What is this and how can I beat it?

[Aquaman6410]

So my 32 gallon biocube is over a year and half old. Only home to two clowns and a bunch of different coral frags. Mainly LPS. I have this algae that just won't go away. I've been battling it off and on. I can't just find a balance. The only equipment I run is carbon in a media bag, MP10, ecotech radion XR15, and a heater. Nothing to fancy. I'm not sure if this is dinos that keep coming back. My nitrates and phosphates naturally just stay undectable. Calcium around 420-440, Alk 9.0 I dose 2 part everyday but it only needs like 3ml a day, nothing crazy. I tried dosing nitrates/phosphates to get numbers up but then hair algae explodes everywhere and crazy bad so I stopped that and just keep up with my weekly 5 gallon water changes. Hair algae died down and now its like cyano/dino. If I dose nitrates again, this cyano/dino looking stuff dies down and hair algae comes back. I have coralline algae growing on my rocks but I started with all reefcleaners rock and one piece of purple rock from my LFS personal tank. I tried doing less water changes but no difference. Please help. I'm considering just starting a new tank to try again but I don't want to lose the battle. I don't want to get rid of my coral and start fresh. But this is definitely beating me up and has been for a good year.

 

[brandon429]

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/s...p-cycle-reassembly.525310/page-5#post-5626310


#1 method. Others work, less faster and with less alternate trade-off invasions, but they work
B
nb4 nutrient tuning ~

 

[brandon429]

The way to fix it is within that thread, in examples. Full water change, remove all target, spot treat rocks including a specific target kill step, blast clean the sandbed, and set the whole thing up brand new as skip cycle reassembly. You literally can will your tank into compliance by tomorrow.
Not a theory, being done and featured in the thread.


After the thorough tank cleaning what you do is buy some of those fancy refugium kits of PODS and different worms and stuff, algen sells some, and charge your system with it in the clean uninvaded condition. You now have a diverse cleanup crew that will probably prevent any regrowth and you've also remove the target which is the detritus feeding your whole invasion.

If that specific organism had not hitchhiked in there be nothing wrong with your tank see how it's not invaded with green algae? That's why this isn't a nutrient tuning issue it's a bad hitchhiker issue and being thorough is the right way, we show

Any chance we could do that type of full cleaning run and totally fix your tank in 24 hours?

We would work around the coral and coralline; don't have to apply anything to kill the mature looking areas / pigmented areas-that's why we do this as precision work, reef surgery, vs. water dosing

This is the healthiest thing you could do to your system because it's quick and allows you to get back into consistent water control for those healthy corals. It is cleaning your whole reef tank out exactly like a trip to the dentist for a mouth cleaning sends us home glistening

24 hours your corals open up in a clean, uninvaded aquarium, linked in the thread.

 

[sfin52]

Dino thrives and drives out the completion in either nitrate 0 poshpate 0 or both at 0. If it is dino make sure you are running activated carbon to asorb toxin released by dino.
Phospahte and nitrate are needed for coral and other life to grow and thrive .

 

[Aquaman6410]

The way to fix it is within that thread, in examples. Full water change, remove all target, spot treat rocks including a specific target kill step, blast clean the sandbed, and set the whole thing up brand new as skip cycle reassembly. You literally can will your tank into compliance by tomorrow.
Not a theory, being done and featured in the thread.


After the thorough tank cleaning what you do is buy some of those fancy refugium kits of PODS and different worms and stuff, algen sells some, and charge your system with it in the clean uninvaded condition. You now have a diverse cleanup crew that will probably prevent any regrowth and you've also remove the target which is the detritus feeding your whole invasion.

If that specific organism had not hitchhiked in there be nothing wrong with your tank see how it's not invaded with green algae? That's why this isn't a nutrient tuning issue it's a bad hitchhiker issue and being thorough is the right way, we show

Any chance we could do that type of full cleaning run and totally fix your tank in 24 hours?

We would work around the coral and coralline; don't have to apply anything to kill the mature looking areas / pigmented areas-that's why we do this as precision work, reef surgery, vs. water dosing

This is the healthiest thing you could do to your system because it's quick and allows you to get back into consistent water control for those healthy corals. It is cleaning your whole reef tank out exactly like a trip to the dentist for a mouth cleaning sends us home glistening

24 hours your corals open up in a clean, uninvaded aquarium, linked in the thread.

