MalawiMadness
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
My 75 gal fw mbuna tank has been in operation for a little over two months.
I noticed over the last couple of weeks that brown diatoms started showing on rocks in small dime size patches. Now this ugly brown stuff has invaded everything including plastic plants, gravel, and tank class. I do weekly 10-15% water changes/gravel cleanings. Water perimeters are stable: ammonia is 0ppm, nitrites 0ppm, nitrates .20, ph 8.2. I did some research and found that its not uncommon for a new tank to develop brown diatoms. My concerns are this nasty funk is invading at a rapid pace. I'm on a mission to starve this stuff into oblivion and promote green algae for my grazing herbivores. Lighting in my tank is limited to 6-9 hours well under suggested 10-12 hours per day. Would a canister filter loaded with phosban kill this stuff? My research indicated that phosphates and silicates and high nitrate levels are prime inhibitors of brown diatoms. I run dual Penquin 400,280 power filters. I limit feeding to once a day using spirulina flakes. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks
I noticed over the last couple of weeks that brown diatoms started showing on rocks in small dime size patches. Now this ugly brown stuff has invaded everything including plastic plants, gravel, and tank class. I do weekly 10-15% water changes/gravel cleanings. Water perimeters are stable: ammonia is 0ppm, nitrites 0ppm, nitrates .20, ph 8.2. I did some research and found that its not uncommon for a new tank to develop brown diatoms. My concerns are this nasty funk is invading at a rapid pace. I'm on a mission to starve this stuff into oblivion and promote green algae for my grazing herbivores. Lighting in my tank is limited to 6-9 hours well under suggested 10-12 hours per day. Would a canister filter loaded with phosban kill this stuff? My research indicated that phosphates and silicates and high nitrate levels are prime inhibitors of brown diatoms. I run dual Penquin 400,280 power filters. I limit feeding to once a day using spirulina flakes. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks