Okay. Time to get my tank om track

[m0jjen]

Hey. Since late January to early February I've had o major decline in my tank. All started with a nutrients bottoming out and i got dinos. I'm 99% sure they are amphidinium small cell. Since the I've had hair algae. Golden algae and some brown hair algae that's shorter. I have applied uvc, dosed bacteria, tried a refugium, dosed PO4 and KNO3. I cant raise the phosphate at all. I dose 2x 0.3 ppm a day and still read zero.

My tank is a red sea reefer 625 xxl with a 80 litre fragtank sharing sump.

Light - 3x radion xr30w pro with diffusers + 4x 80w T5

schedule is 12 hours long. 1 hours ramp into 5 hours of full light (AB+ 65% and T5) then ramp down and a 5 hours long blue period starts. Its basically the WWC schedule.

Par during the peak time is 350 - 250 in most of the tank and 200 at the bottom

Filtration:

Bubble king supermarine 200
Clarisea SK5000
3 Litres of siporax.

Flow

4x Mp40QD - 35-45% roughly 60x turnover

Fishload - abit understocked

7x Lyretail Anthias
3x Tangs (small/medium)
2x Clowns
1x Longnosed hawkfish
1x Royal gramma
1x Six Line Wrasse
1x Starred blenny

Measurements:

No3: 4-5
Po4: 0.00-0.01
Alk: 8.20-8.30 (Alkatronic keeps it spot on)
Ca: 440
Mg: 1360
Salinity: 1.025

Battleplan - Well. there is really only three options that i can think of.

1. Blackout with UVC and wetskimming and bacteria/nutrient dosing
2. Remove the skimmercup to stop exporting nutrients
3. Remove siporax

Afew photos:

Any idea's ?

 

[LiveWire]

Looks like you have a bit of work to do. The bad part is that it takes longer to get the system back up to par than it takes for it to decline. I would start running carbon for awhile with manual removal of as much algae that you can get while preforming many water changes and i think you will get it under control. I am sure some other members will have some more ides as well that will help you get it all taken care of.

 

[m0jjen]

Looks like you have a bit of work to do. The bad part is that it takes longer to get the system back up to par than it takes for it to decline. I would start running carbon for awhile with manual removal of as much algae that you can get while preforming many water changes and i think you will get it under control. I am sure some other members will have some more ides as well that will help you get it all taken care of.

I run carbon 24/7 changed every 30 days. I dont really know if its algae or bacteria. Its really easy to blow of with a baster.

 

[LiveWire]

You could always go with the trusty daily water changes and siphon out all you can for a week and see how much progress you are making.

 

[m0jjen]

You could always go with the trusty daily water changes and siphon out all you can for a week and see how much progress you are making.

seeing how this is nutrient related and 0 phosphate most likely is the reason i doubt it would do to much, i've tested that route in the start, didnt do any difference :/

 

[Hemmdog]

What’s your clean up crew? That looks like Dino’s but just curious.

 

[LiveWire]

Being that you will have to siphon it out you would need to change water. I am sure that someone else here can give you some other ideas.

 

[Hemmdog]

Being that you will have to siphon it out you would need to change water. I am sure that someone else here can give you some other ideas.

You can always siphon it into a filter sock in your sump. You don’t even need to turn the pumps off.
Water changes at low nutrients can be a gamble.

 

[m0jjen]

What’s your clean up crew? That looks like Dino’s but just curious.

Dead, afew hermits left. All died when the dino hit

Being that you will have to siphon it out you would need to change water. I am sure that someone else here can give you some other ideas.

Into a sock =)

You can always siphon it into a filter sock in your sump. You don’t even need to turn the pumps off.
Water changes at low nutrients can be a gamble.

Ye, been siphoning and bastering so it goes into the clarisea without results for the last few months.

 

[Hemmdog]

Dead, afew hermits left. All died when the dino hit




Into a sock =)



Ye, been siphoning and bastering so it goes into the clarisea without results for the last few months.

