it had mostly cleared itself before the Diatom Filter arrived. Used the Diatom Filter anyway b/c I'd heard it can really "polish" the tank water. HOLY CRAP! It went from being "alright... maybe a bit brown from tannins" to "is there any water in there or are those fish flying?" NEVER did I expect it to get as clear as it did. Simply amazing.

Oh yeah, there was supposed to be a question in here! So for the recharges... Is there a good source of that Diatom powder other than ordering it online for the price of powdered gold?

 

[Roach182]

Swimming pool supply places have diatomaceous earth at a lot lower price. I have not tried it in my diatom filter yet though.

 

[tropicfishman]

I've always wondered how well the diatom filters worked, for the money they should be able to cook me dinner to lol how big of a mess was it to set up?

 

[Darb21]

Swimming pool supply places have diatomaceous earth at a lot lower price. I have not tried it in my diatom filter yet though.

Thanks Roach, I'll try the local pool store. Maybe even home depot would have it...

Then comes the question of how much to use...

I've always wondered how well the diatom filters worked, for the money they should be able to cook me dinner to lol how big of a mess was it to set up?

It was incredible. I was really amazed. I tried to take a picture late last night and in the picture it didnt look as clear as I thought it was. Turns out I need to clean the glass b/c I'm seeing dirt on there in the photo. I really can't say enough about mine.

As far as the mess to clean up, it was a bit of a pain. I did the cleanup in the bathroom and did drop some water on the tile. Once I figured out HOW to do the cleanup, it wasnt bad. I'd think that it'd be much easier to do outside and not have to worry about the mess. I'm going to do this next time I think.

 

[kaz]

now if you put one to kill diatom wouldnt that take away the food for you algae eathers? or is it better to not have that and just feed them for example wafers?

 

[newfound77951]

Darb21...what kind of filter did you get, and what size tank do you have? I'm having the same problem on my 55 gal.

 

[QTOFFER]

My very good experience with a diatom filter - click on the webshots link for pics:
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=66071&highlight=
Setup was easy. Cleanup was messy, but since I do that in the bathtub, I really don't care!

Kaz, the diatom filter will only remove algae, diatoms, and particles suspended in the water column. It won't remove algae and diatoms that are attached to glass or tank decor unless you scrub it off.

Darb, you can reuse the diatom charge a few times if you're simply polishing the water. Just give the filter a good shake to knock the powder off the bag. Let it settle and drain off as much water as you can. Then store the filter bottle uncovered in a warm sunny spot so the diatom powder can dry out.

 

[kaz]

Kaz, the diatom filter will only remove algae, diatoms, and particles suspended in the water column. It won't remove algae and diatoms that are attached to glass or tank decor unless you scrub it off.

but sooner or later you will clean it and then what? feeding time for the cleanup crew

 

[7Enigma]

kaz, I think you might be confused. A diatom filter does not "kill" or filter only diatoms, it simply removes anything of a particular size and larger. It's like a big coffee filter and you cycle your tank water over and over through it and it traps all the large particles in the water. This can be green water algae, diatoms that are free-floating, fish waste, plant parts, etc.

I don't get your response to QTOFFER however. When you clean the tank then of course there will be more algae/diatoms/waste suspended in the water. Then you have 2 options. Using the diatom filter to remove this (its impossible to get even close to all of the algae out of a tank), or leaving it alone and hoping that the algae eaters will eat it (which they won't since it would have ALREADY BEEN EATEN in the first place.

I normally clean the sides of my tank with a razor blade every couple of weeks to get rid of green spot algae, and "gunk" and then do a PWC right afterwards. I don't have a diatom filter, but if I did, I would most definately use it (unless it removes ferts that the plants in my planted tank need?). I'm not sure how inert the powder is....

 

[Darb21]

Darb21...what kind of filter did you get, and what size tank do you have? I'm having the same problem on my 55 gal.

