algae outbreak identification

[Chris Romani]

Hello all! This is a 125g tank that has been set up for 6 months. I recently added two 300w viparspectra LEDs to open up possibilities of expanding the reef and have had large blooms since. Attached you will see 4 pictures of the current situation and extensive algae on mostly just the sand bed- however also is a picture of before with what my LFS identified as cyano. I have maintained water qualities well with bi weekly changes of 35 gallons and top off with RODI water. What kind of algae am I dealing with here? And also what can I do to assist with resolving? Should not have any issue with flow and filtration is good along with water parameters. I added some snails yesterday as my CUC has been weak but haven't had the need with the algae control with current fish and non LEDS in past months. Thanks for any input.

 

[Bryson.bobby]

Appears to be dino. What are your parameters? Dino occurs when very little or no nitrates are present.

Does it go away when lights are off? If so, you will need to do a three day blackout. Also, try investing in a good uv sterilizer.

Wait and see what others think


http://reefpursuits.com/dinoflagellates-in-your-reef-tank/

 

[Chris Romani]

Salinity- 1.025
Ammonia- 0
Nitrate- 5
Ph- 8.0
Phosphate- 0.2

Yes they seem to digress when lights go out, but rebuild back up throughout the day. Thanks for your input. Could it have been introduced with the salt during a water change?

 

[Chris Romani]

Also, I have noticed my Kole Tang and Foxface snack on it throughout the day... just obviously cannot keep up. Does this mean anything?

 

[Chris Romani]

Why would the additional of a grow light be the jump start? Were these in my system the entire time but just not fed properly until recently?

 

[melanotaenia]

I would suggest dialing back the lighting and see how the tank adjusts; anytime you change things drastically like lighting, there could be issues while the tank tries to adapt to the new lighting. I would definitely say that salt would not have caused this issue.

 

[Chris Romani]

Thank you for that input. I have 2 viparspectra 300w leds currently set for 45 blue 30 white... what would you recommend the adjustment? I was attempting to start slow with them but maybe didn’t start slow enough.

 

[melanotaenia]

I am not sure what adjustment is best but I would dial them down further. I started at about 25% intensity on my LED and worked up, and that seemed to work well. I only mention the lighting because you mention this started with the new lights, so that the lights are likely the variable that needs to be adjusted The good news is I have seen much much worse, so you should be able to get rid of it pretty easily.

 

[Chris Romani]

One last thing, with the new LEDs I asked my LFS about the algae bloom and they suggested putting black electrical tape over all the green and red LEDs. Is this a valid response to combat the algae? I was a little confused by it.

 

[Dono]

One last thing, with the new LEDs I asked my LFS about the algae bloom and they suggested putting black electrical tape over all the green and red LEDs. Is this a valid response to combat the algae? I was a little confused by it.

Do your lights not have the ability to control the intensity of each color LED? On AI/Radions you can manually turn down the red and green which will certainly grow algae quicker if on a higher intensity

 

[Coastie Reefer]

I'm gonna say it's probably not dino. There's different strains, but dino tends to be stringy and sometimes snotty. I only see it on the sand and not on the rock... so that makes me think cyano (dino gets EVERYWHERE). Best course of action for cyano is usually upping the flow in the tank, siphoning it out, bumping up CUC. If all else fails and you choose a non-natural treatment, chemiclean works great on cyano.

6 months is still pretty new when it comes to saltwater, and you may battle different ugly phases for nearly a year.

 

[Chris Romani]

Thanks! Yes I agree with you observation, it is only on the sand bed.