Diatoms low tech planted tank

[matt2426]

I can't seem to get rid of the brown alagae Diatoms in my tank. tank has been running going on 3 years so its not a new tank i have pool filter sand as the substrate but have been getting alot of brown alage all over my anubias and i also get it on my back of my tank i just can't figure it out ive adjusted the hours and the settings but its still there regarless ive tried just colored light 've tried straight leds straight leds seem like the best bet as far as growth and no plant defecties other than the diatoms.i have added a power head to get better flow i have a fluval fx6 a aquaclear 110 and a small powerhead think its flow rate is like 1200 gal per hour ive ajusting my lighting down to 7 hours a day of led light with moon light affects for 2 hours so a total of 9 hours i havent tried any phosguard or anything like that just yet the lights i use are 2 36 inch aquaticlife edge leds heres a link of the wattage and lights https://aquaticlife.com/products/aquatic-life-edge-led-aquarium-light-fixtures any tips or advice i could try id appreciate

[matt2426]

and also my tank is 125 gallons

[bluelagoon]

Was your light on longer at the beginning? Just curious why you would lower your light. Diatoms usually like a shorter, darker days. When there is more light green algae will take over and replace the brown algae (diatoms). I would go 9 hours and see what happens; moon light don't count.

[matt2426]

Was your light on longer at the beginning? Just curious why you would lower your light. Diatoms usually like a shorter, darker days. When there is more light green algae will take over and replace the brown algae (diatoms). I would go 9 hours and see what happens; moon light don't count.

well i did a combination of moon light and led light at the beginning because i like the look it produced but my plants really didn't appreciate it caused alot of plant deficienties lights probally wheren't strong enough. now i just use straight leds for 7 hours i was doing 8 hours and was still getting diatoms i wasn't sure i guess if the cause of diatoms was from to little light or to much i do have a sand substrate the i have learned has silicates which produced diatoms but ill try bumping the lights up to 9 hours i mainly notice it on my plants and on my 3d background but the look on the plants just isn't really appealing thanks for the response

[pastry]

I'm thinking the added flow you just did plus do your normal light routine but also maybe in case you don't do daily water changes, try to do them for 10 to 14 days straight (70%). Maybe some tiger lillies to share here & there.

Would love to see a picture if you can. Might help others provide better advice. By the way, totally pulling this out of my ... backside with what I said above. However I have a planted tank and I've had it for a long time plus have totally cut corners and learned some hard lessons. one last question, can you think of a couple changes you might have made that may have been around the same time this started? New filter, new wood, new plants, have you always had that sand, has the tank always been in the same location, has there been any new lamps in my house or big trees cut down that used to block natural Sun from Windows that may allow light on the aquarium at times...? Either way, I'm definitely tuning into this because I won't be surprised if I eventually have the same problem. I did have a brown algae problem about 10 years ago and for the love of me I cannot remember what I did. I do know that I did not use medications. Stay away from medications! Good luck and provide any more information if you can!

[matt2426]

I'm thinking the added flow you just did plus do your normal light routine but also maybe in case you don't do daily water changes, try to do them for 10 to 14 days straight (70%). Maybe some tiger lillies to share here & there.

Would love to see a picture if you can. Might help others provide better advice. By the way, totally pulling this out of my ... backside with what I said above. However I have a planted tank and I've had it for a long time plus have totally cut corners and learned some hard lessons. one last question, can you think of a couple changes you might have made that may have been around the same time this started? New filter, new wood, new plants, have you always had that sand, has the tank always been in the same location, has there been any new lamps in my house or big trees cut down that used to block natural Sun from Windows that may allow light on the aquarium at times...? Either way, I'm definitely tuning into this because I won't be surprised if I eventually have the same problem. I did have a brown algae problem about 10 years ago and for the love of me I cannot remember what I did. I do know that I did not use medications. Stay away from medications! Good luck and provide any more information if you can!

I basically do daily water changes well at the very least i do 50 percent 5 days a week and ive had diatoms on going since the tank started even before i added plants or added ferts ive had these same lights the whole time ive had this tank ive had the same sand since this tank has started i haven't moved the tank its been in the same location. the location of my tank there is no direct sunlight nowhere near a window. recently i added a powerhead. i just took that out of the tank and put a smaller one in because my discus hated the strong current it was rated around 1300 gph and i just put a small one in thats rated around 300gph im lost on how to get rid of this i haven't tried phosguard ive head some have tried it but could this maybe just something in my water i also just started adding filter floss it makes my tank look crystal clear but still have the diatoms thanks for the reply hopefully this will get figured out at some point

[matt2426]

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[pastry]

Huh? Looks great to me! You'd hate my tank. Yours looks clean! I see a little growth on Anubias leaves here & there but that's not bad. You can always either move then to a little bit Shady spot of aquarium or add something that would provide them some shade. I think your tank looks very good though!

[matt2426]

Huh? Looks great to me! You'd hate my tank. Yours looks clean! I see a little growth on Anubias leaves here & there but that's not bad. You can always either move then to a little bit Shady spot of aquarium or add something that would provide them some shade. I think your tank looks very good though!

I just did a good cleaning on them lol ill have to take another picture in a few weeks its seem to be not as bad since i added the extra flow and started adding poly fill to my filter think its just something that ill have to deal with i may give phosguard or something similar a try to add in once a while to my filter to see if it helps.i wonder since i have that 3d background if that has anything to do with it not sure exactly what its made out of thanks

[Discluv]

I had the same problem- no matter what I did the diatoms just stayed around. Put 5 Zebra Otocinclus in 60 gallon tank and gone in 3 days. Amazing how fast they made short work of it.

[bluelagoon]

Some types of activated carbon can leach phosphates. Do you use that in your filters? The tank does not look like a diatom issue. One needs to expect to clean algae and diatoms form the class weekly or so basis..It's a sign of a healthy tank to have some algae.

[matt2426]

Some types of activated carbon can leach phosphates. Do you use that in your filters? The tank does not look like a diatom issue. One needs to expect to clean algae and diatoms form the class weekly or so basis..It's a sign of a healthy tank to have some algae.

No i dont use carbon or purigen just use bio max ,filter pads, and filter floss but i did just do a real big cleaning on the tank ill post another picture in a week or so thanks