What is on my sandbed?

[gfox]

Could someone tell me what i have on my sandbed?

 

[KJ]

Diatom.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/a...atic-algae-and-the-means-to-control-it.87351/

 

[jsker]

+1

 

[Jeepguy242]

yep... happens to mine at times too


you will think everything is going great, and then BOOM... wake up and look at brown sand for a couple weeks

 

[gfox]

I had my water tested at my LFS last week and the results were
TDS-005
Phosphate -0
Nitrate-.10
Alk.8.5
calcium 500
I do run carbon and GFO
also i have added another power head along with my Maxpect 230 gyre.

What else can i do to help to get rid of the diatoms

 

[Jeepguy242]

stop GFO, add a refugium with cheato,

phosphates being 0 could be part of your problem... when i get an outbreak my phos is always 0... but i have no scientific data to prove that, it is just a hunch...

i have to dose nitrate and phosphate to keep them from bottoming... and my fuge lights are on for only 6 hours

 

[gfox]

stop GFO, add a refugium with cheato,

phosphates being 0 could be part of your problem... when i get an outbreak my phos is always 0... but i have no scientific data to prove that, it is just a hunch...

i have to dose nitrate and phosphate to keep them from bottoming... and my fuge lights are on for only 6 hours

Used to run cheato then i used Vibrant and it killed it off.Haven't replaced it yet.

 

[Jeepguy242]

Used to run cheato then i used Vibrant and it killed it off.Haven't replaced it yet.

i guess vibrant kills all algae.... did it hurt any of your corals? i have been thinking about trying it to finish off the little bit of GHA that my clean up crew isn't getting

 

[gfox]

i guess vibrant kills all algae.... did it hurt any of your corals? i have been thinking about trying it to finish off the little bit of GHA that my clean up crew isn't getting

Didn't hurt the corals,but after i used the bottle up it came back worse then ever.

 

[Jeepguy242]

Didn't hurt the corals,but after i used the bottle up it came back worse then ever.

thats not good..... i guess i will just continue to manually remove it and hope it finally gets knocked back....

it doesn't bother me to much, but i am tired of just wanting it gone....

 

[gfox]

thats not good..... i guess i will just continue to manually remove it and hope it finally gets knocked back....

it doesn't bother me to much, but i am tired of just wanting it gone....

After that bottle of Vibrant the tank developed Hair algea and Bryopis that i ended up using Fluconzole to get rid of everything.

 

[PatW]

There are other solutions. Conchs graze on diatoms. Sand sifting gobies should clean the sand also. And sea cucumbers clean sand also.

 

[CDavmd]

Phosphate of zero is never good. If they are brown patches that disappear at night and return during the day you may have dinoflagellates- Amphidinium species. They will usually take hold when nutrients are near or at zero.

Search for the thread on Dino’s and start reading. Look at some of it under a microscope. If they are swimming then you have Dino’s unfortunately.

Siphon some them out, and raise your nutrient levels. It’s going to be a long battle. Read up and good luck.

 

[cracker]

So, besides looking bad ,what are the dangers of Dino's ?

P.S. Not the Dino's that would eat You, the ones in our tanks.

 

[gfox]

So, besides looking bad ,what are the dangers of Dino's ?

P.S. Not the Dino's that would eat You, the ones in our tanks.

In my tank the corals and anemones have never looked better.Just wished the sand was white.

 

[CDavmd]

The Dino’s will take over and eventually reach plague proportions. There are various species and the one in this thread appears to be Amphidinium. This is the least toxic and your corals will not be affected for the most part.

There are other types that can form slimes and mucousy deposits and can be highly toxic in the tank and to humans.

Best to get them under control but I warn you it will be a long process that begins with raising nutrient levels.

I’ll look for the link to the other threads

 

[CDavmd]

www.reef2reef.com/threads/dinoflagellates-–-are-you-tired-of-battling-altogether

 

[gfox]

www.reef2reef.com/threads/dinoflagellates-–-are-you-tired-of-battling-altogether

Link does not work

 

[gfox]

stop GFO, add a refugium with cheato,

phosphates being 0 could be part of your problem... when i get an outbreak my phos is always 0... but i have no scientific data to prove that, it is just a hunch...

i have to dose nitrate and phosphate to keep them from bottoming... and my fuge lights are on for only 6 hours

What is the reason to stop GFO?

 

[CDavmd]

I don't know what percentage of folks had luck battling dinos with any of the methods in the old Dino thread.

Just to refresh folks on the natural alternative...

• Dino's generally gain a competitive edge against their competitors AND their predators in a nutrient-starved environment.
• Phosphate Control
  • DO NOT let your phosphates hit or stay at zero.
  • See: Bacterivory in algae: A survival strategy during nutrient limitation
• Nitrate Control
  • Do not let your nitrates hit or stay at zero.
  • See: Putting the N in dinoflagellates
  • See: A Nitrate Dosing Calculator For Better Tank Health (And Better Coral Color!)
• Starvation should be avoided. Dissolved nutrients are not "waste products" to be eliminated.
• Remember that a wide variety of micoorganisms depend on dissolved nutrients like nitrate and phosphate...and so do corals and healthy algae.
• Confirming the ID of your dinoflagellate is important if possible.
  • To begin with, make sure you have Dinos – no special equipment needed
  • Use @taricha's dino confirmation guide on posts #986-987.
• Once you have confirmed that you have dino's you should ideally figure out what type(s) your tank is hosting.
  • A basic 1200x microscope will be useful and doesn't have to be more than $15 toy scope.
    See: Selecting a microscope
  • Specifically for Ostreopsis, consider skipping ahead to post #86 and #905 as the information is still developing.
  • Compare your dino's with photos where @taricha's has already made ID's:
    (Click the link. Then click the SEARCH button at the bottom of the search page.)
    • ostreopsis
    • prorocentrum
    • amphidinium
    • coolia
    • (other searches coming)
• After you get started, What is the End Game?
  
  
• Post #2725 has a great diary of tank observations, test results and time-series graphs during the treatment for dino's from one of our members.

• Disturbances we cause in our tanks are what allow microbial/algal populations to shift and ugly/harmful blooms to happen.
  • See: Evidence for the Existence of Three Primary Strategies in Plants and Its Relevance to Ecological and Evolutionary Theory

• Take measures to assure that your feeding system is very consistent. An auto-feeder is an overlooked tool on most tanks. Look at Eheim's feeders...set them on low with high quality flake food. Just don't let them run your whole feeding program as flake isn't great food.

• Find out what inconsistencies you can eliminate with your husbandry to prevent more unneeded disturbances and the resulting microbial/algal changes. This could be changes to lighting or water chemistry – make them as consistent as you can.

• E.g. If you're adding new livestock all the time, stop it. If you have a color-tunable light fixture, stop re-tuning the colors. If you don't have an ATO keeping your salinity stable, get one. If you're still managing your dosing by hand, get an $80 4-head doser. Etc.

If you provide the stability, then your dino's competitors will start competing with them and their predators will start eating them!!

One thing that seems to help things progress is to stop scraping down the algae off your glass....once the dino's start giving up space that is. Mechanical removal is a legit short-term strategy and might help give competitors a leg up too.


2¢

Other interesting more-or-less related links on my blog:

• The role of nutrients in decomposition of a thecate dinoflagellate
• Effects of organic carbon, organic nitrogen, inorganic nutrients, and iron additions on the growth of phytoplankton and bacteria during a brown tide bloom
  
• Response of heterotrophic bacteria, autotrophic picoplankton and heterotrophic nanoflagellates to re-oligotrophication

(Also cross-posted in the old Dino thread!)