Diatom outbreak

[Fishey bricks]

Hi, one of my dirted tanks is having a diatom outbreak. The only change that I have noticed is that some of gravel has settled and exposing the dirt in some places. This tank has been up for around 7 months. I have reduce the lighting dramatically and I have this tank in a basement so when the lights are off there is no other light source for the algae.

Any help will be appreciated thanks.

 

[Mattfinn]

Diatoms is an algae that I'm pretty sure thrives in lesser light conditions. Maybe increase the light by an hour.

I have always had a diatom problem in my tank then I randomly bumped up the timer an hour for the hell of it and came back three days after being away and the diatoms was gone.

Worked for me but I don't know how accurate I am.

 

[Fishey bricks]

Thanks for the help, I'll try that.

 

[Viper]

Diatoms is an algae that I'm pretty sure thrives in lesser light conditions. Maybe increase the light by an hour.

I have always had a diatom problem in my tank then I randomly bumped up the timer an hour for the hell of it and came back three days after being away and the diatoms was gone.

Worked for me but I don't know how accurate I am.

Diatoms usually only show up in new tank setups where the entire tank is filled with fresh water. They thrive on the amount of silicates in the water.

Otocinclus are exceptionally adept at cleaning up diatoms and they're a very helpful part of any tank.

Generally the diatoms should go away on their own over time, but the outbreak is pretty unsightly so people don't really like to let it go away on its own.