Alage? ID

[rtparty]

I can not figure out what this stuff is. It doesn't go away at night. It's spreading but not quickly. It doesn't get "worse" in the day. I don't think any of my snails (Astraea, Cerith, Trochus) touch it. It does form some air bubbles but not a lot. If you look close it looks like pods are moving all over in it. One of the pictures even shows the pods.

Any ideas?

 

[DSC reef]

That looks bacterial

 

[rtparty]

That looks bacterial

I should have pointed out it's the brown fluffy stuff. There is some red cyano which I expected with a 5 month old tank.

The one picture has slimy, stringy brown algae but that goes away every night. The brown fluffy stuff stays around.

If it is bacterial, any ideas what or how to get rid of it?

 

[DSC reef]

Hoping it's not dinos. Not to sure on what steps you need to take until a positive ID comes through. Hopefully an expert will chime in soon.

 

[rtparty]

Hoping it's not dinos. Not to sure on what steps you need to take until a positive ID comes through. Hopefully an expert will chime in soon.

Thanks!

Everything I find says it isn't dinos. It doesn't seem to follow the pattern of okay at night and terrible during the day

 

[rtparty]

Bump for other IDs

 

[ReefinManhattan]

Check the Reefcleaners site (www.reefcleaners.org). They have a great pest ID section, with pictures of stuff and info on what eats it. Also, the guy that runs it, John Maloney, is very helpful. I've been buying snails and other cleaners from this guy for years.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Yea. Not Dino's.
A brown slime algae. Possibly a type of chrystophytes.

@reeferfoxx we've. dealt with this before I think.


I'll assume the N/p is pretty scewed right now.

The main success was to manually remove it. Run an aggressive mechanical filtration as well as Chem filtration. Carbon gfo. And some cases supplementing N\p.

 

[reeferfoxx]

Thanks for tagging me.

Before we get into treatment, does the last image appear to have a brown web growing on top of the assumed chrysophytes? Does very much look like chrysophytes but the brown web stuff looks different and could shine light on something else.

Can you also give more details on how the rock was prepared prior to going in the tank?

The one picture has slimy, stringy brown algae but that goes away every night. The brown fluffy stuff stays around.

Nevermind on the first question, the second one though?

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

And a curious question. What does your cuc consist of.

 

[rtparty]

Thanks for tagging me.

Before we get into treatment, does the last image appear to have a brown web growing on top of the assumed chrysophytes? Does very much look like chrysophytes but the brown web stuff looks different and could shine light on something else.

Can you also give more details on how the rock was prepared prior to going in the tank?


Nevermind on the first question, the second one though?

Rock was pressure washed and then all organic matter that I could find was removed. There is Pukani, fiji and tonga branch in there. All of it grows it. I've done this on multiple tanks throughout the years. I then cured the rock for 4-5 months with a skimmer, water changes, carbon and phosphate removal media. I added MicroBacter7 during the curing process to get everything seeded and going. I also fed pellets to get the ammonia cycle started.

When I got the tank setup I added the rock, live sand and 90% new water. I then added some chaeto from an established system

And a curious question. What does your cuc consist of.

Ceriths, Astraea snails, one or two Trochus and 2 hermit crabs. Then there are a few stomatella running around. Started with one and now I see a few so that's good

 

[rtparty]

Just read reefer's thread. Very enlightening and I'm 99% positive I have chrysophytes.

Might be time for some phosphate removal media, toothbrush scrubbing and a blackout...

 

[reeferfoxx]

Sorry, it's been a hectic Monday for me.

Rock was pressure washed and then all organic matter that I could find was removed. There is Pukani, fiji and tonga branch in there. All of it grows it. I've done this on multiple tanks throughout the years. I then cured the rock for 4-5 months with a skimmer, water changes, carbon and phosphate removal media. I added MicroBacter7 during the curing process to get everything seeded and going. I also fed pellets to get the ammonia cycle started.

When I got the tank setup I added the rock, live sand and 90% new water. I then added some chaeto from an established systemCeriths, Astraea snails, one or two Trochus and 2 hermit crabs. Then there are a few stomatella running around. Started with one and now I see a few so that's good

One thing that worries me is the rock itself has been stripped of all po4. The would explain the possible dinoflagellates growing on top of the chrysophytes. You also said there was cyano growing in the mix. That usually is a good sign, unfortunately. Unfortunately because, cyano can be a pain later on but good because that means there is some po4 in the system.

If it were my tank, treatment for dinos should be first. Because, say we clear the chrysophytes with 24 hour treatment of GFO, that could make the dinos thrive even more. Resulting in dead snails and back to square one. Proven method for getting rid of Dinos is increased nutrients. Since the tank is nutrient deprived I think the first focus should be Dinos and then chrysophytes. It's much easier(on coral at least) to flash GFO for 24 hours followed up with a water change when po4 is available. What do you guys think?

 

[rtparty]

Sorry, it's been a hectic Monday for me.



One thing that worries me is the rock itself has been stripped of all po4. The would explain the possible dinoflagellates growing on top of the chrysophytes. You also said there was cyano growing in the mix. That usually is a good sign, unfortunately. Unfortunately because, cyano can be a pain later on but good because that means there is some po4 in the system.

