Another Classic "Is This Dinos" Thread

[Cincyreefer513]

This stuff appeared over a month ago. Several of my zoas have been going downhill and over the past week, some of the lps have started to go downhill as well. It's time to take action. So, are these dinos?

Parameters over about the past 5 weeks:

Temp 78
Salinity 1.025-26 Refractometer
PH 8.2 API
Nitrates were at 10, more recently 5 API
Phos 0.30s Hanna
Magnesium 1450+ Salifert
Alk 7.5-7.8 Salifert
Ca 400-410 Salifert

From what I've read, dinos typically thrive in 0 nitrates and phos. API could potentially be wrong with the 5 reading and it's actually 0. I don't know. Still, phosphates are quite high. Any ideas? All other parameters look good, but corals are declining. It's a Fluval Flex. I've had running for 4 months. It was bought established for a year prior.

 

[Miami Reef]

Are the Dino’s only on your sandbed? I am inclined to believe that you don’t have enough flow in the tank and that coarse, deep sandbed is just a detritus trap which the Dino’s are directly feeding on.

If this was my tank, I’d do a refresh. The parameters look great except the phosphates. I’d say remove all that sandbed and rinse it would and only add a fine layer.

Increase flow and water changes. Use mechanical filtration (filter floss in a HOB works). Use activated carbon to remove organics.

This will definitely shift the biome away from Dinos.

 

[Theulli]

I always saw strands with Dino’s. This looks more like diatoms from the coloration and texture

 

[Miami Reef]

I always saw strands with Dino’s. This looks more like diatoms from the coloration and texture

I agree with you. It almost looks like hair algae in some areas.

The suggestions I gave above were for dinos, but I would personally still follow them regardless since the corals aren’t doing too well.

 

[Cincyreefer513]

Are the Dino’s only on your sandbed? I am inclined to believe that you don’t have enough flow in the tank and that coarse, deep sandbed is just a detritus trap which the Dino’s are directly feeding on.

If this was my tank, I’d do a refresh. The parameters look great except the phosphates. I’d say remove all that sandbed and rinse it would and only add a fine layer.

Increase flow and water changes. Use mechanical filtration (filter floss in a HOB works). Use activated carbon to remove organics.

This will definitely shift the biome away from Dinos.

It's mostly on the sand, but there is a little on the rocks too.

I do run a bag of carbon and change out about every 3 weeks.

Another note is this stuff causes the sand to clump up a lot.

 

[Miami Reef]

It's mostly on the sand, but there is a little on the rocks too.

I do run a bag of carbon and change out about every 3 weeks.

Another note is this stuff causes the sand to clump up a lot.

I see. It’s an interesting case for sure. The carbon regimen you have is good.

It’s hard to tell without a microscope. Do you by any chance have one or can borrow one?

 

[Cincyreefer513]

I know diatoms well from the freshwater side and had them briefly in this tank for the first month. This has patches of goop. This close up sorta shows it. Also included a pic of a patch in the rocks.

 

[Miami Reef]

I know diatoms well from the freshwater side and had them briefly in this tank for the first month. This has patches of goop. This close up sorta shows it. Also included a pic of a patch in the rocks.

It kind of looks like cyano. But I’ll let others chime in because I could be wrong.

@taricha @ScottB

 

[Cincyreefer513]

I see. It’s an interesting case for sure. The carbon regimen you have is good.

It’s hard to tell without a microscope. Do you by any chance have one or can borrow one?

My parents at least used to have one. I haven't used it in about 20 years lol if they still have it I could probably borrow it in a week or so.

 

[Reefbuds]

Looks like cyano maybe from some of those pics

 

[Reefbuds]

Phosphates are very high if .30 is accurate. Could be what's causing your issues

 

[Theulli]

If you use a feeder or eye dropper and blow some water at it does it readily come off? That is my cyano test

 

[ScottB]

Fairly odd presentation there. Almost looks like a brown algae but picture colors are hard to adjust for. @Cincyreefer513 do these colors match what you see? When you remove the gunk from the tank, what is it like? Fibrous? Gelatinous?

Nitrate is easy to measure and most kits are OK. Phosphates I only trust Hanna Ultra low phosphates. I feel like we need a reliable measure of that first before working on lowering PO4.

 

[Cincyreefer513]

Colors are very accurate to in person.

I just took a turkey baster to the big clump pictured above and it broke into fragments and blew away with the current. All of the other stuff on the sand clumps the sand together sorta like glue. It takes some effort to blow the sand clumps apart.

I use a Hanna ULR. My first ever reading when I first got it nearly 2 months ago read 0.55. I believe that was an error due to newbie mistakes. Second reading was 0.41. After that it's been in the 0.30s. Last 3 readings are 0.35-0.31, trending down. I only feed frozen once a day, 5-6 days a week and Reef Roids once a week, 1/16-1/8 teaspoon. It used to be 1/8 twice a week until I started testing phosphate.

 

[Miami Reef]

Skip the reef roids. They won’t help you in any way but they will raise phosphates. Corals do not require reef roids for survival.

 

[Cincyreefer513]

Here are a few more white light pics I just took showing the two "hotspots". If it helps, PAR in these areas are in the 45-80 range. The higher light areas (120-200+) have little to none.

Tonight is water change night. I typically syphon out some of the sand with a 20% change.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Its bacteria and likely cyano.
I recommend to reduce white light intensity or even turn them off for 5-7 days. Add liquid bacteria daily for a week during the day at 1.5ml per 10 gallons. Add Hydrogen peroxide at night at 1ml per 10 gallons. Add a pouch of chemipure Elite which will balance phos and nitrate and keep them in check.

After the week, add a few snails such as cerith, margarita, astrea and nassarius plus 6-8 blue leg hermits to take control.

What causes this ? Some of the most common causes include:
- Protein skimmer which fills water with tiny air bubbles. As bubbles form from the reaction chamber, dissolved organic compound molecules stick to them. Foam forms at the surface of the water and is then transferred to a collection cup, where it rests as skimmate. When the protein skimmer does not output the best efficiency or you do not have the suitable protein skimmer to cover the tank, the air bubbles created by the skimmer might be insufficient. And this insufficiency of air bubbles can trigger the cyano to thrive.
- Overstocking / overfeeding, your aquarium with nutrients is often the culprit of a cyano bloom
- Adding live rock that isn’t completely cured which acts like a breeding ground for red slime algae
- If you don’t change your water with enough frequency, you’ll soon have a brightly colored red slime algae bloom. Regular water changes dilute nutrients that feed cyanobacteria and keeps your tank beautifully clear
- Using a water source with nitrates or phosphates is like rolling out the welcome mat for cyano. Tap water is an example
- Inadequate water flow, or movement, is a leading cause of cyano blooms. Slow moving water combined with excess dissolved nutrients is a recipe for pervasive red slime algae development

 

[areefer01]

Skip the reef roids. They won’t help you in any way but they will raise phosphates. Corals do not require reef roids for survival.

So you are saying corals do not require food....

 

[Cincyreefer513]

So you are saying corals do not require food....

The majority of corals are photosynthetic, but do benefit from additional feeding and supplements. I bought RR at first because people spoke highly of it, but later learned it's one of the worst for phosphate. Go figure...

 

[Miami Reef]

So you are saying corals do not require food....

Of course they need food, but feeding organics and ammonia from fish food/waste is more than enough for photosynthesizing corals.