![]() ![]() The more fish in the tank, the more of their organic waste is being produced and is floating around the tank. Just because an online fish calculator says you can put 5 large angelfish in a 20 gallon doesn't mean we should do it in a planted tank. If your trilation is set up properly, and your tank has been cycled for a while, AND you are NOT showing any ammonia or nitrites, you tank is probably overstocked from an algae perspective. ![]() Again, if you are struggling with setting you your filtration properly, or would like a refresher, check out our filtration video above. This will ensure the filter is processing any ammonia and/or nitrites of out the water column very quickly, and not leaving them in the tank to float around. Example: We have a 20 gallon aquarium, we want a filter that has a gallons per hour (gph) of around 200. We want to make sure our filter is able to turn over our water volume 10x an hour. Chlorine can kill our bacteria thus restarting our cycling process, which organics build up again in turn stimulating the development of diatoms. There are studies that show our bacteria can handle some amounts of chlorine for prolonged periods of time, but its best to just not risk it. We need to ensure we are not cleaning out bio-media with tap water, as it can kill our beneficial bacteria. We want to be able to clean our sponges our really well to remove rotting matter, like dead plant matter, uneaten food, fish waste, etc. We do not want to rely on our mechanical filtration (sponges) for this. Have dedicated bio media to house our beneficial bacteria. Photo provided by ASG member Matt Robinson. Do no dip mosses and rinse REALLY well with dechlorinated water after the dip session.īelow is another example of fuzzy diatoms. Heartier plants like anubias can be dipped for 150 seconds. Sensitive plants, like crypts, dip fro no longer than 90 seconds. Mix 1 part bleach to 20 parts of luke warm water. This is one of many reasons to use products that have been designed for aquarium use.īleach dip - There is very little that can survive a cleach dip. With a cheap sand substrate, like play sand, the diatoms will continue to come back until all the silicates have been consumed from the substrate which can take months. ![]() If diatoms are developing on yoru sand bed, use a siphon to cuk them up and/or stir p the san bed to bury the unsightly brown dust. We suggest wiping the tank down right before a water change so you can siphon out as much of the algae that is suspended in yourw atger column as possible during a water change. If not address for a while it can get pretty thick, and be stubborn to get off, so an algae pad on hardier plants, like anubias, can be used. If its on your plants, you can generally wipe if off with your fingers, but a toothbrush will work here as well. if its on your hardscape, use a toothbrush. Manual removal (dust diatoms) - Since itsa dust algae, it can be wiped off easily. This is the easier to the two types of diatoms to remove. Sometimes it will stick a little but then you can use a toothbrush to remove it by hand. Manual removal (fuzzy diatoms) - If you are dealing with the dust bunny diatoms, it can easily be sucked out with a water change and a siphon. ![]()
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