Bacteria or Copepod Bloom?

[PeteyRoc]

Need some of your guys input whether I’m going through a Copepod, Bacterial Bloom or Both or I’m looking into this to much.

A little insight what lead to this….

12 Gallon Tank running 3 months in a couple of days. Ran fishless cycle from the start with distilled water gradually added RO water through ATO during the nitrogen cycle. Once cycle was done WC was done and inverts were added first ( 3 Nessi snails, 4 red leg and 4 blue leg hermits). After 10 day of inverts added 1st clown with copepods introduced to the tank couple days later copepods looked like they died off, but I was still feeding the tank phyto. 5 days later 2nd clown added. 2 weeks later 3 frags added (1 Kenya Tree and 2 GSP). Added 6 more frags (2 hammers, 1 Goni, 1 Acan, 1 Richordea and 1 enchilada 2nd week of December.

Through all this I have been doing my weekly husbandry for my tank. I have been keeping record of my parameters and fish and coral seem happy. I have been gradually trying to lower my PO4 & NO 3 through weekly WC.m with out any dosing additives. Only additives would be Microbacter7 and restor from bright well. I decided to add a Skimmer (bubble Magus miniQ) mid last week and noticed 2 days later my salinity was lowered by .02 SG. It was time for my weekly WC. After the WC noticed my parameters were still okay and brought back salinity up .01 SG. I decided not to run the skimmer after the WC. I figured water was clean and would run it mid week again. I noticed the beginning of this week I had a Copepod Bloom and let it run its course. Also my turbo snail was killed by one of the hermits but I took it out right away. I know my water gets a tad cloudy by the end of the week but not sure if the Copepod Bloom makes it worse to make look like a Bacterial Bloom. I’ve added some photos to see if this normal. Also I noticed this morning one of my hammers and Goni tissue were retracted a bit and didn’t look normal like the other days. If it is a bacterial bloom would I need to wait it out a bit before doing a weekly WC?

 

[Tahoe61]

Cover your bases, turn off the lights, run some charcoal, do a water change, stop adding Mb7 (btw I love that product). Don't add any more livestock.
Looks like new tank syndrome.

 

[PeteyRoc]

Cover your bases, turn off the lights, run some charcoal, do a water change, stop adding Mb7 (btw I love that product). Don't add any more livestock.
Looks like new tank syndrome.

Oh MB7 and Restor is only added right after a WC which is weekly. Thanks for your input and I noticed just putting up this post I am moving to quickly in 3 months. It’s hard to slow down but I will try.

 

[weemanno1]

Cover your bases, turn off the lights, run some charcoal, do a water change, stop adding Mb7 (btw I love that product). Don't add any more livestock.
Looks like new tank syndrome.

Do a water change with bacteria bloom? Is The bacteria bloom like mine and disappears at night

 

[PeteyRoc]

Do a water change with bacteria bloom? Is The bacteria bloom like mine and disappears at night

I have read from some other posts and have many techniques:
- Agitate the water more or run the skimmer to help oxygenate the water and ride it out
- Run a UV sterilizer

I forget what specifically I did, but I remember I rode it out and agitated the water to increase oxygen levels. As of now, I do run a UV sterilizer for 6 hours or so. As of now I do bi-weekly water changes since it helps me keep my range of nitrates at 5-10ppm and Phosphates .1- .2. I like to keep my nutrients around there, or so that I do not bottom them out. I am battling some issues with either dinos or diamtoms on the sandbed during the day. They do disappear at night.

 

[weemanno1]

I have read from some other posts and have many techniques:
- Agitate the water more or run the skimmer to help oxygenate the water and ride it out
- Run a UV sterilizer

I forget what specifically I did, but I remember I rode it out and agitated the water to increase oxygen levels. As of now, I do run a UV sterilizer for 6 hours or so. As of now I do bi-weekly water changes since it helps me keep my range of nitrates at 5-10ppm and Phosphates .1- .2. I like to keep my nutrients around there, or so that I do not bottom them out. I am battling some issues with either dinos or diamtoms on the sandbed during the day. They do disappear at night.

How do you get on with alk as my alk drops 0.1 a day so it’s 7.5 when I starts and drops to 6.8 over 7 days the. I top it back up with a 15% water change and I got brought the same thing.. but I don’t know if it’s because I have dinos and a bacteria bloom that it is eating away at the alk

 

[PeteyRoc]

How do you get on with alk as my alk drops 0.1 a day so it’s 7.5 when I starts and drops to 6.8 over 7 days the. I top it back up with a 15% water change and I got brought the same thing.. but I don’t know if it’s because I have dinos and a bacteria bloom that it is eating away at the alk

I dose All for Reef to keep my range 8-8.5 dKH and do a WC bi-weekly. Salt mix I currently I use is Tropic Marin Pro-Reef. That is one of the reasons I dose All for Reef. It helps with my Alk stability range where I want to be.

