Do diotoms stay in water column?

[rtague]

Hi all ,so I'm 3 month's into a new cycle on a 100g Im tank,not for the first time I might add.I started off with 60lbs of dry Marco rock and caribe sea sand,went through the whole cycle,all good,added clean up crew,then 5 small fish,all was good then the diatoms broke out on the rocks and sand,I expected this,but then the water turned a nasty brown color and has been this way for 2 weeks or more,when I did water changes the water I took out was nasty brown,is this diatom algae in the water column? or should I be looking at something else?.I

 

[Rmckoy]

Hi all ,so I'm 3 month's into a new cycle on a 100g Im tank,not for the first time I might add.I started off with 60lbs of dry Marco rock and caribe sea sand,went through the whole cycle,all good,added clean up crew,then 5 small fish,all was good then the diatoms broke out on the rocks and sand,I expected this,but then the water turned a nasty brown color and has been this way for 2 weeks or more,when I did water changes the water I took out was nasty brown,is this diatom algae in the water column? or should I be looking at something else?.I

I was always to the understanding diatoms are naturally present and consume silicates .
but was thought they died off after silicates were consumed .
assuming if the sand was stirred and released silicates that were trapped in areas it could colonize to consume it again ......

 

[rtague]

Thanks.