Diatoms, Bacterial Blooms & Filters (oh My)

[Coryadorer]

I want to say up front that I've read the forum's article about Bacterial Bloom - which is great!!! I've been battling it out with the dreaded "milk bloom" for close to two weeks.

I'm a relative newbie. I started freshwater aquatics with acrylic tanks and until now, I never had a glass aquarium before. I have several acrylic tanks running for close to a year without any major complications. I haven't even had any serious problems with green algae (knock on wood). Where I live, I'm on well water that taps into the watershed run off from a nearby mountain in the NW. Tap water quality is definitely not an issue. Until now, all my tanks have had sparkling water and I get compliments on the clarity of the water in my acrylic tanks.

In March, I started cycling a 29G glass tank w/Eclipse System 3 Hood (built in filter & lights). Nitrogen Cycle took about 3-4 weeks. Then the dastardly Diatoms invaded the tank about middle of April which I had never experienced before in any of my acrylic tanks. Went looking for the famous "dwarf algae eater" None of the LFS had any otos until now. I was finally was able to pick up five of them about two weeks ago, but I've been hesitant to add them until I have the bloom issue resolved.

I stopped adding fish to the tank when the diatoms started. In this tank, I have three platys, three albino corys, and six danios. I don't think the tank is suffering from over population... and to be honest, I don't think the white fog was caused by fish waste/food but considered it as a possibility. Because of the brown gunk, I was already doing a 10% water change, vacuuming the gravel each time and wiping down the walls of the tank 2 times per week.

Then, two weeks ago, I noticed that the rate of Diatom growth was slowing down but, I also noticed that the tank water was developing a white cloud. Per some suggestions online, I started vacuuming the gravel daily and upped the water changes to 15%. I cut back on feedings to once every three days, tore apart and cleaned the filter, and changed out the filter cartridge sooner than planned with a freshly rinsed cartridge.

However, the white haze just seemed to keep getting thicker day by day. I checked ammonia and nitrite levels daily. Ammonia did go up to .25ppm and has stayed at that level the day after the bacteria bloom started. Nitrite never changed from 0. Nitrate has been staying around 5 to 10 ppm through all the water changes. (I use API testing kit.) Because I wasn't sure whether ammonia levels would continue to go up, I started using a dose of Prime to condition the water daily to try to neutralize the ammonia in the event it were to spike. Thankfully, none of the fish have died, and I think the fish are starting to think my hands are just some gawd-awful ugly strange guest that visits once or twice or three times a day since they no longer seem to be afraid.

I'm thinking that the culprit is the Eclipse. But I could be wrong. I've been less than impressed with the Eclipse filtration system. It claims to have a GPH of 250 - I'm not certain of that but that's what it claims on a advertisement. Yesterday, I ended up installing an internal filter (designed for 30-40 gallon) in the tank to help beef up the filtration. I can't use any HOBs with the hood. I can honestly say that I feel that the Eclipse system is an over priced flawed filtration design that hinders healthy aquatics - but that's just my opinion.

I think the white bloom is finally starting to fade after the two week battle (which I think was worse than the battle with the diatoms). I also added three of the otos yesterday and they are happily digging into the diatom film in the tank. The 2nd filter is purring away in the corner opposite of the Eclipse intake tube.... I'm hoping to add the other two otos sometime next week.

My questions at this point:

Can diatoms cause a bacteria bloom? If not, are there any thoughts about what has caused this bloom? Considering I haven't had this problem in the other tanks, I'm thinking the filtration system. I'm wondering if others with the Eclipse system have had similar issues.

Why did my glass tank get Diatoms, but not my acrylic ones?

Would a UV Sterilizer be a good investment given the situation? If so, what type would be best?

Thanks for taking the time to wade through my rant and share your feedback to the situation.

 

[OldMan47]

Welcome to the forum Coryadorer.

All that I know about the Eclipse system is that they looked ridiculously over priced when I looked at them so I always got something else instead. The internal filter will need some time to get to where it can take over filtering the tank so don't shut off the one in the hood yet. All of my tanks are glass tanks and although I have read about white cloudy water, I have never experienced it so I am not much help there. The well water is nice to have but does it have much in the way of minerals in it? If not, you will have more trouble than some of us keeping common livebearers like platies. Low mineral content would be a real plus for the zebras and corydoras though so don't mess with it unless you want to focus on common livebearers.

 

[Coryadorer]

Thank you very much, OldMan47. I think I may simply leave both filters running indefinitely.... Unless cost becomes an issue.

I totally agree with you on the Eclipse. I was "admiring" the appearance, and ended up with the whole sheebang as a gift.... The saying, "be careful what you wish for" seems to be at work with this one!

As for minerals in the water, I need to take it in for better testing. I know we have elevated lime to contend with, hardness level is around 120 ppm, alkalinity is about 100 ppm, and ph is at 7.0 from the tap. Yah, I'm not sure I'm ready to be up to my elbows in Platy fry, just yet. And I hope I never have to contend with white cloudy water again. The haze is almost gone as of this morning with the extra filter - YAY! I appreciate your insight and input. I'll be checking out those links in your post.

 

[OldMan47]

100 ppm and 120 ppm are not high numbers. That is moderately soft water. Mine runs closer to 325 ppm on both scales. The platies will be in less than optimal conditions but the cories, otocinclus and zebras should love your water.

 

[Coryadorer]

Thanks for the info, OldMan47. Compared to your alkaline and hardness numbers, my water numbers do sound soft.

Update on the cloudiness - the water is back to it's normal sparkle. The additional internal filter did the trick. Took about three days to totally clear out and it looks so nice today. The fish can actually see one another now.

 

[OldMan47]

100 ppm is only somewhere between 5 and 6 degrees of hardness. We worry about pH stability when it gets to less than 4 degrees so it is not bad water at all. It should be fairly stable pH while still being fairly soft. Sounds like a good combination for a South American or similar tank to me.