What is going on?

[enrgizerbunny]

More fish poo than the beneficial bacteria can keep up with. If you won't reduce the stock or increase tank size you need to beef up your BB. Canister and biomedia to munch down that ammonia fast.

Fish shed most of their ammonia across their gills, not through their waste. So there's a fixed amount of ammonia involved even when you don't feed.

 

[enrgizerbunny]

Right now I have 17 fish, but I'm rehoming 2 of them tonight making that 15 so how is that overstocked? Yes, I'll be adding 1 more lemon tetra and 3 or 4 more otos, but otos are so tiny I don't see how they make such a big bioload. I might not even need any otos at all if don't get anymore diatom growth as I reduced the photoperiod of my lights.

Diatoms will go away on their own and your otos will starve without being in a tank with a well established algae crop. Light and nutrient restriction is far more effective for algae control. You shouldn't purchase fish to control a problem like algae, but because you like the fish and can care for them.

Fish reject the most ammonia across their gills compared to their waste

 

[Anna94]

Diatoms will go away on their own and your otos will starve without being in a tank with a well established algae crop. Light and nutrient restriction is far more effective for algae control. You shouldn't purchase fish to control a problem like algae, but because you like the fish and can care for them.

Fish reject the most ammonia across their gills compared to their waste

I've had the tank for 2 years and diatoms have never gone away.

 

[flchamp89]

In cases they can hang around or re appear. Think back to any changes you may have made.

 

[Anna94]

In cases they can hang around or re appear. Think back to any changes you may have made.

No changes other than recently reducing the photoperiod of the lights. They were on for 12 hrs. now they're on for 8.

 

[flchamp89]

Definitely good idea. Some conflicting info on light and diatoms. I always lower mine when they start. Just manually fight them and keep washing out media when you do weekly wc. Are you led I cant remember. I know you said tank 2 yrs. If your not led. I would change bulbs. Especially since you been at 12 hrs.

 

[Potluck]

I have an Led and I get diatoms, but my fixture is packed with pods for plant growth, I run my lights 8/16 but I go completely dark for an hour during the on time

 

[Anna94]

Definitely good idea. Some conflicting info on light and diatoms. I always lower mine when they start. Just manually fight them and keep washing out media when you do weekly wc. Are you led I cant remember. I know you said tank 2 yrs. If your not led. I would change bulbs. Especially since you been at 12 hrs.

The light is a Beamswork, but before I had a GloFish blue light.

 

[Anna94]

Definitely good idea. Some conflicting info on light and diatoms. I always lower mine when they start. Just manually fight them and keep washing out media when you do weekly wc. Are you led I cant remember. I know you said tank 2 yrs. If your not led. I would change bulbs. Especially since you been at 12 hrs.

It's a Beamswork light, but I bought it a few months ago. Before that I had GloFish blue light.

 

[flchamp89]

Gotcha. Certainly a change in kelvin and par I would imagine. I bet youll be happier with the beamswork and I bet once you get past these diatoms they will not be an issue.

 

[Anna94]

Gotcha. Certainly a change in kelvin and par I would imagine. I bet youll be happier with the beamswork and I bet once you get past these diatoms they will not be an issue.

So since I changed the photoperiod from 12 hrs. to 8 hrs. will that reduce the growth of diatoms along with the help of otos eating them?

 

[flchamp89]

Maybe. Conflicting info on par vs diatoms. I actually think it will be better though with the led. I also start my photoperiod low and work up with my co2 and macros/micros adjusting as plants do well or as they dont. Trying work up or down on these to find the balance

 

[enrgizerbunny]

So since I changed the photoperiod from 12 hrs. to 8 hrs. will that reduce the growth of diatoms along with the help of otos eating them?

Two or three periods of light separated by breaks of at least 2 hours. Something along the lines of 2 hours on in the morning, off until afternoon, 3 in afternoon, break, 3 in evening. If you have no live plants, lights need only be on when you want to see the fish.

Algae requires longer periods of light to grow while plants start utilizing light for photosynthesis immediately when it comes on. Algal growth occurs a few hours after the light comes on. When you break the photo period, the algae is then starved for light and stops growth.

The fish don't care if the lights are on or off, during the day if there's any natural light in the room they'll be active and content.