Ahh these diatoms! what's causing them - pics

poidog81

New member
Alright folks I've had this diatom bloom going on in my tank for about 2 months and I don't know what the cause is. I know they feed on silicates, but I don't know the source. I've heard that certian plastics can release silicates. The only thing that has changed is a new inTank media rack (made out of acrylic) and a new wet side for my vortech.
Phosphates are 0
Mg is 1275 (i know its a tad low, will bring it up on this weekends water change)
Running a 5oz back of chemi-pure elite in the media rack. Do I need a media reactor to filter better?
Tank is about a year old.

What to get this ugly out! thanks guys

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Only things i can think of are there isn't enough flow in your tank, and containers or plumbing leeching silicates.

What kind of container/s do you use for your ATO (if you have one)? container/s you use to store water for water changes? you using ro/di water?

For me, containers and plumbing that becomes slimy when soaked in water for a while are the DIATOM fuels.
 
no containers it's an AIO nano cube. Flow is not an issue as I have a vortech on a 24g. only thing that is "plastic" in the water is the vortech, the media rack (acrylic with eggcrate), skimmer (acrylic), and soft hosing for my inline chiller. Oh, and I have two fighting conchs working the sandbed, but they obviously can't keep up with it.
 
I get a little bit of the same thing. I'm not sure what it is, but it only occurs in the spots that are the most dead in terms of flow. I don't have many of dead spots with 2 Vortechs, but they still exist nonetheless.
 
try checking your return pump if its dirty... i had a cyano/diatom problem a couple months ago, and after i gave it a quick rinse, everything was nice and clean again.
 
Is it only on the substrate? If so everytime I notice that stuff in my tank it is because of a nitrate issue. Maybe look into your water quality? What are you using to get rid of nitrates?
 
I would check your make up/water change source. How is your RO/DI system doing? Getting 0 TDS product water?
 
Is it only on the substrate? If so everytime I notice that stuff in my tank it is because of a nitrate issue. Maybe look into your water quality? What are you using to get rid of nitrates?

Agreed, when was the last time you did a water change? Have you added any new fish lately and/or increased the amount of feedings per day? More fish = more waste I'm sure you know :p
 
Does your tank get any direct or indirect sunlight or near a window? This is what I have ultimately determined with my diatom issue, that and dosing too much mb7 and of course a busted DI resin filter on my RO/DI system. All these things above have impacted diatoms that I get everyday during lit hours only to recede at night. They are slowly decreasing day by day, just keep up with the zero tds water changes, if you dose any carbon sources or bac sources, scale back, it will eventually break. GL
 
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