Bloom will not go away. Help ID it?

[JIsBusyReefing]

Been battling this stuff for months. Not sure what it is. Some have told me it's diatoms, some say it's dinos, and others say it's cyano. My nitrates are constantly high at ~40-80ppm and my phosphates are undetectable using API. Yes, I know some of you are going to tell me to get Red Sea or Hannah. Im working on it. Til then, I'm going by what I've got.

I've never had any algae growth in the tank, I could never grow chaeto, my corals aren't thriving (some of them look terrible), and I've constantly got this rust brown colored stuff growing all over my sand bed all the time. I'm thinking my tank doesn't have any useable amount of phosphate, which is why the nitrates are high, why I can't grow macroalgae, and why I keep having this bloom.

I recently added a biopellet reactor, started feeding more foods with phosphorus in it, and started dosing phosphorus in the tank. Should this help clear it up over the next couple of weeks?

 

[Jekyl]

How old is the tank?

 

[paul01609]

Sounds like Dino you got a microscope?

 

[JIsBusyReefing]

How old is the tank?

7 months

 

[JIsBusyReefing]

Sounds like Dino you got a microscope?

I don't, unfortunately.

 

[Jekyl]

7 months is still going through some uglies. Has coraline started growing? Any other algae issues?

 

[JIsBusyReefing]

7 months is still going through some uglies. Has coraline started growing? Any other algae issues?

Coralline has grown a little on the glass and power heads. Not much on the rock work yet. My magnesium are calcium are within range, so those aren't an issue. I've never had any algae issues, like hair or bubble algae. I tried doing a refugium before with chaeto but the chaeto never grew and eventually burned out. I have caulerpa in there now but it doesn't seem to grow fast.

 

[Oldreefer44]

IMO we need to have more info. ICP test may be the way to go at this point as it would give you an accurate base line to work from. Personally I wouldn't add the reactor yet as it could exacerbate your issues as much as help them. Same with overfeeding.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Appears to be diatoms
What type of water are you using? RODI water or tap water from the faucet?
When is last time you changed RODI filters?
Silicates,organics and light will promote such?
What is your readings for:
Ammonia
Nitrate
Ph
Phosphate
Salinity
Temperature

is your tank at or near a window?

siphon up well, reduce white light intensity, add 1ml of liquid bacteria per 10 gallons each day for 2 weeks and finally add the following snails:
Nassarius
Astrea
Trochus
Cerith

and 6-8 blue leg hermit crabs

 

[JIsBusyReefing]

Appears to be diatoms
What type of water are you using? RODI water or tap water from the faucet?
When is last time you changed RODI filters?
Silicates,organics and light will promote such?
What is your readings for:
Ammonia
Nitrate
Ph
Phosphate
Salinity
Temperature

is your tank at or near a window?

siphon up well, reduce white light intensity, add 1ml of liquid bacteria per 10 gallons each day for 2 weeks and finally add the following snails:
Nassarius
Astrea
Trochus
Cerith

and 6-8 blue leg hermit crabs

Whatever they are, they just keep coming back in force.

I use RODI water. Last time I changed cartridges was a few weeks ago. I use the aquatic life brand 4 stage system. Here's what I tested yesterday.

Ammonia: not tested (I can if need be)
Nitrate: 40ppm
Phosphate: 0ppm
pH: 8.2
dKH: 11
Calcium 400ppm
Magnesium: 1390ppm
Specific Gravity: 1.025
Temp: 77 Fahrenheit

The tank is near a window but the window is blacked out. I don't allow outside light to hit the tank. Lights are x3 viparspectra hanging 7" above my 4' wide 150g tall tank set to 1% whites and 30% blues. They run 12 hours a day with a 1 hour ramp up and 1 hour wind down period. Already have snails and hermits in here. Also have a sand sifting star, conch, and two sally lightfoot crabs. What would the bacteria do?

 

[JIsBusyReefing]

IMO we need to have more info. ICP test may be the way to go at this point as it would give you an accurate base line to work from. Personally I wouldn't add the reactor yet as it could exacerbate your issues as much as help them. Same with overfeeding.

