Ho to get rid of Diatoms

[dwayne.aycock]

I have a planted tank with low light plants. For the past 3 months I had to deal with BBA and now Diatoms. I have some nerite snails on order, but how do I prevent Diatoms in the first place. Once I have them, are nerite snails the only solution? Signed.......frustrated and confused.

 

[Fishanatic]

I know zebra nerite snails do.

 

[Rivercats]

The only way to "maybe" prevent them, which I'm not sure you even can truely prevent getting some, is to keep lighting down to 6 hours in the beginning and to actually remove silicates from the water. Problem is there is no silicate remover that I know of. Phosphate remover also removes silicates but you want some phosphate in your planted tank. It's a double edged sword.

 

[callisto9]

I've had a heck of a time with then, too. Brownish stuff all over the place. Green and brown spots on my rocks. I know nerites help and I, too, cut down my lights to eight hours a day (down from 14).

In all the stuff I've read about the subject, I mostly hear that you just have to wait out it, for the most part.

I scrub, wipe, have nerites and cut my lighting. It helps, and my diatoms are decreasing, but it just takes time.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Wait and they will clear on their own. They might be ugly but they don't last forever.