Can I cycle a jar to stabilize it?

I have a hydrophane opal I keep in a little jar on my desk near one of my riparium builds. It’s under a light so I can see some of the color play.

The issue is that the jar, which is watertight and hasn’t been opened since I put the opal in, is developing diatoms which cloud the glass.

Is there a way to minimize them? Could I throw a chunk of ‘cycled’ filter media in with it? Would that stabilize the water some or would it just bring in more types of algae?

BTW the water in this jar is NOT dechlorinated.

 

I do not thin k cycled media would help. For one, cycled tanks get diatoms and two since no ammonia is being released the bactria would die.

Generally diatoms go away on their own once all ofg the silicates in the water have been depleted. But I don't know if you hydrophane opal coulkd possibly be leeching silacates into the water.

 

Ah. Opals are silica crystals, so that’s probably the issue. I’ll just clean the glass then.

 

Its a stone cant you just clean the glass and change the water? Just curious I know nothing about Opals.

 

Hey,

First of all, I also know nothing about opals and what temperature they can take.

Is it closed airtight?
If so and if possible with the opal, why not fill it with distilled water (or even regular water) and heat it up in a pot of water? Basically the same way you boil in jam in those glasses.

That should kill every spore and bacteria.

Like this: How to Make Jam.

 

Never thought of distilled water, actually. I don’t believe it’s and airtight jar?? I can totally change the water and clean it I’m just lazy.

Opals are super heat sensitive too, just generally super unstable stones. That’s why it’s in water, hydrophane opals have such high water content that if they are allowed to dry out they break. There’s probably some chemical I can add to the water to kill everything, the issue is that since opals have such high water content they absorb everything and it can discolor them.

Now that I say it I realize how high maintenance this rock is.