Silicate absorbing resins: Diatoms issue

[Trillianne]

Alright so I have some issues with my tank. Primarily I seemed to have an unending supply of diatoms (tank has been up and running for more than 6 months).

Now before someone jumps in with how diatoms are a new tank issue, I did do some research on how this could possibly be. The usual diatom bloom most people see is a result of the silicone sealant used on a tank leeching silicates into the water. As the seals mature and age they leech less silicates and the diatoms starve and die off.

However, I have noticed for some time that in our tap water we occasionally get a whitish sediment which up until I'd dome my homework I assumed that was a lime/calcium type sediment that is typical in hard water. Since I was having issues with my tank water, I decided to have the water co-op test to find out what exactly my sediment was. And lo and behold.... silica.

I am thinking I'm getting close to nailing down the issue of "the brown crud" and am considering trying one of the silicate absorbing resins in my filter.

Any recommendations as to brands that work better than others? Is there anything I may have missed in my research that I should be looking at?

(I do know about ottos liking diatoms, but I'm not certain at this point that adding fish is the best solution)

[Fishguy2727]

GFO that removes phosphate will also remove silicate.