Ugly Stage or Dino's

[ravencsr]

This tank is a 50gal and finished the cycle back at the start of the year. Since then it has evolved into the ugly stage.
Currently, by looking at the video, you can see what I am dealing with now.
Is this Dino's or just another type of algae that needs to run its course?

It seems to have wrapped around the rockwork and trapped air bubbles within it.

If it is dinos, then I'll start down the track of buying a uv etc etc, however........

If it just another algae phase, do I let it go, or manually clean ?? I read a lot of posts when people say, just let it run its course. But then you get advice saying, turn off lights, lower feeding, use chemical 'X' or chemical 'Y' , feed pods, manually remove etc, etc

But if you do any of the above, for the sake of making the tank 'pretty' in the short term, wont that just prolong the ugly stage because it hasn't run its natural course?

 

[Court_Appointed_Hypeman]

Video missing

 

[ravencsr]

 

[Lps_lover12]

Going to need pics under white lighting as well as nutrient levels

 

[vetteguy53081]

These are dinos unfortunately. Its biological deficiencies that are causing the dino structure.
No light is first key followed by the addition of bacteria to overcome the bad bacteria allowing them to thrive
Prepare by starting by blowing this stuff loose with a turkey baster and siphon up loose particles. Turn lights off (at least white and run blue at 10-15% IF you have light dependant corals) for 5 days and at night dose 1ml of 3% hydrogen peroxide per 10 gallons for all 5 nights. If you dont have light dependent coral- turn all lights off. During the day dose 1ml of liquid bacteria (such as micro bacter 7 or XLM) per 10 gallons. Clean filters daily and DO NOT FEED CORAL FOODS OR ADD NOPOX
You can feed fish as normal and if doing blackout, ambient light in room will work for them

 

[Court_Appointed_Hypeman]

Looks like crysophytes on the rocks some, and all of the brown stuff looks like dinos to me.

How does the brown stuff behave when you scrub it a little or try to blow it off?

These dinos are different than what I have dealt with, but I did UV, nitrate, silica and phosphate dosing. Manual removal occasionally buy siphoning into a felt filter sock in my sump, stopped water changes. This all didn't get rid of them, but the reproduction slowed. The final hit that really turned the tide was introducing a rock covered in different algaes, but I also never reduced my lights.

Best move.might be to identify them with a microscope.

 

[ravencsr]

Looks like crysophytes on the rocks some, and all of the brown stuff looks like dinos to me.

How does the brown stuff behave when you scrub it a little or try to blow it off?

Didn't want to touch until I knew it was not bubble algae in case I released the spores .

 

[Court_Appointed_Hypeman]

Didn't want to touch until I knew it was not bubble algae in case I released the spores .

You can pop bubble algae, the spores thing is a myth.

 

[ravencsr]

Going to need pics under white lighting as well as nutrient levels

Temp 77, Sal 1.025, NH3-0.25, NO2-0.0, NO3-0.0, PO4-0.01
All readings, as per above, have been stable for the last few months

No corals, just fish and inverts

 

[ravencsr]

brush off

 

[Court_Appointed_Hypeman]

Temp 77, Sal 1.025, NH3-0.25, NO2-0.0, NO3-0.0, PO4-0.01
All readings, as per above, have been stable for the last few months

No corals, just fish and inverts

You need more nitrates and phosphates. Nh3 shouldn't be measurable.

The uglies are most likely consuming them all.

The brushing looks like crysophytes and dinos.

I would take the rocks out if you can and brush them off in a bucket of tank water during a water change, and get a some neophos and neonitro and start dosing. These organisms are sucking up all available nutrients, and nothing else can take hold.

Another option is to dose Plus-NP, which are sources of nitrogen and Phosphorus that are not easily consumed by whatever that is that you have, but there isn't a hole lot of documentation on relying on plus NP for this. Myself and one other person on here is all I have seen.

This is just what I would do, your milage may vary.

Introducing some mature rock, just a little to get more microorganisms in the tank may help a lot, and if removing the rocks is a pain, I would use the siphon into the sump through a felt filtersock method to just clear some up.

Pay attention to what it looks like at night a while after lights out, if the sludge on your rocks disappears some, UV will be a massive help.

 

[ravencsr]

You need more nitrates and phosphates. Nh3 shouldn't be measurable.

The uglies are most likely consuming them all.

The brushing looks like crysophytes and dinos.

I would take the rocks out if you can and brush them off in a bucket of tank water during a water change, and get a some neophos and neonitro and start dosing. These organisms are sucking up all available nutrients, and nothing else can take hold.

Another option is to dose Plus-NP, which are sources of nitrogen and Phosphorus that are not easily consumed by whatever that is that you have, but there isn't a hole lot of documentation on relying on plus NP for this. Myself and one other person on here is all I have seen.

This is just what I would do, your milage may vary.

From what I've read today, yeah, increase in Nitrate and Phosphate is what I need to do.
The Ammonia, has always been just higher than 0.0
I am using an api kit there as well, maybe it would be 0.0 with another kit.

 

[Court_Appointed_Hypeman]

From what I've read today, yeah, increase in Nitrate and Phosphate is what I need to do.
The Ammonia, has always been just higher than 0.0
I am using an api kit there as well, maybe it would be 0.0 with another kit.

That's a safe assumption