Diatoms!!!

[jschall]

I always get this brown algae everywhere that easily comes off. I think my water must have silicates in it.
How can I eliminate this brown algae and still be able to grow plants? I don't want a heavily planted tank, but I want some plants in my aquarium. If I use a phosphate-adsorbing filter media, would it keep my plants from growing?
I plan to have anubias and whatever else i can find that comes from west africa.

I have a 10 gallon planted tank already, which shares the same water with my turtle tank. That whole tank is just solid brown, and its a long-established tank.

 

[jschall]

Would phosguard prevent anubias, vallisneria, or other plants from growing or kill them?

 

[hybridtheoryd16]

some otto's maybe

 

[red_wall]

Ottos will eat the diatoms.
To permanently fix the problem, you have to let the diatoms run themselves out. Until they use up all of the silica in the water (or whatever they use to make their shells), you'll have them. The only thing that can help is to gravel vac more, so you can remove the dead ones' silica.
Of course, if this is in your water, you'll never get rid of them (except by an animal that eats them).

Phosphate absorbing media will limit the growth of plants, if not stop it (at least, common sense tells me, I might be wrong though, but plants need phosphate to grow)

 

[Lupin]

You're lucky you have plenty of diatoms around your tank which my nerite snails would love to gobble overnight. What fish do you plan to keep in there?

 

[Mr. Grumpy Gills]

is there anything that will eat diatoms in saltwater?