Diatom or Dino??

[djm]

Totally normal. In a depleted system, your rock and sand (aragonite) will continue to bind up the phosphorus until it saturates. Double down on the dose for a few days.

For ultra low PO4 readings, Hanna ULR is the only reliable tool.

Thanks I’ve ordered a Hanna ULR Phosphate Checker and it’s on its way.

 

[djm]

You also can pick it up used on eBay for half price.


One of the bests investments you will make. Will come handy a number of times later too

post a picture once you have one. You can use your camera of your mobile.

Thanks, I’ll get shopping for one online and then post the pictures.

 

[Siberwulf]

Here is a picture after the lights have been on around 6 hours.

Will say, I have the same junk growing on my Chaeto in my sump. I took it out, shook it a bit in some saltwater, and it was gone. Now it's growing on the sand. Assuming it's the same junk you have!

 

[djm]

Will say, I have the same junk growing on my Chaeto in my sump. I took it out, shook it a bit in some saltwater, and it was gone. Now it's growing on the sand. Assuming it's the same junk you have!

It’s a real pain in the butt. I vacuumed all of my sand yesterday, scrubbed the rocks with a toothbrush, did a 20% water change and within 24 hours my sand is brown again. Ordered a microscope from Amazon which was delivered today and it’s faulty. I’m not having much luck.

 

[attiland]

It’s a real pain in the butt. I vacuumed all of my sand yesterday, scrubbed the rocks with a toothbrush, did a 20% water change and within 24 hours my sand is brown again. Ordered a microscope from Amazon which was delivered today and it’s faulty. I’m not having much luck.

Are you sure it is faulty? It takes a little bit of practice to use it. I spent probably an hour when I first had it.
the only exertions are the digital microscopes. Those not worth the money. Talking about these; https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1600X-US...-/383958375680?_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49286

 

[BoxKing]

Get your hands on some turbo snails. I’m going through the same thing as you‘re and these snails are leaving BLEACH like trails behind them wherever they go.

Another good way to blast the rock work is to use a submersible pump (around 400-600GPH) and blast the rock work with it, and any areas that may have dead water flow. Add some MB7 - MB Clean— replace or clean filter media daily - I use floss in a cup with takes 30 seconds to do, and is dirt cheap.

GL - keep us posted!

 

[ScottB]

It’s a real pain in the butt. I vacuumed all of my sand yesterday, scrubbed the rocks with a toothbrush, did a 20% water change and within 24 hours my sand is brown again. Ordered a microscope from Amazon which was delivered today and it’s faulty. I’m not having much luck.

If the 'scope came with some sample slides, start there. I was a little rusty navigating with it since my last use was 35+ years ago. Not quite like riding a bike. Actually nothing like riding a bike. My son had it working in minutes though, and we are both fairly proficient now.

Start with the "weak" eyepiece and the lower powered lens. IIRC, the 10X eyepiece and the 40X lens will get decent resolution for dinos. I then used the zoom in feature of my phone to get some good video through the eyepiece.

 

[Gogol_frag]

Evening,

Rock work looks great. I would say diatom they way it looks. Keep up regular maintenance and should pass. A cheap turkey baster is a great thing to keep for a reef tank also. You can use it to blow off stuff like that from rock and coral

Looks like Diatoms. I just fought it off in my tank. (My tank had gotten overrun with it) ... I dosed 50 ml of Vibrant for 3 days (each) ... within one week they were all gone.

Vibrant really works extremely well for Diatoms ... and from what I hear most of the uglies. My personal experience is only with Diatoms though. I like natural cures. Vibrant is a bacteria based solution. Sand and rocks are back to pristine white.

Check BRS' video on Vibrant as well. It is definitely not snake-oil and a total god-sent during the ugly phase.

In the defense of Vibrant's detractors, I also regularly dose Prodibio and also dosed Purple NonSulphur bacteria from Hydrospace. During the Diatom bloom.

So it was bit of a shotgun-bacteria-approach, but the uglies were gone within a week. No other changes - (not even a water-change). I would strongly recommend giving it a shot. My ORP usually stays between 210 to 230.

 

[ScottB]

Looks like Diatoms. I just fought it off in my tank. (My tank had gotten overrun with it) ... I dosed 50 ml of Vibrant for 3 days (each) ... within one week they were all gone.

Vibrant really works extremely well for Diatoms ... and from what I hear most of the uglies. My personal experience is only with Diatoms though. I like natural cures. Vibrant is a bacteria based solution. Sand and rocks are back to pristine white.