Sorry for late reply. I ended up with a Vortex D-1 from http://diatomfilters.com/ purchased through eBay. Ended up at like $65 shipped or so. Are you still having problems with the 55?

Darb, you can reuse the diatom charge a few times if you're simply polishing the water. Just give the filter a good shake to knock the powder off the bag. Let it settle and drain off as much water as you can. Then store the filter bottle uncovered in a warm sunny spot so the diatom powder can dry out.

Thanks for the tip! That is good to know. After that first run, I went ahead and just dumped the powder. Did drop by the pool supply shop today and got 25 lbs of the stuff for $12, LOL... MUCH cheaper than the stuff they try to sell you with the filter. So QTOFFER... How much powder have you been using on your recharges? I've got this whole big bag now, but don't have any clue how much to add... 1 cup? 1/2 cup maybe?

And how about this:
http://diatomfilters.com/index.html?lang=en-us&target=p20.html?lmd=38707.320139

That gets my wheels turning... time to try and rig up a gravel vac to the D-1. Man that'd be really cool to be able to do a MEGA cleaning with a vac and not worry about losing a ton of water down the drain! Haha...

 

[7Enigma]

Darb21,

Thanks a lot! Now you have me wanting one of these. I have a moderately planted tank and a full stock of fish and always seem to have something floating or fish waste on the bottom. I do a water change, but I tend to get MORE stuff when I add the water back into the tank (even with gravel vac's). I'd love to be able to really stir up the water so all the waste is in the water column and then let this sucker go to work.

QTOFFER or others, what should I be looking for since my tank is a 20gallon high? My other question is will this diatamaceous earth powder bind up my ferts since I'm planted? I'm dosing all the major ferts, and traces, and would be worried that the powder was somehow binding them up, or is the powder simply a sizing filter only?

Thanks.

 

[GlitcH]

This filter sounds interesting

Darb21...what kind of filter did you get, and what size tank do you have? I'm having the same problem on my 55 gal.

How much powder have you been using on your recharges? I've got this whole big bag now, but don't have any clue how much to add... 1 cup? 1/2 cup maybe?

Here you can find instructions .......it says about a cup.

http://diatomfilters.com/contents/en-us/d1.html

How long did it take for the filter to clean up your tank Darb?
And what was your tank size?

 

[Roach182]

The instructions call for a cup, but I find about 1 and 1/3 cup works best. The diatom filter will filter everything down to 1 micron, it will even filter Ich as well as other suspended parasites and some algae spores out of the water. The difference it makes in water clarity actually has to be seen to be believed. The downside is the high impellor rate is supposed to reduce the amount of co2 in the water so I only run mine in the evening when the plants are switching fom co2 to o2.

 

[QTOFFER]

I have a moderately planted tank and a full stock of fish and always seem to have something floating or fish waste on the bottom. I do a water change, but I tend to get MORE stuff when I add the water back into the tank (even with gravel vac's). I'd love to be able to really stir up the water so all the waste is in the water column and then let this sucker go to work.

Do you have plecos? It's simply amazing how much poop those guys can generate between PWCs! You may just have to gravel vac more often. On the other hand, some fish poop in the gravel is a great source of nutrients for your plants. More mechanical filtration (fine particle pad media in your filter, or an additional box or HOB filter) will help remove floating stuff that you can see.

My other question is will this diatamaceous earth powder bind up my ferts since I'm planted? I'm dosing all the major ferts, and traces, and would be worried that the powder was somehow binding them up, or is the powder simply a sizing filter only?

No need to worry. Diatom powder is inert - it only removes suspended particles. Dissolved ferts stay in the water.

 

[Darb21]

Darb21,

Thanks a lot! Now you have me wanting one of these. I have a moderately planted tank and a full stock of fish and always seem to have something floating or fish waste on the bottom. I do a water change, but I tend to get MORE stuff when I add the water back into the tank (even with gravel vac's). I'd love to be able to really stir up the water so all the waste is in the water column and then let this sucker go to work.

