Which Diatom to go with ?

[12 Volt Man]

yup. that how they work. and they work very well.

but they are more of a quick fix.

eg. if you are one of those hobbyists that neglects their tank and you are throwing a party, a great way to get your fishtank looking great is to do an algae scrub and throw the filter on it for a few hours.

your guests will think you slave over the tank for hours each week

 

[vaine111]

So would it be harmful to my fish to get one of these and change 100 gallons out of my 120 gallon fish tank daily?

 

[fishbum]

So would it be harmful to my fish to get one of these and change 100 gallons out of my 120 gallon fish tank daily?

Probably not.But if you changed that much water that often,you won't need a diatom filter.

 

[vaine111]

Well I am having an issue that I am told is due to cleaning the tank too much. I usually change 50% weekly on my tank. About 2 months ago I changed out my substrate. I skipped a water change 3 weeks ago and and the following week I changed the water and it was so cloudy I couldn't see my fish. The cloudiness subsided about 3 hours later though.

Edit... sorry I forgot to add that now I go through this with every water change.

 

[12 Volt Man]

cloudy/milky water immediately following a water change can be from adding too much water conditioner. how much are you adding?

now, I am talking about a fine haze. not just particulate matter that is normally stirred up from the act of doing the change..

 

[RedDwarf]

These filters are not a replacement for an active biological filter in your tank. Now if the cloudiness is from particulate matter floating around in the tank after a gravel vac or water change then, yes, the diatom filter will work great in clearing this temporary problem right up.

 

[gavigan1]

I have had both. They are a bit cumbersome but work excellent. For a few extra bucks get the XL. Absolutely get the H Valve for start up, will make your life so much easier. I made on using PVC fittings but would spend the 20 bucks next time. Also I tried plumbing it in line -so I could run it a hour or 2 each day. Never got it to work correctly though. Needs to be gravity fed. Too much flow leaks around the jar. Too little flow, water level in jar will get low. the return need to flow upward or you will get air trapping. I dont use mine very often but whenever I do appreciate having it.

 

[vaine111]

cloudy/milky water immediately following a water change can be from adding too much water conditioner. how much are you adding?

now, I am talking about a fine haze. not just particulate matter that is normally stirred up from the act of doing the change..

I add 2 drops of prime per gallon of water, which I add to the water before putting in my tank.
I was told that when I allowed the tank to go that extra week the "good" bacteria in the substrate was(how can I put this) so much that when I took it out it unbalanced it self and takes a few hours to rebalance itself.

I hope that sounded ok lol.