Diatom Filters....

[Andrewz00]

So i remember when i was little and helped my dad on his tanks...every now and then he would pull out a diatom filter... hook it up and let it run for an hour or so... then clean it.. box it back up and put it away...

is this still a reality? i never hear anything about them on here... and i dont even think i see them in my LFS....

 

[Wy Renegade]

They still exist, I've even seen them for sale once in while. You can pick up diatom powder (but it usually has to be special ordered). I dont think many people use them anymore. Basically the idea was to strip the water of anything and everything in hopes of keeping it crystal clear. We also used to take all the LR or dead corals out and bleach them white again every couple of months. Now days everyone runs a much healthier, more natural system, so the use of the diatom filters has fallen to the way side. I've still pulled mine out and use it on occassion to deal with issues like dinoflagellates or when I had calupera go sexual on me in a tank, but otherwise it sits unused in my cabinet.

 

[BigJim]

Diatom filters are mostly used on pools. Diatomaceous earth is white filter media that needs to be changed every so often. It's a pain.