Noted

 

[Achmeal]

I was having a very similar problem. My tank is about 10 months old. Could not get rid of it. My Nitrates and Phosphates have always been low (N 1.09 P .09). All other parameters perfect. Tried a few different products and have had the best results with DINO X. One dose and these were my results on the third day. Good luck just keep on researching and trying things you will get it under control.

 

[paul01609]

Before buying stuff invest in a scope and see what you are dealing with

 

[JIsBusyReefing]

I was having a very similar problem. My tank is about 10 months old. Could not get rid of it. My Nitrates and Phosphates have always been low (N 1.09 P .09). All other parameters perfect. Tried a few different products and have had the best results with DINO X. One dose and these were my results on the third day. Good luck just keep on researching and trying things you will get it under control.

Nice job!

 

[saltyhog]

Get a view under a scope! Your nutrient balance is pretty severely imbalanced. Nitrate that high with zero phosphate is often associated with dinoflagellates. It might be diatoms but better to know for sure.

Any problems with corals or inverts?

 

[JIsBusyReefing]

Before buying stuff invest in a scope and see what you are dealing with

Would if I had the money. I'm pretty sure scopes are good investment, no?

 

[paul01609]

I had a similar problem brown sand threw loads of cash at it for a year or so still no better,
paid for a scope a bam Dino I had

 

[JIsBusyReefing]

Get a view under a scope! Your nutrient balance is pretty severely imbalanced. Nitrate that high with zero phosphate is often associated with dinoflagellates. It might be diatoms but better to know for sure.

Any problems with corals or inverts?

Birdsnest bleached and closed up (recently died), alveopora flowerpot bleached out bad and is shrunken up (probably gonna die), frogspawn shrank up but has recently started looking a little better, bubble coral shrank up and is shedding its bubbles (unless that's some form of reproduction?), and several BTAs I tried adding over the past 3 months died off within 3 weeks of buying them, and my Duncans are closed up.

Everything else seems ok. I have another GTBA and a giant Ritteri in the tank that look great and have no issues. All of my other inverts are fine too. No fish issues at all either. They're all happy.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Whatever they are, they just keep coming back in force.

I use RODI water. Last time I changed cartridges was a few weeks ago. I use the aquatic life brand 4 stage system. Here's what I tested yesterday.

Ammonia: not tested (I can if need be)
Nitrate: 40ppm
Phosphate: 0ppm
pH: 8.2
dKH: 11
Calcium 400ppm
Magnesium: 1390ppm
Specific Gravity: 1.025
Temp: 77 Fahrenheit

The tank is near a window but the window is blacked out. I don't allow outside light to hit the tank. Lights are x3 viparspectra hanging 7" above my 4' wide 150g tall tank set to 1% whites and 30% blues. They run 12 hours a day with a 1 hour ramp up and 1 hour wind down period. Already have snails and hermits in here. Also have a sand sifting star, conch, and two sally lightfoot crabs. What would the bacteria do?

Bacteria would digest some of the inorganics and silica that contribute to this. Nitrate is a bit high. One thing that will help you is adding a pouch of ChemiPure elite which will keep nitrate and phos in check. The RO unit you have may be allowing a low level of silicates to enter your tank.
If possible, a 3-5 day blackout will help quite a bit. The snails I aforementioned will specifically work on this stuff. Ammonia unless very high will have low impact on this.
Is window totally blacked out or indirect light enters room ?

 

[JIsBusyReefing]

Bacteria would digest some of the inorganics and silica that contribute to this. Nitrate is a bit high. One thing that will help you is adding a pouch of ChemiPure elite which will keep nitrate and phos in check. The RO unit you have may be allowing a low level of silicates to enter your tank.
If possible, a 3-5 day blackout will help quite a bit. The snails I aforementioned will specifically work on this stuff. Ammonia unless very high will have low impact on this.
Is window totally blacked out or indirect light enters room ?

I'll try a blackout and see what happens. The window is totally blacked out. No light makes it through.