Is diatomaceous earth a good source for diatoms?

[Microworld Steve]

Is diatomaceous earth a good source for diatoms for making slides with?

[MicroBob]

Hi Steve,
in some cases yes, mostly not. You would have to try your individual product. I would suggest to collect diatoms yourself and clean with one of the more home lab compatible methods.

Bob

[Charles]

Most Diatomaceous earth has been processed by acid cleaning, heating and grinding to uniform size and most have non-diatomaceous earth fillers added. So different brands will differ with how much diatoms are in there. When there are diatoms in the sample, most are broken. I have a DE pool filter and routinely get DE for the filter. These days looking at samples through the microscope, I see lots of filler and very little diatoms and the ones I see are very small or broken.

[BramHuntingNematodes]

Yeah it's like a pile of broken bottles in there

[BramHuntingNematodes]

But hey you don't have to take our word for it put some under there and take a look careful though it's very abrasive stuff

[hans]

I had been wondering the same thing. I have some "Safer" brand stuff sold as insect killer that says 100% diatomaceous earth, finally got around to taking a look at it:

[EYE C U]

looked at the bag i had in hopes of finding something interesting...nothing but mush..probably why it didn't work on spider control

[75RR]

According to Wiki, diatomaceous earth as sold for filters and pest control is ground, milled or calcined

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatomaceous_earth

A local natural deposit would be much more productive.

[Element 56]

My wife had a tube of black toothpaste that was an excellent source for diatoms. Unfortunately I don't recall the name and she threw out the tube. I was pisssssssed! I have heard other toothpastes also contain diatomacea but the black stuff was the only one I had success with.

[hans]

My wife had a tube of black toothpaste that was an excellent source for diatoms. Unfortunately I don't recall the name and she threw out the tube. I was pisssssssed! I have heard other toothpastes also contain diatomacea but the black stuff was the only one I had success with.

Interesting, was it less crushed up than my insect killer? The thought of rubbing frustules on my teeth though, I dunno, gives me that fingernails-on-a-chalkboard sort of feeling...

[MichaelG.]

... Unfortunately I don't recall the name and she threw out the tube. ...

.
Possibly this one ? ... https://twitter.com/_sashawilson_/statu ... 7100752896

MichaelG.
.
After some further detective work : https://www.pharmaca.com/my-magic-mud-a ... mint-4oz-1

[MichaelG.]

Also found : https://www.clearoffminerals.com/de-specs

Check the photo at the bottom of the page ... that’s a lot of diatoms !

MichaelG.
.

Edit: To appreciate the scale of Diatomite usage, this is worth a look https://www3.epa.gov/ttn/chief/old/ap42 ... 2_1995.pdf

[Element 56]

... Unfortunately I don't recall the name and she threw out the tube. ...

.
Possibly this one ? ... https://twitter.com/_sashawilson_/statu ... 7100752896

MichaelG.
.
After some further detective work : https://www.pharmaca.com/my-magic-mud-a ... mint-4oz-1

Michael,

I don't know if it was that exact brand but it was definitely an activated charcoal toothpaste. I kind of recall getting really good contrast with the diatoms which I attributed to the charcoal. However, more experimentation was needed but the tube disappeared before I could do so. If it's not bolted to the floor or in regular use my wife will throw it out.

Kirby

[Element 56]

My wife had a tube of black toothpaste that was an excellent source for diatoms. Unfortunately I don't recall the name and she threw out the tube. I was pisssssssed! I have heard other toothpastes also contain diatomacea but the black stuff was the only one I had success with.

Interesting, was it less crushed up than my insect killer? The thought of rubbing frustules on my teeth though, I dunno, gives me that fingernails-on-a-chalkboard sort of feeling...

I never used it to brush my teeth! It's black so not all that appealing!

I did find a fair amount of fully intact diatoms and there was some interesting ones that I didn't get a chance to identify (I'm still new to diatoms so they might be common to you). I will look for the slides next time I'm at work but I'm not sure I saved them. I experimented with a lot of different toothpaste back then and this particular one was the only one I found that was worth further investigation IMO. I read that sensodyne has diatomacea but I never found any.

Kirby

[LouiseScot]

I've never tried it myself but you can buy a tub of diatomite for not very much (e.g. https://diatomitedirect.co.uk/diaguard- ... oduct.html,
probably also on Ebay.
It's probably a bit hit and miss like in this youtube video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUfYbZkkFJ0[url][/url]

I'm planning on trying to gather some live ones from the nearby river or pond Would seem much more rewarding - if successful!

Louise