I'm a bit confused, it seems like every tank is different in the thread. What do I do exactly for mine? Is it taking all the rock out and scrubbing them with a brush and then placing them back and putting coral back? How can a safely kill all algae attached to coral plugs or coral itself?

 

[brandon429]

I want to link a thread showing the works about removing the algae in sensitive locations, by rasping. With a knife tip, outside water. Like surgery


Each invader is different and each tank agreed, the similarity is the fix. The same for all, that's why we don't need to identify your invader nor know your current params even if they're off.

All aquariums freshwater and saltwater can be parted out for total cleaning if needed and nothing lost; mini cycles do not have to occur they're 100% controllable

Look at how the aquariums in these two threads are taken apart and cleaned via skip cycle work.

instantly reset is the point; you don't just have to choose a month's long tinkering method.

there is no requirement in reefing to purposefully house the invader another day. Ripping it out is possible
That option wanes with increased gallonage, excuses to not full rip clean and instead house the invader further will increase with increasing aquarium size/not practical to take apart.


I knew you had a curable invasion before I saw the pics, you only have thirty so gallons. 100% tank access means never invaded again


https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/reef2reef-pest-algae-challenge-thread-hydrogen-peroxide.187042/

In my opinion this thread is the most tanks taken apart and rebuilt invasion free in one thread on any forum.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/t...ead-aka-one-against-many.230281/#post-2681445


Take the whole tank apart and blast rinse your sandbed in tap water, covered in the thread why specifically tap water, have a perfect cloudless sandbed ready for reuse

Clean your rocks off outside the tank, rinse invader with saltwater, dislodge, spot treat with peroxide set aside for reuse.

Hold sensitive animals elsewhere in 50% clean extracted tank water and 50% newly made saltwater.


Clean the whole tank out with water and peroxide, wipe down.

Reassemble cloudless rocks on cloudless sand with a full 100% new water change. Nothing clouds in the new tank upon refill because you were mega thorough on making all substrates cloudless (exciting all invader mass as well)

Place animals and coral back in

This is every job, we show above.


There's only one possible way you could make a mistake, and that's to re insert clouding filthy detritus+ invader back into the tank, only dislodged now and ready for free floating reproduction again.

Thorough outside the tank work will cure your tank this weekend. The invaders you have do not represent a tank in challenge nor a set of bad parameters. They indicate simply no matched grazers, and no hand guiding. You won't need rip cleans for a while after this one, depending on how assertive you hand guide surfaces in the coming months.


90% of aquariums above were fixed in one rip clean the rest were left in a much better state while different preventative measures were applied. Notice how hard it is to find eighteen pages examples of nutrient tuning fixing tanks with comparable after pics.

 

[Saveafish]

Where are your snails. Looking at the rock, your tank still looks new.

 

[brandon429]

Agreed

Clean the tank, force the win, restock on snails/grazers, better weekly gardening sustained, pods from algen this tank will mature into perfect in one fell swoop. Leaving the tank in a state of invasion is fully independent of all possible preventative moves= handy because of how the follow up pic looks/all shiny happy tank by tomorrow, is the option of the millennia


It would be so great to link your insta fix to those threads of kindred tanks

 

[Aquaman6410]

I have snails. I've tried astrea, cerith, nessarius, trochus, and hermits but nobody touches it. The tank is over a year old. I'm planning on starting a bigger tank so I have a chance to start over.

With the deep cleaning method above, how do I safely remove the algae from my corals like trumpets, acans, torch, monti cap, zoas, and fungia? Do I just try to physically remove as best as I can or do I need to dip them in something.

 

[brandon429]

No dips we never do, it's all precise work exactly like dental cleaning since that also is hard surface abrasion and pinpoint rasping-so as not to disturb gums/actual coral flesh.

While the tank is apart/accessible. You're spot applying peroxide on cleaned areas, as cellular burn for leftovers then rinsing it off all very precision / no actual polyp contact. The algae will be adhered to non living areas, removable and workable areas

Take pics if you do the surgery we really want. At least the threads show preps ahead of time, so that factors of concern can be mapped and seen before the run

 

[Aquaman6410]

Any idea of what this stuff looks like? I understand the shotgun approach but I also want to understand what it could be so I can learn from it.

 

[sixty_reefer]

I think most have been said and I agree with the above advice.

Also if confirmed that it is dinos it’s advisable not to water changes and dosing salts. Dosing phytoplankton can help to outcompete the dinoflagellates in mister cases and it will help raise po4 to detectable levels.