A skimmer question and a substrate question

Hmmm, my tank is made out of silica. I guess I'm in trouble!




(Silica is glass. Glass is silica. Silica play sand is fine.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silica

 

maybe thats why we get algae growth on the glass. i wonder if there is a difference in on glass(you know what i mean) algae growth between glass and acrylic

 

I don't have experience with acrylic, so I'm not sure (could be though.)

I was sarcastic in my post. I would find it plausible that silica sand could have a higher chance of causing a diatom bloom because of the increased surface area that it offers over a flat sheet of glass.

Also, I should say that I personally do not use silica sand.

 

i know you were being sarcastic but i still wonder if theres a difference between acrylic and glass

 

Glass is made from silica, but, it is not pure silica. It is silica-based, but, it is chemically inert because of the limestone that is added to the melting process. Therefore, diatoms can't use it as a food source.

Acrylic is silica-free glass, otherwise known as plastic.