what is this? dino? cyanno? plz help

becon776 · Jun 11, 2019

ok so this tank came alive jan 1st. trying to get tritin up and running but its been a struggle to find the line. all no3 and po4 levels practically unmeasureable.
i thought that is was cyanno and figured oh ill jist add some chemi clean. two day have passed still not completely cleared

BestMomEver · Jun 11, 2019

Dino’s or some sort of brown algae would be my guess.

becon776 · Jun 11, 2019

what the heck is going on. ive been reefing since 2001 never once dealt with a dino issue... now it seems like its a pandemic??? thos hobby never ceases to humble me.

SynGraves · Jun 11, 2019

I'd get it under a microscope to confirm dinos or not. Im battling a dino outbreak that looks just like this.

ArizonaAquatics · Jun 11, 2019

becon776 said:
ok so this tank came alive jan 1st. trying to get tritin up and running but its been a struggle to find the line. all no3 and po4 levels practically unmeasureable.
i thought that is was cyanno and figured oh ill jist add some chemi clean. two day have passed still not completely cleared

Most likely dinos. Could be a little of both honestly. If the chemiclean didnt touch it, and you've never used it before, than it is likely not cyano. I'm not surprised that your no3 and po4 are 0, since whatever that is is most likely consuming it all.

Do you have a sump? Skimmer? If so I'd highly recommend dosing a carbon source such as No3-Po4-X from RedSea or something of the like. Doing so will boost bacteria reproduction which will definitely help kick that stuff out of your tank.

It will take a while, but getting your beneficial bacteria up is a sure-fire way to get anything unwanted out of your tank.

Jon Fishman · Jun 11, 2019

ArizonaAquatics said:
If the chemiclean didnt touch it, and you've never used it before, than it is likely not cyano..

What is this Chemiclean stuff? I am gonna have to google I guess.... I get spots of cyano on my sandbed, and the occasional build-up on rock peaks etc. I would love to prevent it from going nuts, since I'm preparing for vacation etc

ArizonaAquatics · Jun 11, 2019

Jon Fishman said:
What is this Chemiclean stuff? I am gonna have to google I guess.... I get spots of cyano on my sandbed, and the occasional build-up on rock peaks etc. I would love to prevent it from going nuts, since I'm preparing for vacation etc

It's an oxidizer. Very similar to any "waste-away" or "sludge remover" if you've heard those terms. Basically breaks down organics trapped in deep crevasses in your tank.

Ive used it (and similar products) multiple times and it's good stuff, but you've got to be careful with it. If it isnt used properly or in the right amounts it can devastate a tank. I'd definitely try dosing beneficial bacteria over a period of time first to try to get rid of it, as cyano can build a tolerance to the chemiclean after a few treatments. Best to leave it for worst case scenarios imo!

Jon Fishman · Jun 11, 2019

Thank you! Yeah, just not a big deal in my tank yet.... so I will do a big clean when I upgrade tanks, and hopefully take care of the cyano that way.

becon776 · Jun 11, 2019

i have a full triton sump with a massive chaeto ball in there. kessil h380 over sump.
jesus. out of the frying pan and into the oven. ok will get my scope out

becon776 · Jun 11, 2019

was always under the strong impression chemi was anitbiotic

ArizonaAquatics · Jun 11, 2019

becon776 said:
was always under the strong impression chemi was anitbiotic

Luckily, it isnt. If it were, it would do a lot more damage on your tank than good (killing beneficial bacteria as well).

You may have heard people using antibiotics such as Erythromycin to treat cyano or fish infections, but it also devastates your nitrifying bacteria as well. Everything that you would want to live would need to be removed from the tank. Definitely stay away from adding any antibiotics to a reef aquarium if you can help it.

brandon429 · Jun 11, 2019

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/s...r-a-full-rework-skip-cycle-reassembly.525310/

that w fix it. no ID, testing, or param reports req'd
at any stage you can take the tank apart, max clean it back to shape. whether or not its practical to do so ranges on tank size, maturity etc but those rocks are open for cleaning above.

Mhart032 · Jun 11, 2019

Microscope will be your best bet. But looks like Dinos to me giving no phos detected, do blackouts help? flow wont help with Dinos nor will chemiclean or red slime remover. dose phosphates and nitrates and see if that makes a difference over a couple weeks. but in this case a microscope will be your best bet. there is some good information here

http://blog.coralwonders.com/en/dinoflagelados-en-el-acuario-marino/

bluprntguy · Jun 11, 2019

becon776 said:
was always under the strong impression chemi was anitbiotic

Since you are the OP and you asked, this thread on reef central seems to indicate it is indeed an antibiotic.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=22360433#post22360433

I'm not sure we will ever know exactly what it is unless someone tests it.

becon776 · Jun 12, 2019

yup, been a reef addict since 2001. it is an antibiotic. wasnt really asking. but jist saying i thought this was cyanno but had little result with chemiclean so somethung else.
Nutrient imbalance? No stranger to 100% water change and manual removal. there is zero NO3 zero PO4. What products to add?

i mean i could get rid of the chaeto. and nix the fuge. but it was a BIG pita to get up and running.

becon776 · Jun 12, 2019

luckily i am a bio teacher so have decent scopes available to me.

Mikedawg · Jun 12, 2019

becon776 said:
luckily i am a bio teacher so have decent scopes available to me.

Looks like Ostreopsis ovata to me; good luck with this - I'm following along

HOOPDEEZ · Jun 12, 2019

I wouldn’t remove all your chaeto, but I would remove a lot of it, and possibly cut down its light schedule. Give nutrients a chance to raise a lil, Dino’s can thrive in low nutrients. I had Dino’s for a bit when my tank was that old, get your bacteria population up and get some measurable nutrients. GL

bluprntguy · Jun 12, 2019

You may want to consider adding Ulva to the fuge as it seems to inhibit this particular dino . https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1568988315001328

I think the general approach to dinos is to increase phosphate and nitrates. I’d order a bottle of NeoPhos and NeoNitro and try dosing those. I wasn’t trying to solve dinos, but those helped my tank get up to detectable levels for phosphate and nitrate.

becon776 · Jun 12, 2019

ok thanks for the responses!
jeez.... how in the hell do you get triton off the runway?? i do have some green filamentous algae that is intertwined with the chaeto. my foxface LOVES it. so dino x would he waste of $$ at this point.

also... i read over and over to turn slimmer off (it is bc of chemi clean). and NOT to do water changes. however i did dose chemi clean. and my tank sits at an active dose of this. i am wondering if i should do a big water change to siphon off the mat and simultaneously lower the cincentration of chemi clean in the water column??? thoughts?

i will trim the chaeto way back trying to eliminate as much filamentous algae in the process.