best way to clean diatom algae...

H

harrypotter41

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Dec 3, 2003
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...from decorations.

My one pure white coral decorations are not dingy and brown from my continuous diatom algae problems. Any way to bleach them per se safely?
 
a clean-up crew of course:

Scarlet Reef Hermit Crabs, Turbo Snails or Margarita Snails , Dwarf Red Tip Hermit Crab or Dwarf Zebra Hermit Crab (Hawaii).

HTH
 
Ive been having diatom problems also....I have three zebra hermits, three red, a blue and a green one. I just got two turbo snails and they were cleaning until the stupid big green one was attacking them. Now they just hang on the glass and dont move.

And are you using actual natural sea water?
 
Well

To explain the Ocean Water I'm getting.

I don't go to the ocean with a bucket.

I go to The Seattle Aquarium, which has gorgeous reef aquariums. And they sell ocean water they've collected and put through their filters.

5 cents a gallon!
 
Ok,

Mak, while this ocean water may be helping you I'm not sure how this is going to help Turbo as he is not in seatle.

Turbo the best thing you can do is remove the source of food for the diatoms. This is often done by using RO water as topoff and to mix salt water for changes. In reality this is even purer than any sea water that you can get. Nearly all phosphates, nitrates, and other dissolved matter is removed from the water through this process.

So the removal of phophates, nitrates, and silicates from the system then controlling these nutrients is the only way to remove and control the algea effectivly.
 
back on trac?

Hey guys,

HarryPotter was asking about removing stains from decorations. Ultimately, keeping things white in a marine tank is a losing battle, but you can just use a solution of household bleach, diluted 1:10 in water. Soaking overnight is adequate, then rinse very throroughly, then soak a few hours in a concentrated solution of dechlorinator. More rinsing, and if you're really anal, let it dry out.

As far as diatom control, they need light, phosphate, nitrate and a bit of silicate to thrive. Usually silicate goes away after a bit, and diatoms are less of a problem. Sounds like getting rid of the big green hermit will help also, turbo. Once you have corals and coralline algae growing well, the diatoms tend not to compete as well.
 
gbolton & all

the moral of the story is....look for a large aquarium, maybe the ZOO, and find out where you can get a deal on pre-filtered ocean water.

The stuff they sell at Petco and fish stores is OVERPRICED.

thanks
 
Harry,
I wouldn't worry about it too much it will pass. I know how hard it would be for either of us to get natural ocean water lol. After the initial diatom bloom you should start to get some more ,"friendly", algae growth. After your coralines get established they actually release an inhibiting agent that should retard the growth of the more noxious algaes. Also I would use R.O. water or glass distiled water to make your salt mix. The diatoms need a source of silica to bloom and after it's used up the bloom should fade.
hth
Chris
Also you might want to increase your number of herbivores a touch. I've found that after the diatoms then comes the hair algae so be warned ! Hey Mak we both live in an area where you either make your water or you don't have any.
 
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