How old is your system and do you have any corals in there?

Some dose Alk specifically, and the other elements. Remember, before dosing, do your research

 

[weemanno1]

I dose All for Reef to keep my range 8-8.5 dKH and do a WC bi-weekly. Salt mix I currently I use is Tropic Marin Pro-Reef. That is one of the reasons I dose All for Reef. It helps with my Alk stability range where I want to be.

How old is your system and do you have any corals in there?

Some dose Alk specifically, and the other elements. Remember, before dosing, do your research

I use pro reef also but because my tanks only 3 mo tha old I’ve had bacteria blooms.. diatoms… dinos.. starts of cyano.. you name it I’ve had it I do 15% weekly but dont know weather to dose reef buffer in my water changes to keep my dkh at 8 I think it swing from 7 to 8 during the week before changes but I have a bacteria bloom again now so don’t know what to do. I’m very much over thinking it that it’s going to just destroy my tank! Can’t really see it but the bacteria is deffo there

 

[Fish Fan]

I dose All for Reef to keep my range 8-8.5 dKH and do a WC bi-weekly. Salt mix I currently I use is Tropic Marin Pro-Reef. That is one of the reasons I dose All for Reef. It helps with my Alk stability range where I want to be.

How old is your system and do you have any corals in there?

Some dose Alk specifically, and the other elements. Remember, before dosing, do your research

were you still having an issue or is your tank on track now?

 

[Fish Fan]

I use pro reef also but because my tanks only 3 mo tha old I’ve had bacteria blooms.. diatoms… dinos.. starts of cyano.. you name it I’ve had it I do 15% weekly but dont know weather to dose reef buffer in my water changes to keep my dkh at 8 I think it swing from 7 to 8 during the week before changes but I have a bacteria bloom again now so don’t know what to do. I’m very much over thinking it that it’s going to just destroy my tank! Can’t really see it but the bacteria is deffo there

Your tank looks great! What I can see from the pics, it looks like a bacteria bloom. If you're adding any bacteria-in-a-bottle products, I would discontinue their use.

Your alk fluctuations are likely due to test kit inaccuracy, our home test kits are not laboratory accurate, so keep that in mind. I don't see anything in your tank that would be consuming great amounts of alk. Things like bacteria and Dinos won't have a big impact on alk (if any at all), you really need a lot of growning stoney corals or coralline algae in the tank before you have to start maintaining alk with things like All-For-Reef. The salt you're using should have all the alk and other elements your tank needs at this point, regular water changes should keep your parameters in line.

I hope this helps, let us know if you're still having issues!

 

[weemanno1]

Your tank looks great! What I can see from the pics, it looks like a bacteria bloom. If you're adding any bacteria-in-a-bottle products, I would discontinue their use.

Your alk fluctuations are likely due to test kit inaccuracy, our home test kits are not laboratory accurate, so keep that in mind. I don't see anything in your tank that would be consuming great amounts of alk. Things like bacteria and Dinos won't have a big impact on alk (if any at all), you really need a lot of growning stoney corals or coralline algae in the tank before you have to start maintaining alk with things like All-For-Reef. The salt you're using should have all the alk and other elements your tank needs at this point, regular water changes should keep your parameters in line.

I hope this helps, let us know if you're still having issues!

Unfortunately im on day 4 of the bloom I’m due a water change in 2 days and don’t want to upset the apple cart but my alk needs magnesium and calcium needs the water changes to keep them in range.. my mag is slightly low so it’s showing my calcium as 550 when it’s not and my alk is showing 7.2 it had dropped to 6.4 the week before. As for the bacteria bloom I’m not even sure if it’s because I flicked the sand up to get the dinos off it .. probs went to hard on a 3 ok th old tank.. I don’t dose bacteria as such I just put a shot of special blend in every other water change but I suspect I don’t need to do that anymore after this bloom stops. The water change will probably take the edge off if I don’t disturb anything else as it will get my levels back up :)?

 

[Fish Fan]

Unfortunately im on day 4 of the bloom I’m due a water change in 2 days and don’t want to upset the apple cart but my alk needs magnesium and calcium needs the water changes to keep them in range.. my mag is slightly low so it’s showing my calcium as 550 when it’s not and my alk is showing 7.2 it had dropped to 6.4 the week before. As for the bacteria bloom I’m not even sure if it’s because I flicked the sand up to get the dinos off it .. probs went to hard on a 3 ok th old tank.. I don’t dose bacteria as such I just put a shot of special blend in every other water change but I suspect I don’t need to do that anymore after this bloom stops. The water change will probably take the edge off if I don’t disturb anything else as it will get my levels back up :)?

