White Snot Algae or Bacteria Bloom?

[SeabassG]

So a couple of weeks ago I put a new frag rack in my tank temporarily to acclimate some new frags and after about a week I started noticing some white striggy mucus on it which has now spread and has gone all over the tank( pictures attached). Corals are not happy especially Zoas which are close up even after I turkey baste the white matter off of them. Some corals are losing a little color as well.

Some parts of the white matter looks like it has air bubbles attached as well.

No sign of any dead inhabitants.

I have already done a 15% water change and siphoned out as much as I could, and it came back within 24ish hours.

I don’t run a reactor. Just Chemi-pure elite and purigen.

My parameters have been stable including nitrate and phosphates.

Does anyone know if there’s a treatment for this bacteria? I’ve seen a couple threads about this like the one below, but I’m trying to figure out if there’s a treatment to combat this besides a bunch of water changes and carbon.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/mucus-algae-identification.59571/

Thank you all in advance.

 

[HotRocks]

@reeferfoxx any ideas here?

 

[jld]

not sure if this is same as original posters bacteria but...

i transfered over a 4 year old perfectly happy mixed reef in february 2018. by march i had a bad bacterial slime which grows on anything within a week. the slimiest stuff to feel ever. display side it does not get long but a fine whispyness. hermit shell photo. the sump and plumbing - well attached photos of the garbage. floss or socks clog in 12hours or so. fills plumbing up. corals are lackluster, lost color, not opening strong. not dead just like stopped growing really really slow growth if any.

FYI all water chemistry is fine it is not because of that. is it airborn? i dont think. i replaced ato container, dosing containers, all tubing incase of contamination. no go.

fastforward to today october 2018. i just did a ripclean, all frags rock out, removed sandbed and tossed. vinegar cleaned tank, sump and all equipment. then peroxide misted it all for good measure. scrubbed all rock and frags, misted with 3% peroxide for 30seconds and rinsed with 100% new water then into clean tank with 100% new water.

only thing that has worked as i may be winning finally is a rip clean and did not effect corals. in the past i tried dr. tims various products, overfeeding with adding phosphates to try and grow algae with no waterchanges. i cant grow algae. i never dosed or used nopox, etc. still unknown where it came from.

i plan on one more rip clean with hopes i defeat this slime. i will add a UV this time.

i plan on a thread documenting this issue when i win.

first photo below is day after ripclean with no sand bed. appears happy till you get up and look close.

 

[reeferfoxx]

My parameters have been stable including nitrate and phosphates.

For this thread, its important to get those N and P numbers. Sometimes growths can consume one or the other without us catching it. I could speculate but its best to get a good idea of whats going on quickly. Also, can you post pictures with less blue and more white light?

 

[ihavecrabs]

Agreed with @reeferfoxx

I'd like to see newly tested Po4 and NO3. I had something that looked awfully similar in my last system due to a significant drop of NO3 that I believe bottomed out.

 

[jld]

cleanest / safest way to raise no3/po4 in a rather new clean system? i know for myself these numbers were/are low but being consumed by this slime cause i can’t grow anything algae related. my four year old chaeto ball died within months of transfer.

 

[SeabassG]

Thanks for all the input everyone. I’m off on business but will be back this coming weekend. As soon as I get back I will post some updated perameters.

@ihavecrabs , this issue did correspond somewhat with my nitrates and phosphates dropping out. Had to start dosing neo-nitro and neophos. Is there a coralation between zero nitrate and this type of bacteria?