Diatoms In A Well Established Tank

[mattlee]

the set up is-

5x2x2 tank
2 x FX5 filters
2 x 300w rena heaters
unipac limpopo sand
2 x arcadia eco aqua (150mm) led lights

stocking is-

2 x motoro rays
4 x angelfish

so my issue is that i cant shift the diatoms. ive tried a black out ive tried reducing the light, increasing the light, reducing feeding etc etc etc but it wont go! the filters have very mature media inside and water tests prove so. i know ammonia + light = diatoms but this tank has been set up for ages and its been a constant battle and im now fed up with it.... lights are on for 6 hours and the rest of the day its covered at one end to prevent sunlight hitting it. 6 hours isnt much for lighting and the filters are very mature and the tank has plenty of flow so whats the issue?

 

[DevotedToDiscus]

I know this is not exactly helpful mate, but I had the same problem and tried everything, but nothing worked. Then suddenly, and for no apparent reason they disappeared, and have never came back. I would guess I had them for about 2-3 months, and as you say it was a battle. I was cleaning everything, almost daily, with a toothbrush

I had read that it is normally because of the filters not being mature, but mine had been running for well over a year on the same media.

So all I know from my experience is that they should vanish at some point. Sorry that's not exactly the answer........maybe someone knows the magic trick???

 

[mattlee]

well the tanks been running for 11 months and had mature media added to it from another tank that is a good few years mature.....

ive just spent the last few hours cleaning the tank, rocks filter intakes, heaters etc etc etc....

i really dont want to be doing this too often with a large flowerhorn coming to replace the rays at the end of the month, i need my fingers

 

[Alm0stAwesome]

Time for a scrubber with a loooong handle! Yeah, the advice I've been given is that it will just dissapear on it's own. I couldn't wait so I got a pair of BN plecs

 

[ian]

there's always Purigen mate, it's expensive, but it's a good Diatom filter.

 

[hensonc4098]

+1 for both the BNs and the purigen. Both work well, depends on your preferences whether to add additional bioload or not.