Algae scrubber issue/observation

G Santana · Nov 27, 2021

I have been running my DIY scrubber for several months and love it but in the last 3 months or so something has changed.

Initially I was pulling off huge mats of turf algae every two weeks but then something changed and what I am pulling off the screen now is a slime/rubbery algae that has taken the place of the turf algae. I clean this sludge off weekly as it grows fast but I have no clue as to why the change.

I noticed the change right after I dosed Vibrant for 7 weeks to get rid of some GHA on the rocks but I stopped using it after it cleared up but the algae sludge continues to grow.

The first two pics are the sludge I am harvesting and the last pic is what I originally started pulling out.

Any ideas?

BeltedCoyote · Nov 27, 2021

First thought is the vibrant weakened the algaes your scrubber typically grows enough that the new sludgy stuff could muscle in and take over?

I could be wrong. Idk. That’s what came to mind

G Santana · Nov 27, 2021

BeltedCoyote said:
First thought is the vibrant weakened the algaes your scrubber typically grows enough that the new sludgy stuff could muscle in and take over?

I could be wrong. Idk. That’s what came to mind

Yeah that was my first thought but I thought it might revert once I stopped dosing Vibrant

BeltedCoyote · Nov 27, 2021

G Santana said:
Yeah that was my first thought but I thought it might revert once I stopped dosing Vibrant

the only thing is, without something to weaken the newcomer enough for the original stuff to come back, I don’t see how it would….

Dkmoo · Nov 27, 2021

honestly - it doesn't matter - what's wrong with the new slimy stuff? if its growing fast and furious then it's doing the same job of nutrient export.

One may even argue that this new stuff is even "hardier" than the original GHA, so that it will have a higher chance to stay flourishing even as the tank goes thru the ups and downs so it may be even better at helping with maintaining stability.

Dan_P · Nov 27, 2021

G Santana said:
Yeah that was my first thought but I thought it might revert once I stopped dosing Vibrant

Did your GHA come back when you stopped dosing Vibrant?

G Santana · Nov 27, 2021

Dan_P said:
Did your GHA come back when you stopped dosing Vibrant?

I got a small amount but nothing significant and it took about 5 months to return

BiggestE22 · Nov 27, 2021

G Santana said:
I have been running my DIY scrubber for several months and love it but in the last 3 months or so something has changed.

Initially I was pulling off huge mats of turf algae every two weeks but then something changed and what I am pulling off the screen now is a slime/rubbery algae that has taken the place of the turf algae. I clean this sludge off weekly as it grows fast but I have no clue as to why the change.

I noticed the change right after I dosed Vibrant for 7 weeks to get rid of some GHA on the rocks but I stopped using it after it cleared up but the algae sludge continues to grow.

The first two pics are the sludge I am harvesting and the last pic is what I originally started pulling out.

Any ideas?

You killed the algae. Vibrant kills algae

Borat · Dec 21, 2021

I am one of those people who only ever had ATS as nutrient export (no skimmer). I had a bubble algae outbreak that I needed to deal with and used Vibrant with great success (no more Valonia!).

That was 8-10 weeks of dosing Vibrant and I took ATS offline (kept the screen alive throughout this period by aerating it outdoor in a bucket, adding nutrients and using a LED light fixture).

After the treatment was over, It took very long for ATS screen to start growing again - more than 3 months. So what you are experiencing is rather "natural". You just need to keep running ATS and gently scraping the sludge using a toothbrush (so as not to displace algae).

This is what I used to have, about 1 inch thick turf (inch thick on each side!!!). One side of screen was scraped bare every 10 days:

This is what I have now - still nowhere near old screen glory but getting better by the day:

G Santana · Dec 21, 2021

Your lucky, I had huge turf algae and after using Vibrant all I get is a dark green slime algae. I still have a thin film of the turf on the screen but it gets overrun by the slime algae every week.

Borat · Dec 21, 2021

G Santana said:
Your lucky, I had huge turf algae and after using Vibrant all I get is a dark green slime algae. I still have a thin film of the turf on the screen but it gets overrun by the slime algae every week.

That's what I had for about 3 months... eventually it will start growing. I think Vibrant is quite long-lasting even after you stop the treatment.

Reefahholic · Dec 21, 2021

Vibrant will lower and sometimes completely deplete the algae’s resources dependent upon dose and frequency.

Have you checked your N&P numbers?

I have a feeling Cheato Grow might jump start your scrubber again, but it might also jump start the algae on the rocks.

If the nutrients do turn out to be very low or depleted, you may wanna start by just bringing up the N&P to target levels first.

Borat · Dec 22, 2021

Reefahholic said:
Vibrant will lower and sometimes completely deplete the algae’s resources dependent upon dose and frequency.

Have you checked your N&P numbers?

I have a feeling Cheato Grow might jump start your scrubber again, but it might also jump start the algae on the rocks. If the nutrients do turn out to be very low or depleted, you may wanna start by just bringing up the N&P to target levels first.

There is a misconception (IMO) that Vibrant kills algae by lowering nutrients. My nutrients were the highest during the treatment, phophates went as high as 0.5ppm and my nitrates as high as 30ppm (versus regular regime with ATS where phosphates are around 0.012 and nitrates are undetectable). The reason this was the case is because I switched off refugium and ATS and I did not have a skimmer. So the tank literally ran without any nutrient export for a couple of months. Yet somehow Vibrant cleared all display algae including Valonia.

So post Valonia treament my nutrients remained elevated (they are almost OK now - after 3 months of running ATS) - and yet the screen struggled to regrow.

Reefahholic · Dec 22, 2021

Borat said:
There is a misconception (IMO) that Vibrant kills algae by lowering nutrients. My nutrients were the highest during the treatment, phophates went as high as 0.5ppm and my nitrates as high as 30ppm (versus regular regime with ATS where phosphates are around 0.012 and nitrates are undetectable). The reason this was the case is because I switched off refugium and ATS and I did not have a skimmer. So the tank literally ran without any nutrient export for a couple of months. Yet somehow Vibrant cleared all display algae including Valonia.

So post Valonia treament my nutrients remained elevated (they are almost OK now - after 3 months of running ATS) - and yet the screen struggled to regrow.

When I dosed Vibrant it dropped my nutrients and ticked off all my SPS. Basically started to strip the system. Depends on the dose and how frequent you dose it. I limped in initially to see if it was safe, but as soon as I started to ramp up, is when the nutrients started to drop.