I am more than a little bit mortified to have to share these pics with you all...but I need some :help2:
Some of you may remember my new goldfish tank thread in the Gallery:
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=215598
Well, this tank has a bad, and I mean BAD, case of diatoms. Take a look!
At first it just started out on the silk plants, but now it's everywhere. I have theories:
1) The white churt (rocks) I'm using are reflecting too much light
2) The lights I'm using are an improper spectrum (2x 15W GE Aqua Rays bulbs, 2x 15W GE Chroma 5000k bulbs)
3) I didn't rinse the pool filter sand at all (figured it looked clean enough) and it's leaching stuff into the water column
4) The cold water (it's 68 degrees) is contributing somehow
This is honestly the worst breakout of diatoms I have ever had in a new tank. Since it's cold water, there's no way I can add any algae eaters except maybe olive nerites. I am seriously tempted...but do you all suppose this will go away on its own?
Live plants are hornwort (two big bunches from Petsmart that are exploding with new growth, especially the one on the side with the window...oddly enough that one doesn't have any more algae than the other side) and Anubias, which is covered in diatoms also
Any suggestions would be appreciated...
Oh, and I don't know the water parameters, sorry! I ran out of test kits sometime last year and I haven't bought any - I rarely test my water anyhow because everything does great all on its own. My rock hard well water keeps a super stable pH.
But the tank got a mature filter from the 29 gallon the goldfish were in previously (an AquaTech 30-60) and a new Cascade 500 added on to that. I've changed 50% of the water so far, and the tank is almost a month old. The water has no smell whatsoever, it has yet to get that sweet soil smell but at least that mineral-ey smell of new sand is long gone (That lasted the first couple of days)
Some of you may remember my new goldfish tank thread in the Gallery:
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=215598
Well, this tank has a bad, and I mean BAD, case of diatoms. Take a look!
At first it just started out on the silk plants, but now it's everywhere. I have theories:
1) The white churt (rocks) I'm using are reflecting too much light
2) The lights I'm using are an improper spectrum (2x 15W GE Aqua Rays bulbs, 2x 15W GE Chroma 5000k bulbs)
3) I didn't rinse the pool filter sand at all (figured it looked clean enough) and it's leaching stuff into the water column
4) The cold water (it's 68 degrees) is contributing somehow
This is honestly the worst breakout of diatoms I have ever had in a new tank. Since it's cold water, there's no way I can add any algae eaters except maybe olive nerites. I am seriously tempted...but do you all suppose this will go away on its own?
Live plants are hornwort (two big bunches from Petsmart that are exploding with new growth, especially the one on the side with the window...oddly enough that one doesn't have any more algae than the other side) and Anubias, which is covered in diatoms also
Any suggestions would be appreciated...
Oh, and I don't know the water parameters, sorry! I ran out of test kits sometime last year and I haven't bought any - I rarely test my water anyhow because everything does great all on its own. My rock hard well water keeps a super stable pH.
But the tank got a mature filter from the 29 gallon the goldfish were in previously (an AquaTech 30-60) and a new Cascade 500 added on to that. I've changed 50% of the water so far, and the tank is almost a month old. The water has no smell whatsoever, it has yet to get that sweet soil smell but at least that mineral-ey smell of new sand is long gone
(That lasted the first couple of days) 
