Inadvertently Dosing Silica?

[killer2001]

I've had my tank for little over a month now, and I believe I am starting to see small patches of diatoms. I started with dry rock and live sand, use RODI water, and I would imagine there is probably some silica within the dry rock.

However, I was thinking (overthinking perhaps) a bit further and along with my new fish pets, I also have a cat. Her litter box is in the same room as the fish tank. The particular type of litter that I use is none other than Silica Gel. When scooping her box I notice a decent amount of "dust" that will suspend in the air. Now I do have an air filter and fans blowing in the room however I can't help but think some of this dust will reach the tank at some point.

So my question is, is it possible from the dust of the Silica Gel cat litter to effectively dose my tank with Silica? The more frequently I scoop her box, the more potential for inadvertent "Silica Dosing" .... lol.

 

[blaxsun]

I wouldn't worry too much about the kitty litter (a vacuum hose turned close by when scooping will cut down on dust). Diatoms are perfectly normal for new tanks - in time they'll brown, green and then you should see purple coralline developing.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Might be some silicate that way, but silica is not silicate and needs to slowly dissolve first.

FWIW, I regularly dosed silicate.