# diatom algae and hard water stains



## bigrift (Aug 30, 2010)

ok i got 2 questions for ya guys but im keeping them to 1 thread lol.

1st i have a 75g tank with a 20g sump and recently i upgraded my lighting to t5 1 10k bulb and 1 antic and within a day it exploded with diatom algae. the clean up crew i had was to small to handle how fast it was growing so i went out and bought 25 more astrea snails bringing my total to 50. as hard working as these guys are i have seen some improvement but its been comeing back faster than they can eat it. iv cut my lighting down to only 5 hours a day (from 12) and clean the glass everyday. when i had my 10g tank i got a bloom but it went away as fast as it came will this do the same? should i just let it run its course or should i resort to chemicals?(really dont want to). any sugestions would be great.

2nd my glass has gotten hard water stains on the inside. its a milky film that builds up all over the tank. iv tryed scrapeing it off with a razor iv tryed scrubbing it off with a sponge iv her vinager will remove it but to drain the tank and remove all my lr and animals is a huge task. there any other way to clean it off so i can view my tank without haveing to see this to?


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## pretzelsz (Jan 14, 2010)

Alittle late here but I can answer #1 for you,

First of all I recommend you get 1-3 turbo snails they will help your tank alot. As for the diatom, It will go away on it's own eventually and is actually feeding many organisms in your tank. Also slowly bump you lighting to 8 hours a day especially if you have coral.

Sorry that I can't help with your second question though.


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## bigrift (Aug 30, 2010)

i havr noticed where the snails eat im seeing more coraline alge poping up dose the diatom help it grow? i do have 1 turbo snail but hes lazy and dosnt do a whole lot lol. if this will go away by iteself with some help contorling it by the snails then ill just keep the glass clean and see what happens. if anyone has any info for me id apreciate it


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