Perhaps you’ve heard of it before, but silicates are a huge no-no to any aquarium tank. Aquarists have to deal with them properly or else they can cause some damage.
Silicate absorbing resin refers to resins that are added to aquarium filters to absorb silicate. Silicates are brown algae that coat the surfaces of the aquarium. This makes your tank look ugly and dirty since the shade of the algae looks like rust.
In this article, we’ll discuss silicate absorbing resin and what it does to your tank.
Table of Contents
What is silicate absorbing resin?
As mentioned above, silicate absorbing resin helps absorb silicates in your tank. Usually, this is the last resort of aquarium owners when dealing with silicate algae when cleaning and adding light to the aquarium won’t work.
The silicate absorbing resin is used in the filter of the aquarium to absorb floating silicate particles in the water. This prevents algae build up in the tank because it’s now filtered from the beginning.
What causes high silicates in aquariums?
Silicate is a type of algae which means it thrives on low light areas. High nitrate levels which are caused by dead plants and excess fish food, will also cause silicate to form in the tanks.
Silicates are common when setting up a new or unregulated aquarium. The brown algae that appear on your tanks are composed of diatoms, a single-celled organism that combine together to form a colony. The colony will look brown and will now affect the color of the aquarium. Locations that have a high silicate on their tap water will also have this brown algae problem.
How do I lower my aquarium silicates?
Cleaning the aquarium is a start to lower aquarium silicates. Removing dead plants and other materials that are not needed in the tank can also lower silicates.
You can also treat the water that will be used in water change in the aquarium can minimize the silicate particles. Putting light in the area of the aquarium can definitely help in minimizing aquarium silicates. Regulate the nitrate, phosphate, and oxygen levels to avoid the formation of silicate in your tank.
Is silica bad for aquariums?
Silica algae don’t harm your aquarium or any organisms inside it. It can be food for your fish. However, it can be a sore to look at since it has a brown color and sticks to the aquarium surfaces.
Silicate can also be easily removed by wiping the aquarium from the inside. Plants or other types of algae can remove the silicate algae because they are taking away the nutrients that the silicate algae needs in order to thrive.
Does Purigen remove silicates?
Purigen is a resin bead product that is used in the filter to absorb silicate in your salt or freshwater aquarium. It can also be regenerated by cleaning the absorbed particles with bleach.
It controls the nitrate level, meaning it can prevent and remove the build-up of silicate in the tank. In a low nitrate level environment algae, the build-up is reduced technically removing the algae in your aquarium.
Does PhosGuard remove silicates?
Phosguard is a fast-acting solution that can remove silicate and phosphate in freshwater and works best in marine-type aquariums. It is very effective in removing phosphate from the aquariums so it is not recommended to use it in phosphate-based freshwater.
Its highly porous materials help in promoting water flow in the filter. It comes in six different sizes: 100 mL, 250 mL, 500 mL, 1 Liter, 2 Liter, 4 Liter
Can you use Purigen and PhosGuard together?
Technically, yes, you can use Purigen and Phosguard at the same time but it is not recommended.
They won’t have any bad effects when mixed all together since they remove silicate but it will impact the quality and contents of the water in your tank.
Plus, the amounts that you mix together are important since each product has a different effect. Phosguard is very effective but not measuring the amounts that you put in your tank can have an impact on the potassium, calcium, and other minerals that are in your tank.
Purigen, on the other hand, is an excellent product but again you should be careful about the amounts that you are using. The water becomes clearer that light passes through when you are using too much Purigen. Powerful lights can now penetrate the aquarium and might have a negative effect on the organism inside it.
Take both negative effects on your aquarium and it might end up in a disaster.
Using Silicate Absorbing Resin in Your Tank
Now you know what silicate absorbing resin is and what it can do in your tank!
Do you have any questions? Be sure to visit our aquarium blog!