Snake's Method for Diatom Removal

[snakeblitz33]

Diatoms are quite common for new tanks. If you are wondering what all that brown algae is everywhere in your tank, then it's most likely diatoms, as long as it's not long and stringy. Long and stringy means that it may be dinoflagellates, which is a different matter all together. Diatoms are one of the oldest organisms on Earth. Diatoms are algae that use silicate to produce their little brown and clear shells. Basically, glass! When Diatoms bloom, they use all of the available silicate in the sand and in the water column. Eventually, diatoms will go away all together after your tank has properly cycled.
Sometimes you can get a diatom bloom even after your tank has properly cycled. Sometimes stirring up the sand bed a little bit can cause a new diatom bloom because the available silicate in the water column has increased. This is only true if you are not using a 100% aragonite / calcium carbonate sand. Eventually, over time, the silicate will all be used up and the diatom bloom will go away. However, just because you don't notice it, doesn't mean that diatoms completely disappear. Diatoms, cyanobacteria, algal spores are always present in our home aquariums, even though you may not see them with the naked eye.
Here are a few things you can do to get rid of diatoms:
[list type=decimal]
[*]
Stop messing with it. Don't do anything at all – and let your aquarium cycle properly.
[*]
Use a 100% aragonite / calcium carbonate based sand. Using sand that is not made for saltwater aquarium use may have excessive silicate, which will make your aquarium have continuous diatom blooms if your sandbed is slightly stirred. The best thing in that situation would be to replace it with a 100% calcium based sand.
Do a water change if you are bored, but it's not needed as the silicate in the water column will be used up. Sometimes, in a newly cycling tank, it's best to do a water change when you see your ammonia reaching a peak at 1ppm
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[snakeblitz33]

Seems like I need to add pictures to all of these threads to make them more presentable. I might spend next week doing that once I get all the articles typed up.
If you have any questions, feel free to ask. If you know something I don't, or a different method, don't be afraid to post it! We are all here to learn!

 

[ivasawajin]

my tank is a year old and i have a diatom problem for the past 3 months !!!! i had them when my tank was cycling but after that they were gone but now they are back ?? what should i do ???? its on my glass and LR but not on my sandbed . my suggestion is that i remove them with a tooth brush then use a PO4 and silicate remover supplement and then use a water clearfire fore the remainder to get destroyed or whatever ???
any ideas Snake ??

 

[snakeblitz33]

If you find your source of silicate, you'll reduce or eliminate diatoms from being a problem in your tank. Check your top off water for TDS. Make sure it's zero. Check all of the products that you use in your tank and make sure every product is silicate free. Do not stir up your sandbed very deep, ever.
Sometimes it's not a matter of water quality, but lighting. If your bulbs are old, then they are changing spectrum. PC lights need to be changed every six months. T5 lamp spectrum changes at six to eight months and should be replaced. Metal Halide bulbs should be changed once a year. If your lights have too much yellow, it can cause algae problems. Also, make sure your light timer is only on for eight hours a day. Sometimes those timers can go hay-wire.

 

[ivasawajin]

my Metal halide Lights are 6-7 months old and i use them 7 hours a day and my 2 T-5's for 3 hours more means 10 hours total . and my water in RO. what else can it be , one of my damsel keeps swushing the sand for his hiding place everyday .

 

[snakeblitz33]

IvasawaJin, I don't believe the fish stirring up your sandbed would be that big of an issue. In fact, stirring up the top half inch of sandbed would be fine every now and then, and I wouldn't say to never stir the sandbed ever again, just not deep, and not often.
What kind of sand did you use? If you could post a picture of the problem areas, we can get some pics in this thread!

 

[ivasawajin]

ok . i will post pics in a few hours , i bought around 130KG of sand from a store that i find out that they are money eating robbers but i dont know anything about the sand , its really white and light , it was almost too light and white at the begining , now its a little more heavy . thats all i can tell you about them .

 

[florida joe]

Is this exactly what introducing sand sifters into our aquarium do ?
Quote:
The more you mess with your aquascape, turning over your sand bed, etc. The more silicate you release in the water column.

 

[snakeblitz33]

Quote:
Originally Posted by florida joe http:///t/388802/snakes-method-for-diatom-removal#post_3431635
Is this exactly what introducing sand sifters into our aquarium do ?
Yes, in small doses.
A 100% aragonite / calcium carbonate sand mix will not have enough silicate in it to cause any problems, stirred or not. The sand that he's describing has excessive amounts of silicate in it, which leaves me to believe it might be 100% calcium carbonate.

