Dinos or Cyano?

[Adamantium]

Apologies if this is the wrong forum. Can anyone identify this algae/bacteria? This is right after lights on. I’m thinking/hoping it’s cyano. I’ve been dosing Vibrant, which for I’ve heard can cause cyano.

Thanks!

 

[Timfish]

My guess is cyano, probably a Lungbia sp. But irregardless of the type on nuisance algae in my tanks I use manual removal and H2O2 and algae eaters. It's tedious but if this was my tank I would first syphon off as much as possible then use a syrenge with H2O2 poked through a silicone muffun tin cup, place the cup against the surface to isolate a small section, inject about 1 cc of H2O2 then hold the cup there about a minute. I would also add some urchins, either Tuxedo or Royal, they scour rocks removing algae a lot better than using a small brush. Sally Lightfoots are another favorite.

 

[Adamantium]

My guess is cyano, probably a Lungbia sp. But irregardless of the type on nuisance algae in my tanks I use manual removal and H2O2 and algae eaters. It's tedious but if this was my tank I would first syphon off as much as possible then use a syrenge with H2O2 poked through a silicone muffun tin cup, place the cup against the surface to isolate a small section, inject about 1 cc of H2O2 then hold the cup there about a minute. I would also add some urchins, either Tuxedo or Royal, they scour rocks removing algae a lot better than using a small brush. Sally Lightfoots are another favorite.

Thanks for the advice! As far as CUC, it’s only a 4 gallon pico, so I don’t think a light foot or urchin would be possible. I just have 2 astrea and a hermit in there right now.

I can try H2O2, thanks. You wouldn’t suggest CyanoRX?

 

[snorklr]

speaking of h2o2...recently found a thread that said if you collected some of whatevers growing and put it in 100 ml of water (didnt specify salt or fresh) and add 5ml of 3 percent peroxide to it....if the stuff develops bubbles on it , its cyano...supposedly diatoms or dinos wont bubble

 

[Brian Coulter]

Looks like Dinos, but the cure for both is the same. Make sure you have measurable nitrate and phosphate and wait for your bacterial and pod population to mature. Don't get in a hurry.

 

[Adamantium]

Looks like Dinos, but the cure for both is the same. Make sure you have measurable nitrate and phosphate and wait for your bacterial and pod population to mature. Don't get in a hurry.

Well shoot. That’s what I was hoping not to hear. The rock is really well seasoned, but the tank itself is probably too clean since I do 50-80% water changes due to the small volume. I guess I should start doing smaller changes, and up my feeding a bit.

I’m also thinking about a 3 day blackout to see if that helps.

 

[Timfish]

Thanks for the advice! As far as CUC, it’s only a 4 gallon pico, so I don’t think a light foot or urchin would be possible. I just have 2 astrea and a hermit in there right now.

I can try H2O2, thanks. You wouldn’t suggest CyanoRX?

Oooops! You're right, totally inappropriate suggestions. Small hermits would be a better choice.

Never heard of CyanoRX. I have tried various concoctions though with varied success. One reason I quit using them is when I got a superstrain in one tank that nothing had any effect on but manual removal and big water changes along with GAC did eventually get rid of it.. Another problem I have with any quick fix remedy for any algae or bacteria problem is it's not fixing the underlying cause or imbalance.

 

[Brian Coulter]

Well shoot. That’s what I was hoping not to hear. The rock is really well seasoned, but the tank itself is probably too clean since I do 50-80% water changes due to the small volume. I guess I should start doing smaller changes, and up my feeding a bit.

I’m also thinking about a 3 day blackout to see if that helps.

If it is Dinos, smaller water changes will help, that and actually dosing some phosphate until you see some blue on your test kit. It will start to slow down almost immediately, but a little will hang on for a couple of months until it's gone.

 

[Adamantium]

If it is Dinos, smaller water changes will help, that and actually dosing some phosphate until you see some blue on your test kit. It will start to slow down almost immediately, but a little will hang on for a couple of months until it's gone.

Thanks for the reply, and advice. Any thoughts on dosing H2O2 for dinos? I’ve never dosed it before, but I see people are reporting success.