Check BRS' video on Vibrant as well. It is definitely not snake-oil and a total god-sent during the ugly phase.

In the defense of Vibrant's detractors, I also regularly dose Prodibio and also dosed Purple NonSulphur bacteria from Hydrospace. During the Diatom bloom.

So it was bit of a shotgun-bacteria-approach, but the uglies were gone within a week. No other changes - (not even a water-change). I would strongly recommend giving it a shot. My ORP usually stays between 210 to 230.

There is a school of thought out there, that intervening against the uglies is like intervening against the ugly of human puberty. If you end up with a teenage kid with no BO, no acne and no hormones is that "good"? I can see the short term benefits for sure. But kinda like ending up with white rock and starting over from the beginning.

I am pretty interested in how this works out for you as this approach is uncommon. Start a build thread so you can share the joys of victory and the agony as well.

@jda what are your thoughts about that natural blend of bacteria in Vibrant again?

 

[elorablue]

Get your hands on some turbo snails. I’m going through the same thing as you‘re and these snails are leaving BLEACH like trails behind them wherever they go.

Another good way to blast the rock work is to use a submersible pump (around 400-600GPH) and blast the rock work with it, and any areas that may have dead water flow. Add some MB7 - MB Clean— replace or clean filter media daily - I use floss in a cup with takes 30 seconds to do, and is dirt cheap.

GL - keep us posted!

+1 on this.
I got diatoms...I got Mexican turbos....12 hours later my entire tank was cleaned of diatoms

 

[Gogol_frag]

+1 on this.
I got diatoms...I got Mexican turbos....12 hours later my entire tank was cleaned of diatoms

I like biological solutions, like snails. Is there a worry that snails might die once the algea is gone?

 

[BoxKing]

No the best image as the Aquarium Camera app isn’t really cutting it for my liking (suggestions on phone apps welcome!)

You can see where the turbo snail left its mark, and this was within the first two hours - you can see the disc like space behind the snail which looks spotless. I literally just dropped two of these in the tank this afternoon, and I’m going to bed as if I’m 6yrs old, on the night before Xmas... just waiting to see how well the rock work will look in the morning!

 

[djm]

If the 'scope came with some sample slides, start there. I was a little rusty navigating with it since my last use was 35+ years ago. Not quite like riding a bike. Actually nothing like riding a bike. My son had it working in minutes though, and we are both fairly proficient now.

Start with the "weak" eyepiece and the lower powered lens. IIRC, the 10X eyepiece and the 40X lens will get decent resolution for dinos. I then used the zoom in feature of my phone to get some good video through the eyepiece.

It’s the light on the microscope, it’s not working so I can’t get any light coming through to the lens. Looks like one of the eyepieces is missing also. I’m going to return it and try a different one.
appreciate the tips though, I’ll give it a go when I get a better one. On another note my Hanna ULR Phosphate checker is due to be delivered Friday so I’ll post the results of that when I get it.

 

[Gogol_frag]

There is a school of thought out there, that intervening against the uglies is like intervening against the ugly of human puberty. If you end up with a teenage kid with no BO, no acne and no hormones is that "good"? I can see the short term benefits for sure. But kinda like ending up with white rock and starting over from the beginning.

I am pretty interested in how this works out for you as this approach is uncommon. Start a build thread so you can share the joys of victory and the agony as well.

@jda what are your thoughts about that natural blend of bacteria in Vibrant again?

That's an interesting train of thought ScottB. If you have any articles on the desirability of the ugly-phase, please do share.

My take on the "uglies" ... is that they are just that. A group of organisms that can proliferate in our tanks with ease, and which our aesthetic senses deem undesirable.

Since they are easy to grow, my research and experience (i am a repeat offender-reefer in my second rodeo) shows that they can appear at any stage of the tank's maturity.

They are like the weeds in our gardens. Unpleasant to look at and occupy precious real-estate - but generally not harmful.

 

[ScottB]

That's an interesting train of thought ScottB. If you have any articles on the desirability of the ugly-phase, please do share.

My take on the "uglies" ... is that they are just that. A group of organisms that can proliferate in our tanks with ease, and which our aesthetic senses deem undesirable.

Since they are easy to grow, my research and experience (i am a repeat offender-reefer in my second rodeo) shows that they can appear at any stage of the tank's maturity.

