BACTERIAL BLOOM GONE SUPER GREEN.

[m13rpy]

HELLO EVERYONE.

i have a nano 60L tank. the tank is actually a converted biorb cube. there is no sump or chamber. the tank is around 9 months old. i have been using AI to get things established and to try and make this the biggest success possible. i have quite a few corals in there, i think around 10 including two small bubble tip anemones. i had a clown fish in there but unfortunately he died and i didnt know why. i have only ever used RO water and my parameters are usually always sound. i recently however discovered that i wasnt using a proper protein skimmer! but instead a 'surface skimmer'. this oversight was frustrating. it explained the death of Chase (clownfish). i now have a skimmer installed, it is a hydor nano skim. i've had it running about two weeks and theres been quite the change in the water chemistry. the water became super cloudy. Grok (AI) advised that it was a bacterial bloom and it should clear up on its own with partial water changes, some activated charcoal and filter sock. it's not gone to plan. it has been super cloudy for over a week and now its bright green. its actually a lot greener than the picture when the reef light is off. Grok reckons i should put a towel over the tank for three days! is this the right course of action can anyone give me any advice.

 

[jbhydroman]

Well, I have had algae blooms in my 32 gal tank, a lot. Until I bought an Ultraviolet sterilizer. Got it up in running and in 24 hrs. my tank was clear. This sterilizer will kill all the bacteria floating in your tank, won't hurt the beneficial bacteria, or if your tank is small enough you can change 75% of the water, and go from there (use the drip method, when changing that much water, so it wont shock your critters in the tank). Also you should agitate the water to produce more oxygen in your tank, the bloom will suck the O2 out pretty quick. My best bet is the sterilizer. You can pick up a sterilizer for about $30 dollars.

 

[m13rpy]

Well, I have had algae blooms in my 32 gal tank, a lot. Until I bought an Ultraviolet sterilizer. Got it up in running and in 24 hrs. my tank was clear. This sterilizer will kill all the bacteria floating in your tank, won't hurt the beneficial bacteria, or if your tank is small enough you can change 75% of the water, and go from there (use the drip method, when changing that much water, so it wont shock your critters in the tank). Also you should agitate the water to produce more oxygen in your tank, the bloom will suck the O2 out pretty quick. My best bet is the sterilizer. You can pick up a sterilizer for about $30 dollars.

hello mate thanks for your input! i've heard about the steriliser. i have one coming in the post! i have the wave machine pointed upwards towards the surface for as much agitation as possible. i wasnt sure about doing such a large water change as to my understanding it could make the problem worse. i've been doing 10% every other day but its hasnt helped at all. do you have your steriliser running constantly? many thanks

 

[Fish Fan]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

Sorry to see you're having some trouble with your tank. I am going to suggest that you don't rely on AI for tank questions as it's just not quite there yet, and tends to pull from misinformation, which means its replies are not going to the the best.

When the water turns green like that, it's an algae bloom, and likely caused by high levels of nutrients in the water. Do you know what your nitrate and phosphate concentrations are?

 

[m13rpy]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

Sorry to see you're having some trouble with your tank. I am going to suggest that you don't rely on AI for tank questions as it's just not quite there yet, and tends to pull from misinformation, which means its replies are not going to the the best.

When the water turns green like that, it's an algae bloom, and likely caused by high levels of nutrients in the water. Do you know what your nitrate and phosphate concentrations are?

Hello mate! thank you for your response.

Yes i'm starting to notice inconsistencies with the AI.

it certainly looks like i have an algae bloom. it would appear this problem has occurred because of the new protein skimmer?

Im going to measure nitrate and phosphate as soon as i'm home from work - the tank currently has a towel over the top with the lights out.

 

[ColorMeGone]

I don't see any rock in your tank. You need a bunch for filtration.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

A new skimmer should not cause an suspended algae bloom. I know its not pleasing to see, and I'm not sure what is in your tank, but many of us, including me, dose phytoplankton to feed various organisms. Not that much, but its demonstrates that the mere presence of such a bloom is not likely causing a problem.

 

[m13rpy]

I don't see any rock in your tank. You need a bunch for filtration.

There’s plenty of rocks in there. It’s just super cloudy!

 

[m13rpy]

I don't see any rock in your tank. You need a bunch for filtration.

There’s plenty in there! It’s just super cloudy

 

[m13rpy]

A new skimmer should not cause an suspended algae bloom. I know its not pleasing to see, and I'm not sure what is in your tank, but many of us, including me, dose phytoplankton to feed various organisms. Not that much, but its demonstrates that the mere presence of such a bloom is not likely causing a problem.the

 

[m13rpy]

AI has me thinking it’s because of the new skimmer. Due to my misunderstandings there hasn’t been a skimmer in place since the beginning and AI has told me this is the reason for the initial bloom. It started a couple of weeks ago, slowly getting more and more cloudy and it’s only just gone bright green.

 

[m13rpy]

Hello mate! thank you for your response.

Yes i'm starting to notice inconsistencies with the AI.

it certainly looks like i have an algae bloom. it would appear this problem has occurred because of the new protein skimmer?

Im going to measure nitrate and phosphate as soon as i'm home from work - the tank currently has a towel over the top with the lights out.

Hello there! Phosphate 0.25. nitrate between 5 and 10.

 

[painter1982]

I have found that Grok will give very poor advice and very good advice. Grok is wrong as often as it’s right. I wouldn’t trust the actual advice when using Grok unless you can verify its recommendation. I have experimented with Grok on this since the first version came out. It definitely hasn’t improved.

Looks like a uv sterilizer is needed on your tank. Also regular water changes. RO alone isn’t enough, you need a di filter too. Water parameters are needed to actually know the real cause.

 

[jbhydroman]

hello mate thanks for your input! i've heard about the steriliser. i have one coming in the post! i have the wave machine pointed upwards towards the surface for as much agitation as possible. i wasnt sure about doing such a large water change as to my understanding it could make them worse. i've been doing 10% every other day but its hasnt helped at all. do you have your steriliser running constantly? many thanks

I usually run my sterilizer every so often, for about 3 days in a row, then give a 4 day rest. I also run it when I add new live stock to the tank. This insures that if there are any organisms in the little water, entering my tank, from the shipping bag, or on the fish, the organism will get zapped.
That wave maker will help out in putting extra oxygen (Bubbles) in the tank and will give the inverts. more success of them surviving. Blooms are not the end of the world, they happen in all saltwater tanks, once you get the sterilizer working, it should take care of the problem. Just do a water change after the clear up, just cause of all the dead bacteria in the tank. At least that is what I did when I had my last bacteria bloom, had no problems after the water change.
Yea, 75% water change is a little excessive, but if that is all you have to work with, then you got to do what you got to do. The 10% water change is a good idea, every other day.
Another note it may take up to 48 hrs. to clear the tank depending on how bad the bloom is.
As long as you have that extra flow agitation on the surface of the water, your tankmates should be fine.
Please let me know how it turns out.

 

[PointerReefs]

Small UV sterilizer should fix it.