 

[brandon429]

We would really like to work this tank in our dinos, peroxide thread/custom job right here if you'd like


I brag constantly that no pico reefs on the planet are invaded due to the ability to deep clean them

we should enact that here. its not about dosing an item, or responding to one param. the big picture of pico reefs is that you clean them top to bottom, and then the next day they're fixed. dose nothing buy nothing, a total skip cycle cleaning


the point of the bragging prior was that large tankers have to tinker with the water to a large degree, we dont. a 100% water change with sandbed cleaning and rocks will demonstrate for large tankers, on a very small reef model, what rip cleaning can do. I want this job more than any post on the board if you are up for it, 100% success most certain.


for large reefs, we can find threads where they battle invasions in ten ways.


but for pico reefs, we can't. they battle invasions a unique way...


the oldest pico reef on the planet is twice as old as the next oldest one to it. its a rip cleaned system

because your reef is 4 gallons, you have a secret trick to never be invaded for the life of the tank. complete cleaning at once.

want to see a recent job?

dont experiment with your pico, do what old picos do to be constantly uninvaded.

 

[brandon429]

Nitrate level (No3) high in pico

so I started my 2 Gal pico tank a while ago, it cycled properly and all got a scarlet hermit, snail and now a Duncan and candy cane coral. Did my tests last two weeks and my No3 nitrate has sky rocketed, I did a 20% water change and nothing helped so the following week I did a 40%. Now I...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[vetteguy53081]

This is Dino forming here. Hermits??
Here is remedy:
Prepare for a water change and blow this stuff loose with a turkey baster and siphon up loose particles.
Turn lights off for 5 days and st night dose 1ml of hydrogen peroxide per 10 gallons for all 5 nights
During the day dose 1ml of liquid bacteria (such as bacter 7) per 10 gallons.
Clean filters daily and DO NOT FEED CORAL FOODS OR ADD NOPOX as it is food for dinos.
Day 5,, you can start with blue lights and work your white lights up slowly

 

[brandon429]

this is a savory post bc that truly looks like dinos even without microscopy id. just off its morphology


that makes the 100% water change approach a very fun one, because 100% of pollees would be against changing water for dinos invasions. says large tankers
pico reefs make their own rules, not required to entertain unwelcome guests. large tankers are required to entertain them, unless you're jon and then a 400 gallon reef wouldnt even be allowed.

its all about personal resolve.

120 gallon rip clean

I’ve decided to perform a rip clean on my 120 with 100% new water. The tank has been running for 5 years and was battling Dino for several months. I used the bacteria method from elegant corals and worked great I haven’t seen Dino in months now. But I tried several other methods including...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Brian Coulter]

Thanks for the reply, and advice. Any thoughts on dosing H2O2 for dinos? I’ve never dosed it before, but I see people are reporting success.

Personally, I would stick with the natural route and just make sure I had testable levels of nitrate and phosphate. Everything else is a band-aid and very temporary. Water changes are fine to physically remove the dinos as long as you keep those nutrients up. When I was fighting dinos, I still did water changes to give my corals some relief.

 

[Tankkeepers]

Not entirely sure why everyone freaks out over alittle dinos or cyno or really alittle algie of any type at all just turkey baster it loose let filter catch it clean filter and be done if everything else in the tank is happy then there is no need to worrie

 

[Adamantium]

I wanted to follow up here. Looks like the verdict is: cyano. The greenish-brown turf algae on the rocks might’ve thrown people off a bit. I’ve been using Vibrant to try to deal with that, but I think that wound up causing the cyano.

I’ve had good experiences with it in the past, so I used chemiclean two days ago, and this morning, it’s nearly all gone. Still have that stubborn turf algae, but I’ll get it out of there one day haha

Thank you SO much for all your input, everyone. I almost (but not quite) wish it had been dinos so we could try some other stuff to see what would’ve worked.

 

[Adamantium]

Since I’m not having luck with this turf algae after ~two months of dosing Vibrant (and even took the rocks out and scrubbed them, at one point), does anyone think H2O2 would be a good move? We talked about it in relation to dinos, but what about turf algae?

Back in my freshwater days, I drained my tank halfway and sprayed H2O2 on some algae spots, and they turned white and melted away in a few days like magic.

 

[Jenuvio]

I would suggest getting an algae eating fish to help keep the turf algae in check. Having a smaller tank can be hard to find out what is wrong in my opinion. Keeping it natural always helps keep the tank healthier and consistent.

I am current battling with cyano after 2 years of starting my tank. I had 16ppm Nitrate (Heavy Stock) running biopellets, everything was good until 2 fish died which led me to less feeding. Still running biopellets and Nitrates went down to 4-6ppm. This is the only culprit for the Cyano right now in my opinion. If cyano is triggered with low nutrients that would make sense. For now I am manually removing it and hope the tank can stabilize, will give it another month. I would rather wait it out before adding any type of chemical.

Does anyone know if algae outbreaks can occur when the weather is colder?
My tank ranges from 75-80*F . Currently longer in the low range due to cold weather.


Thanks!

 

[fishface NJ]

bump