What is wrong with my tank??

Chris_Noles · Jul 13, 2021

Why are these bubbles all over my rocks? And what is this algae that I can’t seem to get off my substrate? I just treated my tank for dino’s over a week ago and now I have this algae in here. Also the majority of my sps have not opened fully since treating the tank for dinos.

What can I do?

BostonReefer300 · Jul 13, 2021

That still looks like dinos to me. Most likely prorocentrum by the looks of it, but you'd need to confirm with a microscope

Chris_Noles · Jul 13, 2021

BostonReefer300 said:
That still looks like dinos to me. Most likely prorocentrum by the looks of it, but you'd need to confirm with a microscope

Dinos form the bubbles on the rocks?

BostonReefer300 · Jul 13, 2021

Chris_Noles said:
Dinos form the bubbles on the rocks?

Yes for sure. Prorocentrum dinos frequently have lots of bubbles, but relatively little slimy gunk. Not saying that's what you have for sure, but I would bet money on it. I'd recommend keeping your nutrients at ~ 10ppm NO3 and 0.1-0.2ppm PO4. Run a properly sized UV if you can and do it at low flow. Ideally, run it as a closed loop in your DT instead of as part of your sump. (I didn't believe this would make a difference, but it really did for me.). Have patience. In my experience, prorocentrum dinos are much less toxic to corals than the types with lots of stringy goop. If you have a microscope, try to get some good pics. There's a sticky thread on dinos in the nuisance algae forum that's quite good with lots of experts there. Good luck

Chris_Noles · Jul 13, 2021

BostonReefer300 said:
Yes for sure. Prorocentrum dinos frequently have lots of bubbles, but relatively little slimy gunk. Not saying that's what you have for sure, but I would bet money on it. I'd recommend keeping your nutrients at ~ 10ppm NO3 and 0.1-0.2ppm PO4. Run a properly sized UV if you can and do it at low flow. Ideally, run it as a closed loop in your DT instead of as part of your sump. (I didn't believe this would make a difference, but it really did for me.). Have patience. In my experience, prorocentrum dinos are much less toxic to corals than the types with lots of stringy goop. If you have a microscope, try to get some good pics. There's a sticky thread on dinos in the nuisance algae forum that's quite good with lots of experts there. Good luck

So I have an AIO tank so the UV might be a pain to fit in an already packed back portion of the tank, I already tried a blackout with dosing bacteria and hydrogen peroxide, should I just go for a uv sterilizer and call it a day or is there another option?

BostonReefer300 · Jul 13, 2021

Chris_Noles said:
So I have an AIO tank so the UV might be a pain to fit in an already packed back portion of the tank, I already tried a blackout with dosing bacteria and hydrogen peroxide, should I just go for a uv sterilizer and call it a day or is there another option?

How many gallons is your setup again?

Chris_Noles · Jul 13, 2021

BostonReefer300 said:
How many gallons is your setup again?

25

BostonReefer300 · Jul 13, 2021

Personally, I think it's tough to put a permanent UV on a small tank for both cost and aesthetic reasons. I think there's something called a green killing machine or something that's an all-in-one UV system that you can put in your tank temporarily. UV does really help with dinos. Less so for prorocentrum, but still somewhat effective.

Chris_Noles · Jul 13, 2021

BostonReefer300 said:
Personally, I think it's tough to put a permanent UV on a small tank for both cost and aesthetic reasons. I think there's something called a green killing machine or something that's an all-in-one UV system that you can put in your tank temporarily. UV does really help with dinos. Less so for prorocentrum, but still somewhat effective.

Would something like this work?

zoaprince · Jul 13, 2021

What are your phosphate and nitrate levels?

Chris_Noles · Jul 13, 2021

zoaprince said:
What are your phosphate and nitrate levels?

Would have to check my nitrates but my phosphate is near zero

Chris_Noles · Jul 13, 2021

Chris_Noles said:
Would have to check my nitrates but my phosphate is near zero

Nitrates are 0 with api and phosphate is zero with salifert

zoaprince · Jul 13, 2021

Chris_Noles said:
Nitrates are 0 with api and phosphate is zero with salifert

that's why you have dinos. you may have added some treatment but any treatment is just a bandaid until you fix the real issue.

Dinos thrive is low/no nutrient systems. Aim for .03 - .05ppm phosphate and 5-10ppm nitrate

Chris_Noles · Jul 13, 2021

zoaprince said:
that's why you have dinos. you may have added some treatment but any treatment is just a bandaid until you fix the real issue.

Dinos thrive is low/no nutrient systems. Aim for .03 - .05ppm phosphate and 5-10ppm nitrates

See I thought my tank had hight nitrates because I had an “oil slick” on top of my tank the past couple of days. And I’m guessing adding a sterilizer with a tank with so low nutrients isnt going to do anything….

How would I go about raising these levels (slowly) or what can I do to get rid of the dinos again!

CanuckReefer · Jul 13, 2021

Chris_Noles said:
See I thought my tank had hight nitrates because I had an “oil slick” on top of my tank the past couple of days. And I’m guessing adding a sterilizer with a tank with so low nutrients isnt going to do anything….

How would I go about raising these levels (slowly) or what can I do to get rid of the dinos again!

Did you chemiclean it or similar? That is your oil slick if so...gotta slowly skim it off surface in my experience.
Raise nitrates by feeding a bit more, gradually. It will help in eliminating....
I have a UV running 12 hours a day on a 90, but I'm not sure I'd recommend on a 25. GKM, avoid, unless they have fixed their issues with leaching antimony.

BostonReefer300 · Jul 13, 2021

Chris_Noles said:
Would something like this work?

Not ideal at all. You'd need a UV setup where water is forced into essentially a closed reaction chamber to maximize irradiation of the water---and to be able to control contact time by adjusting flow rate into the chamber

BostonReefer300 · Jul 13, 2021

zoaprince said:
that's why you have dinos. you may have added some treatment but any treatment is just a bandaid until you fix the real issue.

Dinos thrive is low/no nutrient systems. Aim for .03 - .05ppm phosphate and 5-10ppm nitrate

I agree with this. But I'd go for 0.1 ppm PO4 and 10-15ppm NO3. You can accomplish by doing fewer, smaller water changes and feeding a bit more.

Sump Crab · Jul 13, 2021

The mean green machine mentioned earlier works well in emergencies IME.

zoaprince · Jul 13, 2021

Chris_Noles said:
See I thought my tank had hight nitrates because I had an “oil slick” on top of my tank the past couple of days. And I’m guessing adding a sterilizer with a tank with so low nutrients isnt going to do anything….

How would I go about raising these levels (slowly) or what can I do to get rid of the dinos again!

Lots of people will disagree with me but I recommend dosing phosphate and nitrate. The benefits are you'll be able to control your phosphates without having to worry about how much to feed in order to have certain levels. Also if you have a protein skimmer, stop using it.

Chris_Noles · Jul 14, 2021

BostonReefer300 said:
I agree with this. But I'd go for 0.1 ppm PO4 and 10-15ppm NO3. You can accomplish by doing fewer, smaller water changes and feeding a bit more.

Should I turn off my skimmer also?