What Causes Diatoms?
- Thread starter dsaavedra
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tanker
Josh Holloway--Be mine!!!
Are you sure it is diatoms?? or dirt??
Diatoms usually come from a new tank set-up. The tank (BIO, ect) needs to settle.
Diatoms usually come from a new tank set-up. The tank (BIO, ect) needs to settle.
Diatoms are everywhere.. it just takes the right conditions for them to flare up. You've probably heard the term, diatom bloom. That's what this is.
In newly made tanks, the silicone sealant is still relatively fresh. And that releases a teensy bit of silicone into the water column. Diatoms feed off silicone, nitrates, and oxygen. There's nothing you can do about the silicone.. the tank matures over time. Removing nitrates is a good thing, but don't get carried away with water changes. That won't help very much. Oxygen is something to watch. If the diatoms get real heavy, they can deplete the oxygen level necessary for the fish you have. So watch your fish for signs of gasping or hanging around the surface a lot. Other than this, it's just unattractive to look at. Wipe it off and wait it out.. it's part of a newer tank setup maturing and becoming more stable.
Yours is still a "new" tank in the overall scheme of things, in not yet mature. Some people don't get this until 6 months after it's been cycled.. or even a year. Some people see this come and go quite often for a couple of years. I don't know how long this stage typically drags out. Every tank is different. It depends on how high a concentratation of silicone is in the seals to be slowly released.
And it's not just the seals alone, silicone is a mineral that's found in water. It comes from the mineral content in rocks dissolving over time. It's in fresh and salt water.. and it's in our tap water. What also comes from newer fish tanks just adds to what's already there, so that's why it's more common with newer systems than older ones.
I think running a UV sterilizer helps a little to kill off some of the microscopic algae cells. You could also run a micron filter to pull them out. But if the levels of silicone, nitrate, and oxygen are high enough.. it'll still come back.
And it's not just the seals alone, silicone is a mineral that's found in water. It comes from the mineral content in rocks dissolving over time. It's in fresh and salt water.. and it's in our tap water. What also comes from newer fish tanks just adds to what's already there, so that's why it's more common with newer systems than older ones.
I think running a UV sterilizer helps a little to kill off some of the microscopic algae cells. You could also run a micron filter to pull them out. But if the levels of silicone, nitrate, and oxygen are high enough.. it'll still come back.
doing water changes about 50% each week.
tank gets about 12 hours of light, sometimes less.
i currently have 4 golden shiners, 3 eastern mudminnows, 2 blacknose dace, 2 creek chubsuckers, 1 pumpkinseed, 1 bluegill, and 1 crawfish in my 55 gallon tank. none of the fish are over 3" long.
tank gets about 12 hours of light, sometimes less.
i currently have 4 golden shiners, 3 eastern mudminnows, 2 blacknose dace, 2 creek chubsuckers, 1 pumpkinseed, 1 bluegill, and 1 crawfish in my 55 gallon tank. none of the fish are over 3" long.
I don't think the OP mentions real plants - some of them might help by competing for the nutrients that the diatom algae are living on.
Diatoms also come from the food. Feeding too much aids in the bloom. Diatoms are also a by-product of phosphate. By adding a phosphate absorber pad to your filter, it will go a long way to bring it under control. Almost all fish food contains phosphate. Sometimes (not always) carbon can be a contributing factor to excess phosphate. It also depends on they type of food you feed and how much as well as your water chemistry.
I agree. IME, I've gone 6-8 months with diatoms and then all of a sudden they disappear. Unfortunately if your tank is still out of whack other types of algae can kick in.