I am so sick of algae/bacteria!

HotRocks · May 20, 2018

Does anyone have any suggestions? I am losing the battle.

If I get dinos under control, cyano comes back, if I wipe out cyano then dinos take the lead.

I have done blackouts, dosed chemiclean. Dosed vibrant.

Any help or suggestions would be appreciated. I'm sick of it. I have all these beautiful fish, great corals, and nasty uglies.

Tank setup in November of 2017

I run gfo and gac, both in reactors.

Parameters.
79 degrees
1.026
Cal 471
Alk 8.5
Ph 8.4

JoshH · May 20, 2018

Deleted

HotRocks · May 20, 2018

JoshH said:
What are your nitrates/phosphates at?

Nitrates 30ppm
Phosphate .5ppm

I have biopellets ordered. I just moved a batch of fish from QT to DT last weekend.

Neo Jeo · May 20, 2018

Try bringing your temp down? 76d? Just a thought. I know things grow faster with a higher temp.

JoshH · May 20, 2018

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HotRocks · May 20, 2018

JoshH said:
And what algae is currently over running your tank ATM??

Cyano currently. Dinos are noticable as well but definitely not in the lead. Honestly I had it about under control till I added the new fish. Bioload change. I'm guessing that's why it's back.

Skynyrd Fish · May 20, 2018

My tank has the same issue if I don't have any green algae growing. Your NO3 and PO4 Are both a bit high. If you get some green growing on the back glass let it grow. Also you could get rid of the GFO. Back your Skimmer down a bit and stop water changes. There is no good answer for Dino's. The slightly dirty method has worked well for me to get rid of it. The Dino thing is frustrating. That much NO3 and PO4 should be growing some green algae.

HotRocks · May 20, 2018

Oh it's beyond frustrating. I can keep all of the hardest fish in the hobby and identify and correct almost any disease. I can't keep the "uglies" out of my DT to save my life. I have green algea, I never clean the back glass because it's black and hardly noticable.

JoshH · May 20, 2018

Deleted

mcarroll · May 21, 2018

HotRocks said:
I have done blackouts, dosed chemiclean. Dosed vibrant.

I see a trend here that matches your lack of success – stop trying to take a flamethrower to everything and instead try growing things you want!

Try to be patient while your tank recovers from dino's......if it was bad, then you're almost starting the tank from scratch, so be prepared for it to go through The Uglies..... (And your tank has only been up since November anway, so it's practically brand new anyway. Did you use live or dead rock when you started?)

Just use all-natural methods to keep the tank clean while this is going on.....siphon out cyano mats, pluck green algae, etc.

Have you already gone through my Dino thread in the stickies at the top of this forum? There're A LOT of posts so save that read for another day.....but read and digest as much as you can from the first post for guidance.

HotRocks · May 21, 2018

mcarroll said:
I see a trend here that matches your lack of success – stop trying to take a flamethrower to everything and instead try growing things you want!

Try to be patient while your tank recovers from dino's......if it was bad, then you're almost starting the tank from scratch, so be prepared for it to go through The Uglies..... (And your tank has only been up since November anway, so it's practically brand new anyway. Did you use live or dead rock when you started?)

Just use all-natural methods to keep the tank clean while this is going on.....siphon out cyano mats, pluck green algae, etc.

Have you already gone through my Dino thread in the stickies at the top of this forum? There're A LOT of posts so save that read for another day.....but read and digest as much as you can from the first post for guidance.

Thanks for the info. Patience is not a trait I possess. @4FordFamily can vouch for me there!

I know you have to have patience in this hobby, I am just saying I struggle with it. I am quickly learning it is a MUST in this hobby. I did read bits and pieces of your thread mentioned above when I originally started dealing with dinos. Lots of good info!

I have only dosed chemiclean one time, months ago. I am trying to just let everything run its course. Now that my tank is stocked, do you think getting nitrates reduced and manual removal will help over time?

