what is silicate absorbing resin

[danimal_dan]

what is silicate absorbing resin
is there a name brand that i can pick up at my LFS


dan

[platytudes]

I've never found any that specifically removes silicates. Seachem's PhosGuard is what I am considering, and supposedly Chemi-Pure Elite also removes silicates. Basically any phosphate remover seems to address silicates also. Are you having diatom issues?

[danimal_dan]

yes i am getting a lot of brown algae, the tankhas only been up for little over a month so i am not freaking out yet but i do 30 to 40% WC weekly and i only have 4 5" fish in a 110 gal no drift wood or plants and i have been using 2 out of the 6 bulbs t5 HO light i have left over from a saltwater set up one bulb is a blue light and the other is a 50/50 bulb
i did read some ware that if you dont have enough light you get the brown algae
it could be that i am at the end of a cycle
if you have suggestion on bulbs for a fish only tank i will take them

thanks

dan

[IslandHopper]

I wouldn't worry about it too much 'till your tanks been up for a few months... diatoms usually tend to start at the end of a cycle, and run their course in a month or two.

I'd just brush them off the glass and whatever is easy to clean for now. Give them a couple months to go away on their own before you start spending money or adding chemicals to try and get rid of them.

[platytudes]

+1 on the adding chemicals, but adding a pouch of PhosGuard or Chemi-Pure Elite to your filter can only help, not hurt. Definitely do not go with a chemical algaecide.

Many many years ago, I had a terrible diatom outbreak when I put two blue gouramis into a 12 gallon Eclipse system (my first tank). The standard CFL light on the Eclipse seemed off to me, very yellowish in its color rendering. No live plants.

I used Algone (www.algone.com) and it did get rid of the problem, but it's expensive for what it is (and they don't say what it is...) but it didn't hurt the apple snail I had in there (oy...first tank shame...) so I don't believe it is an algaecide. So you could try that if you're so inclined.

Right now I am having a diatom outbreak on my 55 gallon goldfish tank:
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=217663

Do you have fast growing plants in your tank? I am using hornwort and floating anacharis, along with Amazon frogbit and duckweed - which has a hard time keeping up with the appetites of the two black moors in there. As the plants really start thriving (the hornwort is taking off, it loves a coldwater tank) the diatoms start to look less vigorous. Right now I am at the point where they are looking very opaque if that makes sense...very deep in color. They almost seem like they are starting to turn up at the edges, so I take it that *something* is happening.

I've done one 90% water change (didn't stress the fish at all, but I have well water with no chlorine in it...) and that seemed to help a lot. I will probaly do another in a couple of weeks, my nitrates are already at 20 ppm again. Goldfish are messy!

Eventually, I think the excess silicates will be used up. My theory is they are coming from my pool filter sand...which I didn't rinse since it's very "clean" sand. I've always used sand, but never pool filter sand - always (rinsed and rerinsed) "leveling sand" from Lowe's. The difference in texture and color is noticeable.

This 55 also has double as much light as my other 55, which has always been spotlessly clean...

So that's my theory...my other planted tanks (two 10 gallon tanks) have never had this problem. I hope you figure out what your root cause is, it may well have to do with lighting - try asking in the Planted Aquarium section for tips on your bulbs!

[danimal_dan]

platytudes, i am not using live plants in this tank because of the mess and i have Oscars and i hear they will just pull them out
i will pose the light question

thanks

[platytudes]

Sorry, I see now that you wrote you had a fish only tank. That I know a bit about, but I'm still a newb when it comes to planted...

I would probably not use an actinic light in a FW setup. Diatoms use light that is undesirable for green algae - don't think you can grow green algae with actinics. But diatoms are opportunistic and can use low light and light of the wrong spectrum. You want something in the 5000-6700 Kelvin rating for FW tanks but I think keeping your 50/50 bulb would be ok, just ditch the actinic.

If you can get green algae to start growing it will outcompete the diatoms. You can get a bristlenose plec to eat the algae, it would add little to the bioload of an 110 gallon tank. Your tank is probably big enough for a regular plec, but they get to be huge so that's up to you...;) A little green algae is not a bad thing, in fact it's a sign of a mature, healthy tank.

Overall though, diatoms are more about water chemistry imbalance than light, IMO, reading and research. For viewing your fish almost any light will do, but green algae likes the same color spectrum as plants.

[danimal_dan]

i would sure like to avoid the green alage also
i thought the actinics bulbs are good for viewing fish ( color )
at least for saltwater thats what i was told

[platytudes]

It makes everything really blue, I would think with oscars you would want to highlight their red. Viewing oscars and viewing corals is pretty different!

In one of my fish only tanks (the only one that has no plants in it of any kind, a 55 gallon) I use strips of window tint underneath two GE Aqua Rays bulbs (normal fluorescents). I had this leftover from tinting my windows in my house, got it at Lowe's. You might want to try something similar. It makes the light softer, still plenty bright enough to see your fish...I imagine it blocks all the useful light since that's what it does with sunlight.

Do you know what your water tests like, by the way?

[danimal_dan]

well i have not checked it in a few weeks but i have not had a problem in the past as long as i do my weekly WC and clean the bottom
i will try to check it tonite and post it

dan

[Cerianthus]

Coralife makes silicate remover. Should test silicate before using remover. This way you can find out how well remover is working and when to replace.

[platytudes]

Thanks, I have never heard of this product! Hard to find in stores it seems...definitely online only.

[danimal_dan]

well i checked the water see below
nitrite = 0
ph = 7.5
kh = 4
gh = 8
ammonia = 0
nitrate 12.5

seens ok to me
where would you fined a test kit for silicate ?

[platytudes]

http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=16552&cmpid=03csegb&ref=3312&subref=AA&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=0029831000000

I don't know, seems expensive to me just to see if a product is working...especially when the product is cheaper than the test! I'd probably just use the Coralife product and replace it in 2-3 weeks.

[Cerianthus]

I believe test kit does 60 test which isnt too bad

[danimal_dan]

that looks like its for testing saltwater

[platytudes]

The write up says it works on both. It is a good value, I just don't see myself needing to test 60 times, lol

[danimal_dan]

maybe i can just take a sample to the LFS

[Cerianthus]

lfs probably dont even have one for themself. lol! I believe Seachem also has one.

[platytudes]

Yeah, they won't have one for sure. All they'll be able to tell you is what you can already test for yourself.

[danimal_dan]

i put some PhosGuard form Seachem i will let you know how it works

[platytudes]

I hope the PhosGuard is working for you! :)

I am considering getting some granulated ferrous oxide aka GFO (the stuff that removes silicates and phosphorous in Chemi-Pure Elite) from a bulk supply store. If you're interested in any, I have a post in the Buy/Sell about it.

[danimal_dan]

well, the phosguard is in and it seems to help the algae on the glass somewhat but its not helping the gravel ( still brown )
i cleaned the FX5 today and will do a WC sat. or sunday
i have another post asking about vodka as a carbon source to help reduce alage
some very interesting comments