Yea, I’m not sure. You have a really nice set up to. UV might be a good option regardless. Pentair makes some great ones.
Have you tried dosing like substantially more phos and nitrate ? Even if you can rid the dino’s and get algae back that will be easier to battle just with a fully stocked clean up crew.

 

[m0jjen]

Yea, I’m not sure. You have a really nice set up to. UV might be a good option regardless. Pentair makes some great ones.
Have you tried dosing like substantially more phos and nitrate ? Even if you can rid the dino’s and get algae back that will be easier to battle just with a fully stocked clean up crew.

While i have dino i cant introduce a clean up crew. Hence im thinking of doing something more substantial like the 3 suggestions. I need to get the upper hand because in cruisemode and doing some it does nothing :/

 

[m0jjen]

Worth mentioning is that triton also came back with 0.000 phosphate when it all started. Never dosed carbon or used gfo in the tank, ever.

 

[m0jjen]

Anyone that can ID these?

 

[foozed]

Have something similar

I believe these are Ostreopsis Dino’s

 

[m0jjen]

Have something similar

I believe these are Ostreopsis Dino’s

They are easy to treat with uvc

 

[m0jjen]

So.. no other ideas? I guess breakdown is the most reasonable option otherwise.

 

[taricha]

hey @m0jjen this is small cell amphidinium. It will be susceptible to UV, but it will require some increased dark period up to a short blackout to do so.
If you were sick of trying typical dino methods then there's two other very promising things I'd be willing to try.
1. Vibrant
2. I know you said you'd done some bacteria stuff, but this looks like a more thoughtful all-around aproach to bacterial remediation than most. And has gotten good results.
See attached file
and explanation of method in video here

 

[m0jjen]

hey @m0jjen this is small cell amphidinium. It will be susceptible to UV, but it will require some increased dark period up to a short blackout to do so.
If you were sick of trying typical dino methods then there's two other very promising things I'd be willing to try.
1. Vibrant
2. I know you said you'd done some bacteria stuff, but this looks like a more thoughtful all-around aproach to bacterial remediation than most. And has gotten good results.
See attached file
and explanation of method in video here

I've seen both the video and metod before. I actually tried it without peroxide and other brands of bacteria since neither is easy to come by in Sweden. Basically what I did was remove the skimmercup (=skimmer off more or less and aeration with be more efficient), added bacteria, added inorganic nutrients along with bubble scrubbing and manual removal.

I dont think it deviate too much from the described metod?

 

[ZaneTer]

I have had Dino’s in the past, microscope ID’d. My was bottomed out PO4.

I was eventually putting in 1ppm per day until it started to rise. Don’t forget all your corals and algae are starving for phosphate at this stage. Then there is still the issue of phosphate absorption in aragonite to contend with.

I believe you were under dosing PO4.

On a side note my tank also bottomed out with any carbon dosing or GFO. Mine is bare bottom.

Hope this helps

 

[taricha]

I've seen both the video and metod before. I actually tried it without peroxide and other brands of bacteria since neither is easy to come by in Sweden. Basically what I did was remove the skimmercup (=skimmer off more or less and aeration with be more efficient), added bacteria, added inorganic nutrients along with bubble scrubbing and manual removal.

I dont think it deviate too much from the described metod?

The purpose as I understand it is to create a barely restrained bacterial bloom that eats through essentially all the debris and crud in the tank. It involves two bacterial actors - one A grunge eater, the other a nitrifier. The peroxide is to pump the brakes so it doesn't get out of control.
One of the claims the video makes is that there is no substitute for Dr Tim's Waste Away. I have no idea if that is true, or what bacterial blend would be an acceptable substitute if there is one.
I don't remember exactly, but I think that in the video they might have described some cloudiness or stringiness in the tank. I would want to see something like that - some clear indication of a bacterial bloom at some level in order to feel like the mechanisms were actually working.
Maybe someone with a better grasp of this stuff will chime in.