If it were my tank, treatment for dinos should be first. Because, say we clear the chrysophytes with 24 hour treatment of GFO, that could make the dinos thrive even more. Resulting in dead snails and back to square one. Proven method for getting rid of Dinos is increased nutrients. Since the tank is nutrient deprived I think the first focus should be Dinos and then chrysophytes. It's much easier(on coral at least) to flash GFO for 24 hours followed up with a water change when po4 is available. What do you guys think?

I'm not sure there are any dinos thankfully. I originally thought dinos and researched them heavily. Nothing shows the classic signs of dinos. None of my snails have died and they eat/pass over everything in this tank.

My overflow has some stringy alage on it and the snails will chow down on it when they find it. None of them die from it and it's been there for a couple months now. Coralline is growing well on the overflow and on the rocks although it has slowed as of late.

While I don't have exact numbers I doubt I'm low on nutrients since I feed pretty heavy (Midas Blenny, Firefish and tri color Wrasse) plus other things in the tank show excess nutrients. I'm okay without as well for now.

I have had green and red cyanobacteria in the tank. Green was mostly sump and red was in tank. I started doing hydrogen peroxide a couple weeks ago and the red cyanobacteria has turned brownish black all over and is disappearing. I believe that is what you are seeing on the chrysophytes.

More information on my tank:

Skimz SN123. Pulls out good skimmate consistently.

Matrix. I think 1 liter in total. Half of that is in a TLF reactor with pretty slow flow. Other half in a bag.

I had chaeto in my sump but the light was growing hair algae and other stuff in the sump and skimmer. It was also bleaching the chaeto since the chaeto was very limited in space. I've highly questioned pulling my skimmer completely and running a giant ball of chaeto. The skimmer releases a ton of micro bubbles and no one has a fix. My bubble trap doesn't keep them all out either. I also love the natural life a big ball of chaeto brings to a tank. With limited sump space, it's one or the other right now...

Just rambling on now...

 

[reeferfoxx]

I'll trust your judgement on the dinos.

The most effective route and sure fire way to getting rid of chrysos is to have GFO, toothbrush, and a canister filter(is best option). If you don't have a canister filter, switching filter socks or floss, can work too.
Also keep in mind that after adding GFO and midway through 24 hours, you need to check alkalinity. You'll be adding full amount of GFO for recommended tank size and alkalinity will drop a little more than normal. Remember and record times to test dkh before and during GFO.

Day 1

• First thing, scrub rocks with a toothbrush while filtering with canister or floss. Remember to check floss or sock for clogging. Make sure you get as much out as possible. Wait till tank clears.
• Perform black out. (ie: cardboard, trashbags, no light, etc)
• Add recommended amount of GFO for tank size to overflow or reactor. Start 24 hour timer.

Day 2

• First thing, check alkalinity if you haven't.
• Prepare to turn GFO off.

Day 3

• Or 72 hours later, remove black out procedures.
• Slowly acclimate the lighting back to normal to reduce stress.
• Your snails should start eating what's left.

This route is what worked for me with coral in the tank.

 

[rtparty]

@reeferfoxx thanks a bunch!

I plan to scrub the tank tonight when I get home. I (or my wife) will be syphoning as I scrub. The syphon tube will have a filter sock and be in the sump so it just recirculates the water. I am preparing at least 10 gallons of fresh salt water just in case anything odd happens. Been doing this long enough to know to be prepared with stuff like this. Never goes to plan, lol.

I'll then add phosphate remover and start the blackout.

Really hoping this works!

By chance, did you ever try an urchin for this stuff? In the past I've always kept urchins in my tanks and just dealt with the random coral knock over. I've found an urchin to be fantastic for algae control as long as you don't starve them.

Thanks again for all the help! I also went and purchased stump remover last night in case I need to bump nitrates up. Now I need to figure out how much to dose and all that.

 

[reeferfoxx]

Been doing this long enough to know to be prepared with stuff like this. Never goes to plan, lol.

Story of my life haha!

By chance, did you ever try an urchin for this stuff?

I really considered it but my tanks foot print really limits my options.

I also went and purchased stump remover last night in case I need to bump nitrates up. Now I need to figure out how much to dose and all that.

I can give you information on this. There is a more precise mixing and dosing measurement method. I'll try and get that to you before this evening. Im on my phone at the moment.

Just watch the filter socks. This stuff clogs quick.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

A diverse cuc is never a bad idea , unless it's too many of course.

Cough turbo cough coug snail.

 

[rtparty]

Story of my life haha!

I really considered it but my tanks foot print really limits my options.

I can give you information on this. There is a more precise mixing and dosing measurement method. I'll try and get that to you before this evening. Im on my phone at the moment.

Just watch the filter socks. This stuff clogs quick.

I'd love that info. I won't start dosing until my new test kit comes in this week.

I'll talk to my LFS about getting a short spine urchin after I try the manual removal method.

Thanks again!

 

[rtparty]

A diverse cuc is never a bad idea , unless it's too many of course.

Cough turbo cough coug snail.

I've done turbo snails before and liked them. You just have to watch them carefully. If they die, they release a lot of crap into the tank