Diatoms

[jdicu812]

I am having trouble with these pesky creatures. I am only using distilled water for changes and reducing light. Any other ideas? I need a good article Please.

[leebca]

The most common diatom in the marine hobby is the one that is brown which leads us to the misnomer, brown algae. In a stable, old aquarium, they are still there, but mostly not noticeable.

They tend to like bad quality water and water with available silica. Even though you might be using distilled water, if that water distilled in glass, it may still contain dissolved silica.

If the system is overcrowded, not maintained well, contains too much organics, or there is a source of silica, these diatoms flourish.

Be sure you are using a chemical filter, a mechanical filter, and a skimmer that is properly sized. Keep them clean and working properly. This is a good post on water quality: What is Water Quality that also gives info on how to size a skimmer properly. If your system is small and you don't have a skimmer, then turn to a clelan up crew focused on eating diatoms.

Until the system ages, until the maintenance of the tank becomes routine, and until the source water is available that contains no silica, use snails to eat the algae. There are a few snails that will eat these organisms.

These are some references you should look through regarding the clean up crew:
Cleanup crew article on Reefland:
http://www.reefland.com/rho/0305/medprod3.php

3 articles on snails:
The Grazing Snails, Part I - Turbo, Trochus, Astraea, and Kin by Ronald L. Shimek, Ph.D. - Reefkeeping.com
The Grazing Snails, Part II - Abalones, Limpets and Nerites by Ronald L. Shimek, Ph.D. - Reefkeeping.com
The Grazing Snails, Part III: Conchs, Ceriths, Cowries, and Columbellids by Ronald L. Shimek, Ph.D. - Reefkeeping.com

You can also search this forum for 'brown algae' to get other posts and threads on the subject.

[jdicu812]

Thanks so much! I test water 2 times a wk, but my tank is only 8 mos old so that might be the problem. I will read these articles.