Getting rid of diatoms in a brackish tank

entropy · Post by **entropy** » Wed Jun 15, 2005 11:37 am

basically just like the title says. How do I eliminate these little beasties from my F8 tank? They're covering the glass and rock, I've scrubbed them off everything with a toothbrush a couple times and they come roaring back in a hurry.

I've heard that for a fresh tank you can increase the light so algae can monopolize all the nutrients in the water, but does this work in a brackish tank? The only algae I've ever seen in this tank is blue green and I definitly dont want that stuff to come back...

Relevant conditions:
10 gallon
30 watts incandescent light on about 16 hours a day.
Salinity: 1.007
nitrAte: less than 20ppm
regular old gravel for substrate with sandstone rock work for caves (leeching silicates into the water?)

Pamela · Post by **Pamela** » Wed Jun 15, 2005 12:42 pm

Do you have a lot of silicates in your water? That's what they thrive on.
Aren't they supposed to bloom like mad and then die back if you wait?
Mind you, that's easier said than done, as they look - and feel - rank. I had some for a while way back, and then they went.
Pami.

chriscenter1 · Post by **chriscenter1** » Wed Jun 15, 2005 3:04 pm

thats a big negative on blooming like mad and dieing out! My 29 gallon brackish has been having the same problem. I have been able to contain it a little by doing lots of water changes! How does one test for silicates?

ingo_1978 · Post by **ingo_1978** » Wed Jun 15, 2005 3:43 pm

Have you got a skimmer?

http://saltaquarium.about.com/cs/microa ... 092800.htm

Sari · Post by **Sari** » Wed Jun 15, 2005 4:23 pm

A skimmer won't work at only 1.007, will it? I thought sg needed to be at around 1.017?

chriscenter1 · Post by **chriscenter1** » Wed Jun 15, 2005 5:40 pm

no I don't, and I can't afford one either

ingo_1978 · Post by **ingo_1978** » Thu Jun 16, 2005 8:31 am

mines pulling off lots of yellow gunk at SG 1.008... and it's just a fairly cheap internal air driven one.

I wouldn't have your lights on for so long neither.

Bred · Post by **Bred** » Thu Jun 16, 2005 9:50 am

It was my understanding that a skimmer won't do much for diatom algae...? The link you've referenced discusses Cyanobacteria, which is another beast entirely and not comparable to diatoms.

Entropy I think you could be on about the sandstone. I would change a lot of water and try removing it for a few weeks and see if there's an appreciable difference.

Also, some tap water is just high in silicates. PhosGard or siliar phosphate-removing filter media will help remove phosphates and silicates.

Bred · Post by **Bred** » Thu Jun 16, 2005 9:55 am

As a sidebar I have reason to be just a little skeptical about the about.com website aquarium advice. It's almost always vague on details, general in scope, and sometimes the advice is simply poor.

Jayhawk · Post by **Jayhawk** » Thu Jun 16, 2005 10:04 am

Wouldn't switching out that incandescent bulb for a nice full spectrum compact fluorescent bulb (as well as cutting back to 12 hours on time) also help?

Eric

Pamela · Post by **Pamela** » Thu Jun 16, 2005 10:14 am

!2 hours a day max...I didn't notice in the earlier post that it was on 16 hours a day. If you remember that you're trying to replicat water conditions from nearer the equator than northern or southern latitudes..........12 hours a day is best.
And it will cut down on algae.
Pami.

ingo_1978 · Post by **ingo_1978** » Thu Jun 16, 2005 10:29 am

Sorry I meant to post this link.

http://saltaquarium.about.com/cs/algaec ... 071103.htm

I only have my lights on when I'm viewing my puffer about 4 hours in the evening, should I have them on longer? I have no live plants or live rock, I didn't think it would be necessary?!

30W is very strong for a 10g, thought that would only be necessary for a marine setup with live rock?

Bred · Post by **Bred** » Thu Jun 16, 2005 10:42 am

I don't have any data to back this up, but it seems reasonable to me to believe that fish need a day/night light cycle just as much as plants and humans for their health. I run my tanks on timers, 10 hours of light a day.

Pamela · Post by **Pamela** » Thu Jun 16, 2005 10:48 am

Course they do...there's been day and night as long as there's been time (I'm not opening a philosophical debate here), so that's how we all evolved...in all different kinds of relationship to light and dark.
If in doubt, I'd always err towards an equinox kinda set-up. 12 on, 12 off, like my dudes get.
Pami.

Jayhawk · Post by **Jayhawk** » Thu Jun 16, 2005 10:56 am

30 watts is pretty high - 3 wpg in a short tank will lead to algae problems unless the tank is planted.

I agree with comments that fish should have a normal light schedule - it seems like we should be trying to mimic natural conditions as much as we can. I wonder if anyone has done any research into the effects of sunlight on fish chemical processing? I know we need sunlight, lizards need full spectrum/sunlight, so why not fish.

Eric

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Getting rid of diatoms in a brackish tank

Getting rid of diatoms in a brackish tank