Dino/Cyano/Diatoms?

[birdsafari]

Lots of videos incoming!
120gal Reef tank has what looks like a brown haze on the substrate

Looked at a clump of the stuff under 100x and 400x and saw the attached videos
We are fighting with keeping nitrates up (5ppm used up overnight; dosing KNO3) and phosphates down (at 0.31 ppm with phosguard in a reactor for 3 days), but all other parameters are normal (36 sal, 12 dKH, 420 Ca, 8.2 pH, etc).

 

[birdsafari]

We are also fighting a slimy brown mess in the Quarantine Tank, but the nitrates are through the roof (50ishppm), as are phosphates (0.75ppm). Other parameters are normal.

Here are the videos at 400x:

 

[birdsafari]

Anyone able to offer assistance in identification of the crud in either tank? Do I need to provide more info/pics/video?

 

[Dan_P]

Except for tank pictures, nothing is showing up.

 

[AydenLincoln]

If it’s thick, red, and slimy it’s probably cyano and if it’s brown and the tank is super new it’s probably diatoms. In the QT tank on the rock that’s diatoms which will solve themselves on their own. Can we get a photo under white light? How old is the tank? And only a few photos loads. Videos won’t load on a smartphone and are only visible on a computer.

 

[birdsafari]

If it’s thick, red, and slimy it’s probably cyano and if it’s brown and the tank is super new it’s probably diatoms. In the QT tank on the rock that’s diatoms which will solve themselves on their own. Can we get a photo under white light? How old is the tank? And only a few photos loads. Videos won’t load on a smartphone and are only visible on a computer.

Ah I see! The 125g (Reef) tank is 5 weeks old. The 29g (Quarantine) tank is 2 weeks old.
Do GIFs work on mobile?

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Ah I see! The 125g (Reef) tank is 5 weeks old. The 29g (Quarantine) tank is 2 weeks old.
Do GIFs work on mobile?

New tanks get algae...

 

[birdsafari]

New tanks get algae...

Understood -- just afraid it might be dinoflagellates. In the QT, the frag rack was covered with it, but when I used a pipette to blow it off the zoas, the whole layer came up in one piece. Also did the "paper towel" test and the "slime" reappeared.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Understood -- just afraid it might be dinoflagellates. In the QT, the frag rack was covered with it, but when I used a pipette to blow it off the zoas, the whole layer came up in one piece. Also did the "paper towel" test and the "slime" reappeared.

Dinos are not the end of the world, they are part of the normal maturation process for most new tanks, especially those started with dry rock.

 

[AydenLincoln]

Yes they do it’s definitely diatoms then. Every new tank gets them they should go away in a few days and mine looked like that too. https://www.researchgate.net/figure...gellates-diatoms-cyanobacteria_fig3_269103803

 

[AydenLincoln]

Here’s a good video from BRSTV! They have so many about algae.

 

[AydenLincoln]

And a good article: https://www.differencebetween.com/difference-between-diatoms-and-dinoflagellates/amp/

 

[Lavey29]

It's typical for new tanks to have unstable high parameters like nitrates and phosphate. Weekly water changes are mandatory. Don't dose any harsh chemicals. You are going to be dealing with various algae ugly stages maybe into the first year.

 

[birdsafari]

The GIFs posted previously are from the Reef tank. The QT GIFs are here:
Very interesting how different the biota are!

 

[birdsafari]

It's typical for new tanks to have unstable high parameters like nitrates and phosphate. Weekly water changes are mandatory. Don't dose any harsh chemicals. You are going to be dealing with various algae ugly stages maybe into the first year.

We've actually been doing daily changes (~2 gal on the big tank, 0.5 gal on the small). Too often?

 

[Lavey29]

We've actually been doing daily changes (~2 gal on the big tank, 0.5 gal on the small). Too often?

Why? Until you have a sufficient bioload of corals and fish and your weekly water changes no longer maintain stability of alk, cal, mag and trace elements there is no reason to dose. Now if you want to hand dose some natural bacteria supplements to help build biodiversity that is fine. As the months pass if you notice things like nitrates or phosphates are low you can dose for that or feed more either way. New tank set ups need nothing but weekly water changes.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Youre looking likely at diatoms often in link with a newer tank. The water changes are very unecessary at least for now. Diatoms are a brown algae that typically appear in a reef tank that has just completed its cycle but they can also appear in an established reef tank. They can cover sand, rock, pumps, glass, you name it. Diatoms look ugly but in most cases they are harmless so the key is to not panic when they appear.
Diatoms feed mainly off of silicates but also consume dissolved organic compounds, phosphate and nitrates. Unfiltered tap water can contain silicates and is a good way to jump start a bloom if you use it to mix salt or to replace water that evaporated from the tank. The best way to prevent this from happening is to filter water through a RODI unit, although you can still get a diatom bloom when using RODI if the cartridge that removes silicates expires.
Diatoms are typically harmless to a captive reef and can be beaten once their food source expires. Once you put the kibosh on the source, the outbreak should last a couple of weeks so just be patient and it will pass.

**For major outbreaks you may want to consider the three day blackout. Diatoms are easily wiped from the glass with a mag float, a turkey baster or a toothbrush can access other areas of the tank. Be prepared for them to re-establish themselves quickly, they are likely to be able to resettle and have exponential growth rates.
To prevent their return, practice good aquarium husbandry by doing regular water changes, keep the substrate clean, don’t overfeed the fish, assure your skimmer is running at an optimal level and rinse out filter socks and sponges on a regular basis.
Some cleaner crew to help control it are : Cerith snails, Nerite snails and Trochus snails and also Astraea snails are effective at removing diatoms.

 

[Lavey29]

Youre looking likely at diatoms often in link with a newer tank. The water changes are very unecessary at least for now. Diatoms are a brown algae that typically appear in a reef tank that has just completed its cycle but they can also appear in an established reef tank. They can cover sand, rock, pumps, glass, you name it. Diatoms look ugly but in most cases they are harmless so the key is to not panic when they appear.
Diatoms feed mainly off of silicates but also consume dissolved organic compounds, phosphate and nitrates. Unfiltered tap water can contain silicates and is a good way to jump start a bloom if you use it to mix salt or to replace water that evaporated from the tank. The best way to prevent this from happening is to filter water through a RODI unit, although you can still get a diatom bloom when using RODI if the cartridge that removes silicates expires.
Diatoms are typically harmless to a captive reef and can be beaten once their food source expires. Once you put the kibosh on the source, the outbreak should last a couple of weeks so just be patient and it will pass.

**For major outbreaks you may want to consider the three day blackout. Diatoms are easily wiped from the glass with a mag float, a turkey baster or a toothbrush can access other areas of the tank. Be prepared for them to re-establish themselves quickly, they are likely to be able to resettle and have exponential growth rates.
To prevent their return, practice good aquarium husbandry by doing regular water changes, keep the substrate clean, don’t overfeed the fish, assure your skimmer is running at an optimal level and rinse out filter socks and sponges on a regular basis.
Some cleaner crew to help control it are : Cerith snails, Nerite snails and Trochus snails and also Astraea snails are effective at removing diatoms.

His tank has nitrates at 50 and phosphate at .75. Yes, water changes would be advisable. Yes the diatoms will pass in the coming weeks.

 

[vetteguy53081]

His tank has nitrates at 50 and phosphate at .75. Yes, water changes would be advisable. Yes the diatoms will pass in the coming weeks.

Im aware of his levels and thats assuming he has no false readings. This for his behalf was more informational as he is obviously a little new to this.