 

[florida joe]

Which brings us back to basic marine aquarium knowledge. A new hobbyist should in fact research which sand to use and which not to introduce into his tank. While I am sure your intensions with these posts are totally honorable, you have to be careful that what you post and hobbyists take as gospel is in fact 100% factual.
Quote:
2.Stop messing with your sandbed and changing everything up. The more you mess with your aquascape, turning over your sand bed, etc. The more silicate you release in the water column.
This quote would only be true if the hobbyist had silica sediment on the bottom of their tank and stirred it releasing silica in to the pore water. IMO you need to amend your post to state that for those with high silica based sand stirring may aid in the development of a diatom bloom

 

[snakeblitz33]

Thanks Joe, I'll amend it. I'm hoping that as time progresses, the "articles" get more detailed. Thank you so much for the contribution.

 

[florida joe]

For the record, as anyone who has spent time on the boards knows. I preach research, research and more research. It seems though more and more hobbyists want to be spoon feed information. I guess it’s easier to ask a specific question and receive an immediate reply. I guess as long as they get factual information it does not matter which road they took to get there. That being said I hope threads like yours and others don’t simply fade into the night like so many others. I mean this with all due respect when I say. Be very careful about the info you give out. If you are presenting it as a guide line and not just what happened to you, there is a responsibility involved which goes from IMO to reference.

 

[ivasawajin]

Quote:
Originally Posted by SnakeBlitz33 http:///t/388802/snakes-method-for-diatom-removal#post_3431688
Yes, in small doses.
A 100% aragonite / calcium carbonate sand mix will not have enough silicate in it to cause any problems, stirred or not. The sand that he's describing has excessive amounts of silicate in it, which leaves me to believe it might be 100% calcium carbonate.
you said Calcium Carbonate ??? is that whats the buttom layer of a kalkwasser solution ??? i do pour does with more water most of the time.,

 

[snakeblitz33]

Quote:
Originally Posted by IvasawaJin http:///t/388802/snakes-method-for-diatom-removal#post_3432033
you said Calcium Carbonate ??? is that whats the buttom layer of a kalkwasser solution ??? i do pour does with more water most of the time.,
I just wanted to add to this thread about ivasawajins tank.
He has a 180g tank and had 44fish in it. Now he has a little over 30fish, 9 of them are large tangs. It's not a diatom problem he is experiencing. It's actually built up fecal matter and detritus he has on his rocks with algae growing over it caused by too many fish and not enough flow and filtration.

 

[rt101]

HI

My tank is now orange with diatom's. It has been running for about 3 weeks now.
Should i just ride it out?
I'm running 8x 80W T5 bulbs.( 4x 10 000k, 2x Actinic and 2x Coral blue.) 10 hours per day.
150 Galleon
Using RO water
Salinity 1.023

resources are very limited were i stay so do not have all the fancy stuff like testers. Trying to get some.
I also have a problem with red slime in a quarter of my tank that is now about a year and a half.
It does not spread to my rock or coral but stays on that 1/4 of my tanks sand bed. Any advise?
Read Sea Max 130D with 2x 55W T5 50/50 bulbs
Salinity 1.023

Thank you in advanse

 

[snakeblitz33]

You should just be able to ride it out. Once the aquarium establishes itself and life begins to flourish again, the microfauna and meiofauna will start to consume most of it and the diatoms will go away on their own.

Sometimes RO units will leak silicate because silicate is a very small molecule and will leach through. If it doesn't go away with time, you can have your top off water tested to see if there are excessive silicates.

 

[aduvall]

HI

resources are very limited were i stay so do not have all the fancy stuff like testers. Trying to get some.
I also have a problem with red slime in a quarter of my tank that is now about a year and a half.
It does not spread to my rock or coral but stays on that 1/4 of my tanks sand bed. Any advise?
Read Sea Max 130D with 2x 55W T5 50/50 bulbs
Salinity 1.023

Thank you in advanse

I assume the red slime is Cyanobacteria. It tends to feed on nitrates and phosphates ... I only have fish ao I can just shut off my lights for a while. With coral I know you can cut back on lights but I don't know how much?

 

[snakeblitz33]

Cyano doesn't necessarily need light either.

Removal by siphoning it out, ridding the tank of detritus, doing a few water changes and possibly using an antibiotic such as red slime remover will all help.

Increasing water flow in that area will keep biomass from building up and therefore keeps cyano from colonizing.

 

[aduvall]

Cyano doesn't necessarily need light either.

Removal by siphoning it out, ridding the tank of detritus, doing a few water changes and possibly using an antibiotic such as red slime remover will all help.

Increasing water flow in that area will keep biomass from building up and therefore keeps cyano from colonizing.

Really?!? I've always killed it by shutting of my lights for a few days to a wee... I have siphoned as well.

 

[snakeblitz33]

Certain types don't need it. The regular red sludge isn't one of them.

Siphoning and antibiotics and increased water flow has always helped me.