4FordFamily · May 21, 2018

HotRocks said:
Thanks for the info. Patience is not a trait I possess. @4FordFamily can vouch for me there! I know you have to have patience in this hobby, I am just saying I struggle with it. I am quickly learning it is a MUST in this hobby. I did read bits and pieces of your thread mentioned above when I originally started dealing with dinos. Lots of good info!

I have only dosed chemiclean one time, months ago. I am trying to just let everything run its course. Now that my tank is stocked, do you think getting nitrates reduced and manual removal will help over time?

If patience paid our bills we would be bankrupt.

mcarroll · May 21, 2018

HotRocks said:
Cyano currently. Dinos are noticable as well but definitely not in the lead. Honestly I had it about under control till I added the new fish. Bioload change. I'm guessing that's why it's back.

Try really hard to slow down more.....adding fish (multiple) should be more like adding fish (singular) for the forseeable future......which comes sometime after you've forgotten about having dino's.

Focus on keeping NO3 and PO4 up until dino's are gone, gone, gone. Minimum levels you want in order to keep the positive results coming vs dino's will be ≥5 ppm of NO3 and ≥0.10 ppm of PO4.

This should slant things toward your corals, but cyano and hair algae are likely bystanders along the way. Be nice to them, just siphon, pluck or scrub them out of the tank gently, as needed. As long as your pods seem healthy (meaning no dino toxins) then make sure you're expanding your herbivore crew as-needed along the way too.....you are responsible for mowing down the big algae, they will keep it from getting long if they have sufficient numbers.

This all assumes you really have identified dino's in the tank...which may be worth re-confirming at this point. Did you use as scope or the elimination tests to confirm before?

HotRocks · May 21, 2018

Thanks for all of your insight, it is very helpful. Slow and steady, got it.

I do not own a scope, I am highly considering one as I am fairly involved and spend alot of time in the disease forum. The more I researched the more I realize that it would be very helpful in all facets of reefkeeping.

When I first had the initial outbreak, @4FordFamily came to my house (he lives 5 min from me) and confirmed that's what I was dealing with. Not to mention it started right before I was on a 2 week vacation and he was caring for my tanks. He communicated with me as far as blackouts etc. So that is my only method of confirmation.

4FordFamily · May 21, 2018

The issue with adding one fish at a time with tangs is that it’s suicide for the new tang. So you get to deal with the instability of several additions simultaneously!

HotRocks · May 21, 2018

4FordFamily said:
The issue with adding one fish at a time with tangs is that it’s suicide for the new tang. So you get to deal with the instability of several additions simultaneously!

The good part is I'm done adding tangs! Just a Wrasse here or there now!

mcarroll · May 21, 2018

First stop: Selecting a microscope
Second stop: Dinoflagellates – Are You Tired Of Battling Altogether?

A <$20 scope will work (and is what I have), but a ≥$50 unit will be METAL and be a lot more usable. Consider options at the ≥$100 and ≥$200 price point as well though. IMO, I'd want a lot more experience using a scope before I'd spend beyond the ≥$200 level.

You can also use the elimination tests from the "What do I do now?" section tonight to at least verify the presence of dino's (or other algae).

Last:

HotRocks said:
Nitrates 30ppm
Phosphate .5ppm

I have biopellets ordered. I just moved a batch of fish from QT to DT last weekend.

Adding fish to a tank with algae issues isn't the best move to make.

However, if you haven't added the bio-pellets, don't.

Your tank doesn't need them and if they work they are very likely to throw the balance of things over to your dino's.

Stick with advice you can find in the Dino thread above. Focus on digesting as much of the first post as possible – post questions as needed....feel free to PM.

Pmj · May 21, 2018

I would definitely also recommend not worrying about cyano over dinos, dinos are the worst and will wreck all tank balance. I'd keep po4 even higher and like mcarrol said go natural, although I still have chaeto. For me, every time I get lazy and let po4 fall too low, dinos come back.

I think I need more fish relative to my rock, siporax and chaeto so I've been fighting it by dosing. Have 2 fat anthias and a leopard wrasse in another tank I need to add at some point and will do so slowly after reading this thread.