Algae growing on toadstool

[dub125]

Beetlejuice beetlejuice beetlejuice

See. Out of the woodwork to lend a hand.

Ok thanks for the detailed response! I will clean off the rock and toadstool tonight, I'm going to be gone all next week and I'm just having someone feed the fish. Next week I will get some of that chemipure elite, and start dosing as well as stuff to test the bacteria. Do you think the tank will be fine for the week if I clean the rock and do a water change? And since we are on the coral topic, do you think the lighting is fine for my current coral? (Toadstool, and candy cane)

Beetlejuice beetlejuice beetlejuice

See. Out of the woodwork to lend a hand.

Beetlejuice beetlejuice beetlejuice

See. Out of the woodwork to lend a hand.

 

[twilliard]

Ok thanks for the detailed response! I will clean off the rock and toadstool tonight, I'm going to be gone all next week and I'm just having someone feed the fish. Next week I will get some of that chemipure elite, and start dosing as well as stuff to test the bacteria. Do you think the tank will be fine for the week if I clean the rock and do a water change? And since we are on the coral topic, do you think the lighting is fine for my current coral? (Toadstool, and candy cane)

Just know that when you return you will see it.
I can help guide you out of that bacteria with the proper steps taken.

 

[twilliard]

I got my toadstool last week and it opened but it's been closed for a couple of days now and it has algae growing on it.

Also you may want to throw up some information about your water and your lighting. He is not happy and the cyanobacteria is pointing to a chemistry issue.

 

[ReeferMaddness843]

Very welcome! I'm unsure on the lighting specs so I'm not sure although I do know neither requires a ton of light. Just have them feed lightly and if possible "spot feed" the fish to make sure they're consuming and not adding nutrients to the tank. As shown in the pic, as much as a few cells will begin to spread again so scrubbing isn't the 100% solution, just a way to kind of restart the process.

 

[dub125]

Just know that when you return you will see it.
I can help guide you out of that bacteria with the proper steps taken.

That would be very much appreciated! So it kill any livestock while I'm gone?

 

[ReeferMaddness843]

If corals are wanted, need to monitor the alkalinity, magnesium, and calcium at minimal. Answers to those 3 main parameters will give a lot of info as to what's going on as well for coral health.

 

[ReeferMaddness843]

The tank is less than a month old, I just have the standard out of the box flow heads, and I don't have testscores for calcium and stuff, but my ammonia and nitrite are at 0 and nitrate is close to 0

So I used all live rock and sand and then some biospira and then a couple of days later I added livestock (probably not the smartest idea) I use ro water for top offs and do 10% water changes weekly

I got the rock from my lfs. The nitrates were high when I first introduced the livestock then I had this bloom and they shot straight down. Here is the full tank shot. I have carbon in my filter.

@twilliard This may answer a few unknowns if haven't read through the full thread.

 

[ReeferMaddness843]

just to confirm, you said top off with ro water. Is that just ro or rodi?

 

[twilliard]

It will "smother" corals. Cyano's will not kill it directly by more indirectly. The close to 0 No3 is due to the bacteria which in turn is hurting the tank being that low.
The tank is young and I would hold off on any additions until the big 3 is learned and the bacteria is taken care of.

 

[dub125]

just to confirm, you said top off with ro water. Is that just ro or rodi?

Im not too sure, I got it at my lfs, it just says "distilled spring water" it's what they recommended.

 

[dub125]

It will "smother" corals. Cyano's will not kill it directly by more indirectly. The close to 0 No3 is due to the bacteria which in turn is hurting the tank being that low.
The tank is young and I would hold off on any additions until the big 3 is learned and the bacteria is taken care of.

Ya was definitely not planning on adding anything else anytime soon.

 

[dub125]

So what are the actions that need to be taken and what do I all need to buy?

 

[dub125]

My toadstool is starting to look a lot worse as well

 

[ReeferMaddness843]

One sec and will give a nice little list of steps. Gotta get the kiddo to bed and if I miss this window to get him to sleep...... lol

 

[ReeferMaddness843]

These would be steps I would take and may be different than others. Disclaimer

 

[ReeferMaddness843]

2% phone life. Sorry for the buildup, but I'll login to my pc in a moment to add. Don't want it to die out mid post. Lol

 

[dub125]

2% phone life. Sorry for the buildup, but I'll login to my pc in a moment to add. Don't want it to die out mid post. Lol

Alright haha

 

[dub125]

Alright haha

And I scrub the rocks and did a water change here's what it looks like now

 

[ReeferMaddness843]

Off to a good start! Very proactive!
OK, so if it were me, here is what i would do:
ID the type of cyano you're going to be battling
Add a powerhead (preferably one with an irregular flow such as a wavemaker, I've used Jebao powerheads with good success if budget is a concern)
gently gravel vac the substrate to remove any debris on top (with all flow off so as to not spread around) I ran a Jebao PP4 in my 20 Long with good results
Get a full reef test kit (N03, PO4, Alk, Mg, Calc to start) Ph may need to be monitored, but that's at your discretion (i personally dont, but now that i'm having an issue, i may)
SLOWLY dose necessary additives to bring your levels to ideal and work to maintain them constantly
Add an in home RODI unit and get a cheapie TDS meter so you know exactly what you're adding to your tank (amazon has a TDS meter relatively cheap, i think like $12, if you want to snag that first and test the water coming from your LFS, if getting 0TDS, you could procrastinate the RODI unit a bit more, but i consider them to be a staple now)
Check the specs on your lighting and see where they compare to quality reef lighting. (what dimensions are tank and i can make some recommendations if like (again, they would be purely personal choice with budget in mind)
Monitor your NO3 and PO4 closely until comfortable they are not high. You don't want 0 and 0 readings as that will starve your coral. IDEAL but not always attainable in a system containing the corals such as what is in yours would be NO3 2-5 and PO4 0.03.
Add Chemipur Elite to the filter media
Do you have a skimmer? (not a necessity by any means and there are many successful tanks ran without one, but will help battle nutrients by removing prior to breaking down)
Aside from that, just research, research, research. Even if it's not something you have a problem with now, it may pop up later and better to be prepared than scrambling for a solution as I'm currently doing for my issue. I hope this helps and again, this is simply my train of thought and course of action i would take. Always work to the root of the problem rather than masking with additives and prettiness. Here for ya if need anything else or any other questions, but that should get things back on track.

 

[dub125]

Really helpful thanks! Do you have any test kits you recommend? So if I just keep the parameters good the bacteria will end up going away? I read leaving the light off for a couple of days can help, so I might try thst as well. I will get a powered as well. Thanks!