Diatoms

[stagerlee]

My 10 gallon has a small diatom problem I think. Water parameters are fine I think.
Ammonia .25
Nitrite 0
Nitrate <10

So thinking about a octo catfish and cleaning plants and filter with mild bleach solution.
Big question is, I'll leave the filter media in the tank when I clean the filter but what about the filter itself? Should I clean the whole thing or just the pipes?

 

[Mebbid]

The single best thing to ever do about diatoms.. is ignore them. They happen in almost every new tank and will go away on their own eventually. I would especially advise against cleaning the filter.

At the very most just scrape them off the sides of your tank when they get unsightly. If you want to stock something that will eat them then Nerite snails are the best bet and are also way easier to keep alive than oto cats.

What are the parameters in your tank as well as your photperiod?

 

[Rivercats]

Diatoms are self limiting and once silicates in the water are used up the diatoms will go away on their own. In the mean time I would add a couple nerite snails as they are a much better choice in such a small tank. Also Oto's are very sensitive wild caught fish and don't do well in a new set up, especially one that is still cycling with ammonia present. IF you don't have plants you can add a bit of PhosGuard to your filter as it removes phosphates and silicates from the water. Limit your lighting to 6 hours daily also. If you have plants then just use the nerites and wait the diatoms to run their course.