# removing diatom algae off plants



## Gooberfish

I'm not in a position to add livestock to help me combat this. It's most noticeable on my water wisteria, anubias, dwarf sag and xmas moss.

So what is a proper way to manually remove the brown diatom algae off of my plants without shredding them?


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## AwkwardShrimp

I had moss on ss mesh in a fairly neglected tank at my girlfriends house . Whole tank covered by diatoms especially my 7 moss ssmesh.
What I did was remove the moss from the tank, wet a piece if paper towel and lay it ontop of the ss mesh and gently rub it off the moss, took about maybe 3 full pieces of paper towel to adequately clean each mos on ss mesh. The stuff comes of pretty easily though, if you don't want to pull out your plants try rubbing it off with your fingers ? I would imagine a soft tooth brush would also do the trick. Either way i'd imagine the process will be long and tedious .

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## sjb1987

you can use pond care algae fix...dose by instructions and wait until the diatoms turns white then suck them off or kinda brush the moss lightly....i just did this in a newly set up tank.... DO NOT USE THIS IF YOU HAVE SNAILS OR SHRIMP 

you can get it fairly cheap off amazon or that pet place has it too


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## Gooberfish

sjb1987 said:


> you can use pond care algae fix...dose by instructions and wait until the diatoms turns white then suck them off or kinda brush the moss lightly....i just did this in a newly set up tank.... DO NOT USE THIS IF YOU HAVE SNAILS OR SHRIMP
> 
> you can get it fairly cheap off amazon or that pet place has it too


I have the pond care algae fix. I do have a snail in my tank. What if I did it in a 5 gallon bucket or somewhere else?


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## willknowitall

but your lights on for 4 hour a day for three days, gone


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## ValMM

When I had diatoms on my plants, I removed them to a separate container of water and used my fingers to rub it off.


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## sjb1987

what kind of snails do you have?


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## BBradbury

*Controlling Algae*



Gooberfish said:


> I'm not in a position to add livestock to help me combat this. It's most noticeable on my water wisteria, anubias, dwarf sag and xmas moss.
> 
> So what is a proper way to manually remove the brown diatom algae off of my plants without shredding them?


Hello Goob...


Algae loves water that has a high level of dissolved phosphates. Phosphate is an ingredient in many plant and fish foods. I'm not a fan of using chemicals to deal with algae. I've had the most success controlling it by removing it's food. This way, it simply shrinks. Try slowly, limiting the amount you feed your fish and plants. I feed everything just twice weekly.


Ramshorn snails are very good tank cleaners and all forms of algae are a favorite. Again, if you start limiting the food, the snail numbers won't get out of hand and you won't have to resort to manual labor to remove the algae. These snails won't damage anything healthy, just the algae and any dead or decaying plant and fish material. I've kept these little guys in my planted tanks for some time with no problems.

Just a couple of thoughts.

B


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## crypticmonk

Gooberfish said:


> I'm not in a position to add livestock to help me combat this. It's most noticeable on my water wisteria, anubias, dwarf sag and xmas moss.
> 
> So what is a proper way to manually remove the brown diatom algae off of my plants without shredding them?


I have the same problem...I try to rub it off gently with my fingers, but I think the best thing to do is get rid of the underlying problem. If you just use algaecides, the algae will come back. You need to see what causes it. For me, it was too much light (13-15 hrs), and too much waste that produced nitrates/phosphates. I bought a phosphate/silicate sponge yesterday, I've started adding C02 to my tank, I'm trying to make more frequent water changes, and I'm reducing my lighting. I'd suggest the same for you.


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## Gooberfish

So many great replies. Thank you.

I'm not sure what kind of snail is is. Some fat brown thing I call Chuck. 

High phosphates and nutrients in the water makes a ton of sense. I'll cut down my dosing of KH2PO4. Perhaps I should just reduce all of my fert dosing to 4-5 days a week instead of 7 since my tank is only 10g. I just have 3 goldfish in my tank so they'll be okay with a few days off of feeding.


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## TheFoleys

Gooberfish said:


> Some fat brown thing I call Chuck.


Omg that made my night. I dunno why.


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## accordztech

get some ottos


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## Gooberfish

accordztech said:


> get some ottos


I said I'm not in a position to add livestock because I'm moving in a little over a week. I don't want to buy ottos, acclimate them, then move them. I will once I'm established in my new place. 


The war against algae is never-ending lol


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## sjb1987

diatoms just feed off silica and phosphates.... i got them because i rescaped my tank...maybe causing an ammonia spike idk.... i got sick of looking at diatoms for 2 weeks..i did the recommended dosage for algae fix 3 hrs later i sucked out the diatoms that turned white...i havent seent them since

i had a tank that i bought brand new, used a filter that was running for a year on a planted tank, got diatoms within a week... i waited and waited, for over a month, for the diatoms to go away..i then used this algae fix because i was curious..no diatoms almost 2 weeks later..you can call it what you want, but its gone


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## accordztech

Gooberfish said:


> I said I'm not in a position to add livestock because I'm moving in a little over a week. I don't want to buy ottos, acclimate them, then move them. I will once I'm established in my new place.
> 
> 
> The war against algae is never-ending lol


Then wait for a month and let the diatoms chill =)


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