Diatoms / Shallow sand bed maintenance

[lastlight]

Until a few days ago I was using the stock bulb still so that may have contributed. It was the floor model Solana from Big Als so who knows how long that bulb ran but surely over a year unless they'd change it (doubtful).

When I got my two fish I was overfeeding a touch to ensure they got enough which may have been silly but I wanted to be sure. I'm feeding much less now.

I modded my 6025 and should be getting about 1100 gph which I think is decent. About 30x right now. It seems ANY sand that gets light is affected. The sand under my cave is bone white. so I think flow is less of an issue.

So those are likely culprits. How does the silicate generally leave a new system? Mainly through manual removal or skimming?

Thanks