They are like the weeds in our gardens. Unpleasant to look at and occupy precious real-estate - but generally not harmful.

I can't say I've seen such an article, but if there is one it should be a Sticky around here somewhere. Would be a great read if done complete with pictures (microscopic and otherwise) of the typical chain of organisms that proliferate and are then replaced by the next, the next, etc until finally it is just coralline, bacterial film, film algae, pods, diatoms, CUC, coral and fish that I think of as composing a mature and diverse biome.

The "path" to a mature, stable biome can vary a lot, but there are common themes I think. IMO, the most significant accelerator is the bacteria and microfauna that come with live ocean rock. It shortens up the amount of time considerably in my experience. Even still, most new biomes see a period of soft, furry brown algae along with some diatoms. Then sprinkle in some green algae maybe even a bit of turf algae. If nutrients dip you might go through some dinoflagellates. Then when nutrients come back up a period of cyano then followed by some gold ole GHA until the coralline can kick in. Before you know it, the tank is a year old and starting to settle.

 

[Gogol_frag]

I can't say I've seen such an article, but if there is one it should be a Sticky around here somewhere. Would be a great read if done complete with pictures (microscopic and otherwise) of the typical chain of organisms that proliferate and are then replaced by the next, the next, etc until finally it is just coralline, bacterial film, film algae, pods, diatoms, CUC, coral and fish that I think of as composing a mature and diverse biome.

The "path" to a mature, stable biome can vary a lot, but there are common themes I think. IMO, the most significant accelerator is the bacteria and microfauna that come with live ocean rock. It shortens up the amount of time considerably in my experience. Even still, most new biomes see a period of soft, furry brown algae along with some diatoms. Then sprinkle in some green algae maybe even a bit of turf algae. If nutrients dip you might go through some dinoflagellates. Then when nutrients come back up a period of cyano then followed by some gold ole GHA until the coralline can kick in. Before you know it, the tank is a year old and starting to

I can't say I've seen such an article, but if there is one it should be a Sticky around here somewhere. Would be a great read if done complete with pictures (microscopic and otherwise) of the typical chain of organisms that proliferate and are then replaced by the next, the next, etc until finally it is just coralline, bacterial film, film algae, pods, diatoms, CUC, coral and fish that I think of as composing a mature and diverse biome.

The "path" to a mature, stable biome can vary a lot, but there are common themes I think. IMO, the most significant accelerator is the bacteria and microfauna that come with live ocean rock. It shortens up the amount of time considerably in my experience. Even still, most new biomes see a period of soft, furry brown algae along with some diatoms. Then sprinkle in some green algae maybe even a bit of turf algae. If nutrients dip you might go through some dinoflagellates. Then when nutrients come back up a period of cyano then followed by some gold ole GHA until the coralline can kick in. Before you know it, the tank is a year old and starting to settle.

Sounds delightful . Yeah i am definitely in your camp ScottB. Nature does, what nature does. No point in trying to fight her too much.

Below is the link to my build thread. My coral frags arrived today and i will post and update once the polyps open up fully.

link to Build Thread

 

[djm]

So my microscope finally came and I was able to get the following pictures. Not sure how good these are though.

also with the Hanna checker my phosphate is 0.18 nitrates are around 5ppm.

 

[ScottB]

So my microscope finally came and I was able to get the following pictures. Not sure how good these are though.

also with the Hanna checker my phosphate is 0.18 nitrates are around 5ppm.

Do you know what magnification level these were taken under?

I believe I see some cyano (long strands) some diatoms, maybe some golden algae/chrysophyte/symbiodinium.

The little round things... were they moving? Can you describe movement pattern?

Here is a link to a very handy dino ID Guide. The linked videos are very helpful in showing the different movement patterns.

Dinoflagellate Identification Guide

I've had this laying around for a while. Had some recent interest, so I tweaked it a bit and am posting it. Not really about cures just ID pictures, videos, and a few short facts. Hope it can be helpful.

www.reef2reef.com

 

[djm]

Cheers for the guide.

magnification was 250x. Microscope will do 1000x but I was having difficulty focusing.... I’ll practice a bit more.

yes some of the round things were moving, I did a shabby video of them.

 

[attiland]

So my microscope finally came and I was able to get the following pictures. Not sure how good these are though.

also with the Hanna checker my phosphate is 0.18 nitrates are around 5ppm.

Nice mix I have spotted a few diatoms, the cyano is kind of obvious, there are some algae and I have found a few dinos too.