So over this!! What am I dealing with?

[Drayven666]

I have a 180 gallon reef that has been established for 2+ years, and I have been dealing with this algae on and off. I am running a very large 40w UV, and I'm dosing hydrogen peroxide. Neither of which have any effect on the algae. I do not own a microscope. A course of action would be appreciated!! I'm willing to spend money.

 

[NonstopSoda]

looks like it might be dinos? I unfortunately dont have advice for getting rid of them but ill help bump!

 

[Miami Reef]

If it was me, I’d stop the hydrogen peroxide. It is an indiscriminate oxidizer and can alter trace elements in ways that aren’t always helpful. I wouldn’t use it in a normal reef tank, especially if it hasn’t helped the situation.

It won’t help the corals IMO.


It looks like either dinos, chrysophytes, or diatoms.

Unfortunately, you can’t really tell without a microscope. They are pretty inexpensive on Amazon. I’d suggest purchasing or using one from a high school or chemistry class. It would really help narrow it down.

 

[rc8t6353]

Don't beat yourself up. We'll get it straightened out. To start, what are your tank parameters? Dynos and cyano love low nutrient tanks.

 

[Idech]

It looks like dinos but could also be other things mentioned. Certain types of dinos require dosing sodium silicate.

 

[Drayven666]

I just pulled into work. I'll test no3, po4 with my hannas when I come home

 

[Drayven666]

I also will likely be purchasing a microscope. I will also stop dosing hydroden peroxide when my hippo tang's ich clears up. I haven't been home as much lately so he hasn't gotten as much nori, likely leading to it

 

[rtparty]

Dinoflagellates. Purchase some live sand from TBS and dump it in. My opinion is we will see some good documentation about this in the near future

 

[Fish Fan]

If it was me, I’d stop the hydrogen peroxide. It is an indiscriminate oxidizer and can alter trace elements in ways that aren’t always helpful. I wouldn’t use it in a normal reef tank, especially if it hasn’t helped the situation.

It won’t help the corals IMO.


It looks like either dinos, chrysophytes, or diatoms.

Unfortunately, you can’t really tell without a microscope. They are pretty inexpensive on Amazon. I’d suggest purchasing or using one from a high school or chemistry class. It would really help narrow it down.

I second this, please stop dosing hydrogen peroxide, there's no need for it. It's not a strong enough oxidizer to "kill" anything bad, but it's strong enough to work against the beneficial organisms most of us would like to foster. I believe this is causing you much more harm then good. Some of us dip coral frags in H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide), but that's different. I don't think there's any reason to add it to a typical tank.

I also will likely be purchasing a microscope. I will also stop dosing hydroden peroxide when my hippo tang's ich clears up. I haven't been home as much lately so he hasn't gotten as much nori, likely leading to it

Are you experiencing Ich on your Tang? If so, hydrogen peroxide is not the recommended cure. There is a whole other procedure you need to do if you have identified Ich on your Tang. Or, in my very humble opinion, even if you think your fish (any of them) have any kind of parasite, hydrogen peroxide is not a cure.

If you have algae or dinos or whatever, additional flow can go a long way to helping with that.

If you have Ich or any kind of fish pathogen, you have - in my very humble opinion - a much bigger problem.

If you think you may have Ich or a real pathogen that may be jeopardizing the health of your fish, my advise would be to take the best pics of your fish that you can under the whitest lights you have (meaning all blue lights off), and please post in the R2R section for sick fish:

https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/fish-disease-treatment-and-diagnosis.771/

If you post there, you will get more replies from our heavy-hitters who are the most knowledgeable about fish disease and pathogens - no offense to those that have already replied here, of course.

Sorry to sound the alarm, but if your fish are sick, time is critical, and you're "algae problem" can wait, in my humble opinion.

As always: I am NOT an expert in anything, but if you're fish have an illness, please let the R2R experts help you and your fish. If I am wrong, then we can all have a good laugh at my expense. But you went from 'algae' to 'Ich' so fast, I'm concerned, and I think you may need to move quickly. Hopefully I am wrong

Best of luck to you and you fish!

 

[Drayven666]

I just pulled into work. I'll test no3, po4 with my hannas when I come home

My phos is 0.63 and my nitrates are 75. Keep in mind this is normal for this tank as it's filled with softies and leathers and they are very content with these levels.

 

[Drayven666]

I second this, please stop dosing hydrogen peroxide, there's no need for it. It's not a strong enough oxidizer to "kill" anything bad, but it's strong enough to work against the beneficial organisms most of us would like to foster. I believe this is causing you much more harm then good. Some of us dip coral frags in H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide), but that's different. I don't think there's any reason to add it to a typical tank.


Are you experiencing Ich on your Tang? If so, hydrogen peroxide is not the recommended cure. There is a whole other procedure you need to do if you have identified Ich on your Tang. Or, in my very humble opinion, even if you think your fish (any of them) have any kind of parasite, hydrogen peroxide is not a cure.

If you have algae or dinos or whatever, additional flow can go a long way to helping with that.

If you have Ich or any kind of fish pathogen, you have - in my very humble opinion - a much bigger problem.

If you think you may have Ich or a real pathogen that may be jeopardizing the health of your fish, my advise would be to take the best pics of your fish that you can under the whitest lights you have (meaning all blue lights off), and please post in the R2R section for sick fish:

https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/fish-disease-treatment-and-diagnosis.771/

If you post there, you will get more replies from our heavy-hitters who are the most knowledgeable about fish disease and pathogens - no offense to those that have already replied here, of course.

Sorry to sound the alarm, but if your fish are sick, time is critical, and you're "algae problem" can wait, in my humble opinion.

As always: I am NOT an expert in anything, but if you're fish have an illness, please let the R2R experts help you and your fish. If I am wrong, then we can all have a good laugh at my expense. But you went from 'algae' to 'Ich' so fast, I'm concerned, and I think you may need to move quickly. Hopefully I am wrong

Best of luck to you and you fish!

Ich is not the main point of this post, I just briefly mentioned it to explain the use of h2o2. I have seen good results with it, and I know several people with great results with it. But I'm not getting into that debate here, that's not why I'm posting

 

[Fish Fan]

Ich is not the main point of this post, I just briefly mentioned it to explain the use of h2o2. I have seen good results with it, and I know several people with great results with it. But I'm not getting into that debate here, that's not why I'm posting

You are certainly free to do with your tank what you think is best. You reached out here because you're having some trouble, and more than one of use felt that the addition of H2O2 to your tank is what's causing your problem. You can do what you wish with that advice.

Using H2O2 to treat Ich is something that some very, very experienced reefers are experimenting with, but I don't know anyone who is yet saying it's a 100% effective cure for Ich. And I'd bet no one is dosing it in their display tank. Most use it as a dip, or in a QT tank. Yet I can find post after post from R2R experts in fish disease and treatment, and all them will tell you to use a copper based medication in a quarantine tank to treat Ich.

I do wish you the best of luck with whatever you do.