Diatom Bloom

[Maize & Blue]

So I have a Diatom Bloom. I sent in an ICP test and the results came back high silicates I have since fixed the RODI silicate issue. I do weekly water changes 15%, my phosphates are .06 and my nitrates are 14.4. How long will this Diatom Bloom last and is there anything I can do to prevent it from going longer than normal? Would carbon or a UV reactor help?

 

[Gumbies R Us]

I would run carbon an keep doing what you are doing with water changes. It should start to clear up over the coming days/weeks. Just be on top of monitoring your parameters, don’t drop anything drastically and make sure nothing bottoms out.

 

[Subsea]

I actually dose silicates for sponges & ornamental seaweeds. Interesting hobby.

@Maze & Blue
Get a herd of snails to graze down your diatoms. Silicates are also used to combat dinoflagellates which are a more serious issue.

 

[twentyleagues]

If you actually are having a diatom bloom there is nothing to worry about as they will not harm anything. If its actually dinos then you need to worry. Diatoms will die off when the silicates are used up.

 

[EnterName]

If I remember correctly at least iron-based silicate adsorbers will also remove phosphate. So keep an eye PO4 if you decide to use adsorbers, so you don't bottom out.
Phos 0.04 isn't really perfectly suited to remove silicate but according to this thread (https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/does-fm-phos-0-04-remove-silicates.800908/) it will get rid of some of it, and has the advantage of not bringing your phosphates below 0.04ppm. Maybe it's worth a try.

Carbon isn't very good in removing silicate as far as I know, and it might remove trace elements, so it's probably overkill in this scenario.
Water changes, manual removal, filter whool, and a good skimmer will get rid of a lot of diatoms, including the silicate they used to build their frustules with.

Some brown stains on the sand or a thin film on the glass isn't an issue as long as it doesn't irritate corals. If the problem isn't that bad yet you might not even have to do anything as you fixed your RO/DI system already.