I'm not sure what Special Blend is or does, but if it's a bacterial product, I'd stop using that, it could be what's causing your bloom.

If you recently kicked up a lot of sand, this could be just fine particles that will settle down in a day or so.

I would not worry at all about your Alk/Calc/Mag. Magnesium is notoriously difficult tp accurately test, and many of the experts here suggest just not testing for it at all.

Just say NO to magnesium testing: RMM is born

OK, this thread has been many years in the making, and I'm posting it here since folks in the chem forum are probably already tired of all the threads relating to problematic magnesium testing. I'm going to propose a method, let's call it the Randy Magnesium Method, or RMM for short. All good...

www.reef2reef.com

There's nothing in your tank at this point that would be consuming Alk/Calc/Mag, your water changes alone should be all you need to keep these parameters in line. These elements are used by growing LPS and SPS corals, as well as Coralline algae.

I hope that helps!

 

[weemanno1]

I'm not sure what Special Blend is or does, but if it's a bacterial product, I'd stop using that, it could be what's causing your bloom.

If you recently kicked up a lot of sand, this could be just fine particles that will settle down in a day or so.

I would not worry at all about your Alk/Calc/Mag. Magnesium is notoriously difficult tp accurately test, and many of the experts here suggest just not testing for it at all.

Just say NO to magnesium testing: RMM is born

OK, this thread has been many years in the making, and I'm posting it here since folks in the chem forum are probably already tired of all the threads relating to problematic magnesium testing. I'm going to propose a method, let's call it the Randy Magnesium Method, or RMM for short. All good...

www.reef2reef.com

There's nothing in your tank at this point that would be consuming Alk/Calc/Mag, your water changes alone should be all you need to keep these parameters in line. These elements are used by growing LPS and SPS corals, as well as Coralline algae.

I hope that helps!

once i get an ident on the dinos i can take a coarse of action.. i'm planning on dosing silicates so the diatoms can fight the sand dinos.. and a 5 micron sock for the floaters at night.. i'm going to try and do it without uv but if i need to i'll either get one or borrow one temporarily :) its interesting... stressful... depressing... and rewarding all at the same time..

 

[Marco_99]

once i get an ident on the dinos i can take a coarse of action.. i'm planning on dosing silicates so the diatoms can fight the sand dinos.. and a 5 micron sock for the floaters at night.. i'm going to try and do it without uv but if i need to i'll either get one or borrow one temporarily :) its interesting... stressful... depressing... and rewarding all at the same time..

In a pinch I rolled the dice on a Sunday evening and went to Petco and bought I think it was a 9w green killing machine(small) and put it in my over 100g tank and it cleared it in almost 24hrs.I was dealing with cloudy water for like 2-3 weeks before that from an outbreak from bottomed out nitrates and phos. Before I put the green killing machine in my tank it was at the point I could barely see through it end to end. They are actually perfect because they are portable, cheap, and just work. I was going to plumb in a Pentair at the beginning of my build and opted not to because of costs, durability, and it’s just a lot of effort and money for something that is very situational.

 

[weemanno1]

In a pinch I rolled the dice on a Sunday evening and went to Petco and bought I think it was a 9w green killing machine(small) and put it in my over 100g tank and it cleared it in almost 24hrs.I was dealing with cloudy water for like 2-3 weeks before that from an outbreak from bottomed out nitrates and phos. Before I put the green killing machine in my tank it was at the point I could barely see through it end to end. They are actually perfect because they are portable, cheap, and just work. I was going to plumb in a Pentair at the beginning of my build and opted not to because of costs, durability, and it’s just a lot of effort and money for something that is very situational.

That’s what I’m thinking a 24w is like £60 but there renowed for only working for a few months. But I did find that oase 11w ones are £74 and I can plump it in to the return pump feed in may aio back into the tank but it looks messy. But it’s a temp solution!!.. how did you get on with ammonia as the bacteria died ?

 

[weemanno1]

Well I think I might have found my bacteria bloom and the organic it’s feeding off .. I’ll find out in the morning but I’ve taken a 2 litre jug a water out and replaced it with fresh and have just looked as it’s clicked there’s a foam filter in the return from my bubble magus skimmer so I took it out.. well there’s a lot of muck in it.. but we shall see!! The it’s just the dinos to deal with lol

 

[PeteyRoc]

were you still having an issue or is your tank on track now?

