Brown Diatoms with no Phosphates?

[Kasey Grohowski]

Yessir.

Ill probably add some copepods/amphipods soon. I can only add fish every 30 days.

 

[Kasey Grohowski]

http://www.reefaquarium.com/2013/dealing-with-dinoflagellates/
Low nutrients getting rid of dino's?

 

[Kasey Grohowski]

Just did another phosphate test with a different kit, it's showing .25 now.

 

[reeftivo]

what PO4 test are you using? Photometer or standard box test?


Here's mine under scope when it was bad. My dinos came when my NO3 and PO4 bottomed out on vacation. Helper wasn't feeding enough and missed some days
,

0.25 is high, but fine if your trying to facilitate growth of other microalgaes to help out compete the dinos. some nitrate is good too.

if you decide to dose pods, i would also dose phytoplankton (live preferable). I would suspend water changes for a while and get a microscope if it persists.
the treatment for dinos depends on the strain. I had mostly prorocentrum and Ostreopsis strains. UV helped in conjunction with no water changes and dosing Oceanmagik with copepods. Once they weren't visible for a couple days I did a 10% water change fearing they would come right back but NOPE.

 

[Kasey Grohowski]

what PO4 test are you using? Photometer or standard box test?


Here's mine under scope when it was bad. My dinos came when my NO3 and PO4 bottomed out on vacation. Helper wasn't feeding enough and missed some days
,

0.25 is high, but fine if your trying to facilitate growth of other microalgaes to help out compete the dinos. some nitrate is good too.

if you decide to dose pods, i would also dose phytoplankton (live preferable). I would suspend water changes for a while and get a microscope if it persists.
the treatment for dinos depends on the strain. I had mostly prorocentrum and Ostreopsis strains. UV helped in conjunction with no water changes and dosing Oceanmagik with copepods. Once they weren't visible for a couple days I did a 10% water change fearing they would come right back but NOPE.

Box test. I also have 15 nitrates. I do currently dose Seachem Phytoplankton.

 

[reeftivo]

what size system do you have?

Is it only on a small section of rock, or is it all over (sand bed too)?

 

[Kasey Grohowski]

what size system do you have?

Is it only on a small section of rock, or is it all over (sand bed too)?

220 gallons, I just added 50 pounds of cycled (6 weeks in aerated seawater) dry rock and it started on that rock and is mostly on that rock. Now it is on my sandbed a little bit, on the side panes of glass and powerhead.

 

[reeftivo]

ah ha!

i should have asked if it was a new system. How long up and running?

if it's new and just recently cycled, the ugly stage usually always rears it head during that transition. Just give it time to build the micro fauna and micro algae.

 

[Kasey Grohowski]

ah ha!

i should have asked if it was a new system. How long up and running?

if it's new and just recently cycled, the ugly stage usually always rears it head during that transition. Just give it time to build the micro fauna and micro algae.

Up and running for 5 months.

 

[reeftivo]

Up and running for 5 months.

i would ride it out a bit before panicking. what livestock do you have in the tank?

 

[Kasey Grohowski]

i would ride it out a bit before panicking. what livestock do you have in the tank?

Marbled/coral catshark and a clownfish

 

[Kasey Grohowski]

Can dino's still do well in a tank with ~15 nitrates and .25 phosphates?

 

[Kasey Grohowski]

Just finished a 3 day blackout, stringy algae (presumably dino's) went away, and now I have green hair algae in a few spots.

 

[Bryson.bobby]

Looks like cyano with diatoms

 

[Kasey Grohowski]

Looks like cyano with diatoms

Is cyano stringy?

 

[Bryson.bobby]

Is cyano stringy?

Yes

 

[Kasey Grohowski]

Yessir

Well I hope, I'd much rather deal with cyano than dino's. Although the fact that it went away after a blackout leads to me to think it's dino's again.

 

[Bryson.bobby]

Here’s a video on how to remove it

 

[Bryson.bobby]

Well I hope, I'd much rather deal with cyano than dino's. Although the fact that it went away after a blackout leads to me to think it's dino's again.

You might be right. I think cyano would probably go away during a blackout because you raised your nutrients plus it’s photosynthetic.

Cyano can also have bubbles in it.

 

[Kasey Grohowski]

You might be right. I think cyano would probably go away during a blackout because you raised your nutrients plus it’s photosynthetic

Raised my nutrients?