GRR....FRUSTRATED!

[MTBake]

I dealt with similar bubbles when I was fighting dinos. And it smelled just like you're describing.

Are you sure the brown stringy stuff isn't dinos? Anyway to get a sample under a microscope to verify?

 

[j.falk]

I dealt with similar bubbles when I was fighting dinos. And it smelled just like you're describing.

Are you sure the brown stringy stuff isn't dinos? Anyway to get a sample under a microscope to verify?

Are there bubbleless dinos? Everything I've read says that dinos have air bubble coming off of them. This stuff has no bubbles at all attached to it. It's just long strings running all over the sand bed and rocks.

I'll send a sample with my wife when she goes to work tomorrow. She said she'll look at it until a microscope (she's a microbiologist) and snap some pics with her cell phone.

 

[MTBake]

Are there bubbleless dinos? Everything I've read says that dinos have air bubble coming off of them. This stuff has nothing other than long strings running all over the sand bed and now starting to grow on the rocks.

I'll send a sample with my wife to work tomorrow. She said she'll look at it until a microscope (she's a microbiologist) and snap some pics with her cell phone.

I would definately still check to make sure. Perhaps the bubbles are being released by the brown stuff before they accumulate. The way the bubbles disappear at night is just too much of a coincidence, imo. Mine did the same thing at night.

 

[j.falk]

I would definately still check to make sure. Perhaps the bubbles are being released by the brown stuff before they accumulate. The way the bubbles disappear at night is just too much of a coincidence, imo. Mine did the same thing at night.

Thank you! I'm glad to hear someone else has had a similar experience. How did you end up getting rid of the dinos?

 

[MTBake]

Thank you! I'm glad to hear someone else has had a similar experience. How did you end up getting rid of the dinos?

2 things mainly. Added a uv sterilizer. I also started doing water changes from my mantis shrimp setup. The no3 and po4 are literally off the charts in that tank and it only has some brown film algae growing due to the weak lighting. That water with the higher nutrients helped my main tank immensely. Corals became more vibrant. Started seeing loads of copepods. And green algae started to grow. Those copepods and green algae helped out compete the dinos and they eventually went away.

 

[j.falk]

It may not be enough.

I added a third powerhead today. I'm running Hydor Koralia 425's...in your opinion, are those not enough for a 20 high?

I figured one on each side plus the Aquaclear 50 would be more than enough water movement for that size tank.

 

[j.falk]

So to be clear, I'm running 3 Koralia 425's (425 gph) and the Aquaclear which does 200 gph...that is 1,475 gph...that seems a bit too much imo. Isn't the recommended rate 10 x's the aquarium volume? 20 x 10 = 200 gph.

#reefsquad

 

[Ron Reefman]

@j.falk, are you saying your tank is 20g?

The tuenover rate for soft coral tanks is 20 to 30 times. SPS tanks run 40 to 60 times and some go even higher! Mixed reefs somewhere in between. If you have a 20g tank I'd say 500gph flow is about the minimum and 1200gph is high but not the maximum.

I have a mostly zoas and RFA tank and I run about 50 turns per hour.

 

[j.falk]

@j.falk, are you saying your tank is 20g?

The turnover rate for soft coral tanks is 20 to 30 times. SPS tanks run 40 to 60 times and some go even higher! Mixed reefs somewhere in between. If you have a 20g tank I'd say 500gph flow is about the minimum and 1200gph is high but not the maximum.

I have a mostly zoas and RFA tank and I run about 50 turns per hour.

Thanks Ron - That helps clear things up. Tank is 20 gallons and I'm working towards it being an all soft coral nano reef.

 

[Ron Reefman]

Are your Koralia 425's wavemakers or just powerheads? If they are wavemakers or hooked up to a controller that makes them turn on and off, you'll need to consider that they really aren't doing 425 gph.

 

[vetteguy53081]

You can try lowering whites to almost 3% and adding Peroxide at 10ml per 10 gals OR the use of liquid vibrant

 

[j.falk]

Are your Koralia 425's wavemakers or just powerheads? If they are wavemakers or hooked up to a controller that makes them turn on and off, you'll need to consider that they really aren't doing 425 gph.

I picked them up off of Ebay (see screenshot). The box says they are wave pumps. I do not use a controller with them and I have them plugged in and running full blast 24/7.

 

[MnFish1]

Leave it along, let it run it’s course and be patient. If you have been in this hobby for a while you should know nothing happens fast.

You have the saying wrong - only BAD things happen fast.. BTW I hate the phrase. thats just me

 

[j.falk]

It's confirmed. I definitely have Osteoporosis dinos. I looked at them under a microscope today and they looked just like this:

 

[j.falk]

You can try lowering whites to almost 3% and adding Peroxide at 10ml per 10 gals OR the use of liquid vibrant

I want to try upping my biodiversity first to see if they can outcompete the dinos. Chemicals will be a last ditch effort.