You could say I am on track. My tank is 10-11 months now and thriving. I do notice I may have either dinos or diamtoms on he sandbed during mid sessions when the lights are at peak. Ever since I cleaned the back chamber of it has shown up and been dealing with it since. But I am okay with it since I do stir the sand from time to time. I'll ride it out, and hopefully the maturity of the tank works its course. I do notice I have green hair algae as well, but I recently got an emerald crab to help with it, and I'm also pulling it out here and there when I am in the tank. We will see how it goes in the coming weeks.

I use pro reef also but because my tanks only 3 mo tha old I’ve had bacteria blooms.. diatoms… dinos.. starts of cyano.. you name it I’ve had it I do 15% weekly but dont know weather to dose reef buffer in my water changes to keep my dkh at 8 I think it swing from 7 to 8 during the week before changes but I have a bacteria bloom again now so don’t know what to do. I’m very much over thinking it that it’s going to just destroy my tank! Can’t really see it but the bacteria is deffo there

Hang in there, and patience is key! I know you got this, and you will be a better reefer when you pass this hurdle. Recently, I got another 10G Nano tank. Bought it second-hand with a Prime light and ended up with living inhabitants with it. I did not plan to, but I did. We will see how that goes. lol Also I am working on my other 20G tank where I will slowly transistion my 12G system too slowly and see how that goes.

Here is my tank my 12G at its current state

 

[Fish Fan]

You could say I am on track. My tank is 10-11 months now and thriving. I do notice I may have either dinos or diamtoms on he sandbed during mid sessions when the lights are at peak. Ever since I cleaned the back chamber of it has shown up and been dealing with it since. But I am okay with it since I do stir the sand from time to time. I'll ride it out, and hopefully the maturity of the tank works its course. I do notice I have green hair algae as well, but I recently got an emerald crab to help with it, and I'm also pulling it out here and there when I am in the tank. We will see how it goes in the coming weeks.


Hang in there, and patience is key! I know you got this, and you will be a better reefer when you pass this hurdle. Recently, I got another 10G Nano tank. Bought it second-hand with a Prime light and ended up with living inhabitants with it. I did not plan to, but I did. We will see how that goes. lol Also I am working on my other 20G tank where I will slowly transistion my 12G system too slowly and see how that goes.

Here is my tank my 12G at its current state

Thank you for reporting back, and your tank looks great! Good job!

 

[weemanno1]

You could say I am on track. My tank is 10-11 months now and thriving. I do notice I may have either dinos or diamtoms on he sandbed during mid sessions when the lights are at peak. Ever since I cleaned the back chamber of it has shown up and been dealing with it since. But I am okay with it since I do stir the sand from time to time. I'll ride it out, and hopefully the maturity of the tank works its course. I do notice I have green hair algae as well, but I recently got an emerald crab to help with it, and I'm also pulling it out here and there when I am in the tank. We will see how it goes in the coming weeks.


Hang in there, and patience is key! I know you got this, and you will be a better reefer when you pass this hurdle. Recently, I got another 10G Nano tank. Bought it second-hand with a Prime light and ended up with living inhabitants with it. I did not plan to, but I did. We will see how that goes. lol Also I am working on my other 20G tank where I will slowly transistion my 12G system too slowly and see how that goes.

Here is my tank my 12G at its current state

tank is looking awesome my guy!! in my head after finding the skimmer baffle foam thick full of organics.. thought i'd wake up to a crystal clear tank this morning.... i did not I think its slightly clearer?.. i have my usual 10% water change at the end of the week so i will carefully carry this out not disturbing anything and see how it goes.. i'll try and runn my other water through a filter sock and back into the tank when the lights are off to remove as much of the free swimmers as poss without disturbing the bacteria in the water.. i mean is 4 days of a bacterial bloom to long... or just me being inpatient?

 

[PeteyRoc]

tank is looking awesome my guy!! in my head after finding the skimmer baffle foam thick full of organics.. thought i'd wake up to a crystal clear tank this morning.... i did not I think its slightly clearer?.. i have my usual 10% water change at the end of the week so i will carefully carry this out not disturbing anything and see how it goes.. i'll try and runn my other water through a filter sock and back into the tank when the lights are off to remove as much of the free swimmers as poss without disturbing the bacteria in the water.. i mean is 4 days of a bacterial bloom to long... or just me being inpatient?

That is good water is slightly clearer and some progress! When I had the Bacteria Bloom it lasted for two weeks or so. 1st year of a new tank will be challenging especially if you're in it for the 1st time.