Algae/Bacteria Bloom causing crash

[Tbell805]

Hello fellow reefers,
I have a 5-6 year old tank and have been battling this odd algae/bacteria for about a week now. It started after I added a batch of Chaeto from an unreputable vendor (big mistake should have been from a fellow reefer). The tank developed this rust looking algae (Very slimy and matteish). This then advanced into cloudy looking water. Around this time I lost my copperband butterfly. I did a 50% water change and scraped as much crud as I could. Two days later I lost my yellow tang and pink fairy wrasse. I've since removed my fish and placed them in a quarantine tank. I have left my coral, invertebrates, and cuc. I have started using UV and placed more carbon in my reactor. I carbon dose vinegar and have nitrate at 1 and phosphate at .04. The problem is this algae is clogging my reactor so quickly. I'm hoping to have my friend look at a sample under a microscope and provide some photographs. Here are some images and I'm looking for help either regaining a balance in the tank or tips on how to move forward (restarting).

 

[EmdeReef]

Keep water changes, dim / keep lights off for a few days and continue carbon and water changes.
Turn up your wavemakers towards the surface.

I would stop carbon dosing, which in a high nutrient environment may contirbutw to some of clouding.

 

[Frtdrmrose7]

Ugh I’m so sorry to see this. I hope this works out for you with out any more lossses.

 

[beaslbob]

I would kill the display light and keep the lights on the chaeto. The cloudiness and red slime are photosensitive algae/ cyano bacteria. they will die off with no lights and the water will clear. At that point resume lighting at less duration and adjust shorter if cloudiness returns longer if it stays clear.

the bottom line is to get the chaeto consuming the nutrients not the display nor the carbon dosing.

Have you had any pH crash or ammonia spikes?

my .02

 

[miyags]

If you started a UV Sterilizer,the water should clear up in 3 to 4 days.

 

[Tbell805]

The water is clearing from the use of UV. I tried a 3 day blackout and it had no effect on this orangeish algae. No ph crash and I'll test ammonia this evening. I'll also take a photo showing the progress. I haven't had any more losses, but I'm hoping that this algae doesn't smother the coral that is still in there. Shrimp and cucumbers are still chugging along. It is difficult keeping the chaeto clear of this stuff. Keeping my fingers crossed that I'll be able to reintroduce my fish in the future.

 

[Tbell805]

Much clearer tonight

 

[Tbell805]

Update 12/3 water is crystal clear. Amm is 0, nitrite is 0, nitrate is 5, phos is. 07. I scraped the gunk off the back wall and siphoned out the algae that came off. Snails are helping get the rest. Corals look happy for the most part and I'm feeling relief that I didn't lose it all. Moving forward when do you think I should reintroduce my four fish that are in QT?