Diatom bloom producing oxegen?

[FragIt Dan]

Originally Posted by subman

I assuming it's a new tank and new sand. Diatoms bloom in the presence of silicates usually released from new sand. I thought I read once it was co2 bubbles, but it will pass soon either way

I think it would be Oxygen during the day (byproduct of photosynthesis) and Carbon Dioxide at night (byproduct of respiration). Incidentally the shift between these two processes when your lights go on/off is what causes the day/night pH cycle as a result of changing the equilibrium point for CO2 and carbonates in your tank water.


Dan

[Myka]

The first thought that runs through my head when people say "diatoms" and "bubbles" in the same sentence is dinoflagellates. I'm not familiar with your tank as it sounds like some of the above posters are, it sounds like maybe your tank is still cycling, or it is still really young? If the tank is super young it would be unlikely that dinos would already be a problem, but it's something you may want to look into. Also, keep in mind that if they are indeed just diatoms (be glad it's not dinos haha) that you want to double check your "nutrients in" (feeding, source water, etc) and make sure the diatoms don't persist for more than about 10 days or they will certainly continue into more noxious algae.

Dinoflagellates: