anyone dosing silicates?

[jjk]

I read an article a while ago about dosing silicates to actually encourage mild diatom growth, as the diatoms make great food for pods and other creatures in the reef. They also suck up nutrients and reduce algae growth.

Is anyone here doing this? I'm curious as to experiences with this, since I would very much like to boost my pod population and I understand that diatoms would accomplish this.

[vaporize]

i'm not sure if anybody really like to encourage diatom growth :)

[jjk]

i'm not sure if anybody really like to encourage diatom growth :)

Not quite true - some people do. I'm pasting a link to the article here, if anyone is interested (hopefully it's not against the rules to post it here). http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/jan2003/feature.htm

[jackiechandc]

If the point is to increase pod population, I think the easiest way is to add more porous live rock and a larger refugium with macro algae like chaeto where the pods can hide. Trying to increase your diatom supply can lead to a diatom bloom if you overdose the tank and then your tank's a real mess afterwards. Also don't know what other problems you might get if you overdose on silica. There is no real drawback doing it with live rock and refugiums.

Wei