Diatoms & Bubbles?

[adudle00]

Okay, so I've had diatom 'flare ups' off and on as my tank is getting settled, but now I have these bubbles forming in my sand bed. My tank is 3 months old and all my water parameters test at 0 (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate). I only use RODI water as well. I read in one of the articles on here that you can pass your RODI water through some kind of media that helps to remove the silicates...can you give me an example of something I would use for that? What are the bubbles and what can I do to minimize these diatoms from reappearing? Thanks!

 

[Bifferwine]

That's totally normal in a sandbed -- you won't be able to get rid of those.

Time will be the best way to prevent diatoms from reappearing -- they are very normal in young tank, but as the tank matures, you will see them less and less often. You can get a diatom filter, but that's unnecessary for the vast majority of tanks, especially since you are using RO water.

 

[adudle00]

That's totally normal in a sandbed -- you won't be able to get rid of those.

Time will be the best way to prevent diatoms from reappearing -- they are very normal in young tank, but as the tank matures, you will see them less and less often. You can get a diatom filter, but that's unnecessary for the vast majority of tanks, especially since you are using RO water.

Thanks Sarah!

I also wanted to ask, do you think I need anything to 'sift' my sandbed? It's about 1.5 - 2" deep. I have 1 nassarius snail at the moment. Do I need anything more than that?

 

[Bifferwine]

You should get some more nassarius snails. Is yours the smaller pea-sized nassarius or the larger grape-sized one? I'd probably get about 10 of the small ones, or 4 of the large ones for your tank.

 

[adudle00]

You should get some more nassarius snails. Is yours the smaller pea-sized nassarius or the larger grape-sized one? I'd probably get about 10 of the small ones, or 4 of the large ones for your tank.

He's huge, his shell is definitely grape sized or larger. So maybe a couple more of those? I was just worried they'd starve or something, but you think they'd all be fine?

 

[Bifferwine]

Yeah, I think a few more of those would be fine in your tank.