# diatoms help



## Nlewis (Dec 1, 2015)

Can you give us some more information regarding your water parameters? Can I ask why you would use Phosgaurd when dosing phosphates, as this seems counter productive. Have the diatoms been there the whole time the tanks been running or did it pop up and now you can't get it to go away?


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## ryanperry875 (Oct 10, 2016)

Nlewis, thank you for your reply. i have just recently (about a week ago) stopped dosing everything Except nitrogen, iron, flourish, and root tabs because i did realize it was counter productive. i also have only been using phosguard for about 3-4 weeks now so not that long. As for my water parameters, i have never let the nitrates get over 25 because i do 50% water changes each week. no ammonia or nitrites in my tank although my tap water does have some ammonia in it which i treat with prime before putting in the tank.

Bump: and it wasnt really a noticible issue on all of my plants and along the walls of the tank until about 3 months ago. my tank has been running for a year.


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## Nlewis (Dec 1, 2015)

ryanperry875 said:


> Nlewis, thank you for your reply. i have just recently (about a week ago) stopped dosing everything Except nitrogen, iron, flourish, and root tabs because i did realize it was counter productive. i also have only been using phosguard for about 3-4 weeks now so not that long. As for my water parameters, i have never let the nitrates get over 25 because i do 50% water changes each week. no ammonia or nitrites in my tank although my tap water does have some ammonia in it which i treat with prime before putting in the tank.
> 
> Bump: and it wasnt really a noticible issue on all of my plants and along the walls of the tank until about 3 months ago. my tank has been running for a year.


So what changed 3 months ago? The reason I ask this is the only time I ever get diatoms in my tanks is if it's a new set up or when I change something. From my experience it's normally sparked when I mess with lighting. 

Do you have snails, oto cats or anything in the tank that will eat it?

And Phosgaurd removes phosphates and silicates, so it's most likely soaking up all the PO4 that you are dosing.


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## ryanperry875 (Oct 10, 2016)

i see, that makes sense. So would you recommend that i stop dosing in order to use the phosguard more effectively? and only one thing has changed and that is adding my new light, one month ago. now that obviously seems to be the reason for the problem, but whats weird is the light i had on it right before i switched and got a more powerful light to grow my plants was a Current led light and even that light started causing the diatoms as well. not quite as much but still quite noticible and i would regularly have to clean the glass and my plants.


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## Nlewis (Dec 1, 2015)

I would remove the Phosgaurd, your plants need phosphates and it's removing it. What Current light do you have, is it the Sat+ Pro?


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## ryanperry875 (Oct 10, 2016)

ok will do. and i had a current usa Satellite LED+ Plus Freshwater 48 inch. but i did remove this one a month ago replacing it with the reef brite lumi lite led because i realized it wasnt strong enough to grow my plants.


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## Nlewis (Dec 1, 2015)

Yeah, I'm not so sure about that light. It uses actinic lighting which is generally used in saltwater applications. @jeffkroll may be able to help with that light.


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## Goldguru (Sep 15, 2016)

I going to propose that you have a over abundance of iron.which when deficient is a limiting factor for many algae types including diatoms.
study is here.
Iron supply constrains producer communities in stream ecosystems | FEMS Microbiology Ecology


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

your light is not a problem.. 
most diatom blooms are in new tanks.

I'd check w/ my water company and ask them if your water has a high (or significant) amount of silicates present..



> because i do 50% water changes each week.


I'm not big on water changes anyways but it could be you keep "recharging" silicates..

Your other tanks are not planted and I'd wager your water changes are much less???

Secondary source of silicates is the glass "caulk" .. 

Personally never had a long diatom attack but certainly common in a new tank setup..

Sorry only help I can suggest.. stop water changes (like to zero) and cut back on ferts for awhile...I have no guarantee this will work.. 

but some more ideas:
Diatoms. What are they and how can I get rid of them?



> Make sure that you use a compound that is specific for silicate removal and that says so on the label. It should not be a multi-purpose product. The best results are obtained with compounds that state that all they remove is silicate and silicic acid and nothing else. That is how you will obtain the maximum silicate and silicic acid removal rate.


If we were in Europe I'd suggest switching to silicarbon of SERA silicate clear..

I suppose you could use the phosguard to run your tap water thorough. don't forget to clean up the diatoms. Their removal will take a lot of it out. Their "shells" are made of it mostly..


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