Thanks; I am going to order some then (the Seachem)...should I put the granules in pantyhose, as suggested, or what about that "filter bag" Seachem sells...can that work?
you can go either route. They will accomplish the same thing.
And how would this go into my filter -- can I drop the sack of the stuff into my AquaClear, say, in place of the carbon pack?
Yup. Or if you can fit it behind the carbon pack. However it crams in there should be fine, so long as some water is moving through it.
I understand, but are you sure fluorescent lighting will affect these buggers? What about direct sunlight? I know sun isn't good for green algae, but what about diatoms?
Florescent lighting is far more powerful watt for watt as compared to incandescent. I wouldn't stick the tank in direct sunlight. It will be a green mess... you won't even see the brown diatoms thru the green
. There are methods for using direct sunlight on planted tanks, but in your case, I would advise against trying this.
Really? Then I may actually be on schedule, as my tank has been set up for about five or so months...
Really. In fact, I just setup another tank about a month ago, and currently (just in the last few days) I have started to see diatoms in elevated levels. I cranked up the flow, brushed the rocks and glass, and did a 50% PWC. I will do the same in a few days while the outbreak is "on".
You mean the spores just disappear off of everything -- just like that, with no wiping or scrubbing? But what if the problem lies with my water supply...won't this keep happening when I change or top off the water?
No... brushed them off. I am pretty meticulous about tank maintenance though. During a diatom outbreak I will brush the rocks/walls every other day or so.
You also need to be prepared for the fact that even if everything is perfect, you are still going to get some diatoms/algae growth. If the water is healthy for fish, it is healthy for algae. Granted, correcting imbalances can minimize it and help control it, but cleaning glass and decor is an inevitable part of owning an aquarium. Not to say it will always be like the problem you are experiencing now... but I can tell you my tanks usually look pretty good, but I clean the glass at least twice a week, and trim plants/do PWCs every Sunday.
If you are 1 of the unlucky few with extremely high silicate/phosphate/nitrates in your water supply... well then you will have to explore other options, as mentioned by hdultra earlier in the thread...water filtration... or maybe you run phosban (or similar) on a more permanent basis to control it.
I know you are kind of looking for the magic bullet for diatoms, but it doesn't exist. As with much in this hobby, it will be some trial and error to see what works, what doesn't.
Bottom line, I would start with the low cost easy things to try first, like lighting and chemical filtration, and go from there.