LOL! Sorry! Yeah, the first (and only, so far) time I ran it, I did some reading while it was running and somewhere it was suggested to take the diffuser off of the output side (where the water goes back into the tank) and then use the tube by itself as sort of a jet to kick up the stuff on the bottom and in the corners. It did work really well and I was able to kick up a lot and get a lot out. I just thought it would be really cool to be able to hook up a gravel vac and target the gunky stuff even more. Molly poop is some heavy stuff, so even after you kick it up, it falls back down pretty quickly.

This filter sounds interesting
Here you can find instructions .......it says about a cup.
http://diatomfilters.com/contents/en-us/d1.html

How long did it take for the filter to clean up your tank Darb?
And what was your tank size?

Great! Thanks for the link! I thought I scoured that site pretty good looking for info about it... Must have missed it.

Tank is a 29G... Only took about 40 minutes to make it crystal clear. Once it was clear, I then pulled the diffuser off the output and started targeting specific areas. This is where rigging up a gravel vac would work awesome.

And Roach, thanks for letting me know your experience with it. I'm scheduled for a minor surgery that will have me staying home from work in a couple of days, I plan to run it again hopefully on Wednesday. Not that it necessarily needs it again, but man it makes that water look so pristine and polished... and heck, what else will I have to do? I'll let you know how it works out with about 1 1/3 cups...

 

[newfound77951]

I am waiting for my D1 to arrive from Big Al's. No improvement on the 55 with other methods (including UV) so i figured it was worth the money. Plus they were on sale!

I can't wait to post before and after pics....none of you will believe how green my tank is. I have 2" visibility max!

 

[Darb21]

Ok... LONG POST!

I am waiting for my D1 to arrive from Big Al's. No improvement on the 55 with other methods (including UV) so i figured it was worth the money. Plus they were on sale!

I can't wait to post before and after pics....none of you will believe how green my tank is. I have 2" visibility max!

Ha! You won't be disappointed at all. I am surprised that a UV didn't take care of it though... Anyway, I totally know that feeling. The "pea soup" style meanie greenies...

I've attached a shot of the tank before the blackout (that I mentioned in the original post) as well as a shot of the filter doing its thing. Note that between the two photos a blackout was done (which did NOT cure the problem) as well as 2 large water changes. So this is NOT a direct before/after comparison. I will note that in the clear picture a few things can be observed...

1.) Pretty much anything that you can see that looks like it is in the water column is actually something on the glass. Yes, the water was clearer that the glass at this point. 8O Water also started out a nice shade of "Ice Tea" due to tannins from newly added driftwood. I guess I never thought about it or never realized that tannins would be filterable, but sure enough the "Ice Tea" color transfered from the tank water into the diatom powder.

2.) The whiteish stuff on the surface of the water is actually bubbles that come out of the D-1's exhaust. Explanation can be found on Vortex's site in the FAQs:

Oxygen molecules are on the order of 4 Angstroms is size and are unfilterable in the general sense of the word. The Diatom will not filter out the oxygen, in fact it actually reduces carbon dioxide levels in the aquarium because of the speed of the impeller (3,000 R.P.M.). Dissolved gases are liberated and allowed to escape at an accelerated rate.

3.) Yes, those blurs are my fish. Photo was taken using a barstool as a makeshift tripod (note to self, buy cheapo tripod) and no flash with high exposure time.

I will note that Vortex gets a "dismal" rating from me in the documentation department. Other than that, I couldn't be happier with this purchase. I used this link that QTOFFER had posted with a photo series of the setup that you can reference if you need to. (Thanks QTOFFER, these shots helped confirm what I was doing was right!) http://community.webshots.com/album/509004274PoRAHg

You'll really love it, Newfound... Do be sure to take before/after shots. We'd love to see it! Good luck! Let me know if you have any questions.