Do I have a problem? 0 Nitrate and 0 Phosphates...some non-hair algae

[GuppyHJD]

I visited my LFS to do some water testing. My tank is a 120g that has been running five months. I have been testing with a mix of testing kits. I tested phosphates with a Hanna UL and get .03. My nitrates are testing 5 with an API test kit. Alk was at 8.3 and over a week is 8.0 using Salifert. Calcium is 465 with Salifert. PH is 8.1 with API.

The LFS tested today - PH 8.2
ALK - 8
Cal - 480
Phos - 0
Nitrates - 0
Mg - 1380
Salinity 1.023

The glass has been getting a brown dust every 2-3 days.
The sand has some brown dust.
The white rock (was dry rock) has a green tint on surfaces that get light.

Live stock is two small clown fish, one medium coral beauty and one starry blenny. I feed them some flake or pellets in the morning and mysis shrimp or brine shrimp in the evening.
Clean up crew is a dozen hermit crabs, a dozen Astra snails, six trocus snails, three big turbo snails and four nassissis snails.
Two "corals" - a GSP frag and a candy cane frag added last week.

My filtration is a protein skimmer and filter socks.

So...my topoff water will have saltwater for the next few days to raise the salinity. Normally I have been topping off with RODI water.

What should I do with Phosphates and Nitrates?

 

[Garf]

I visited my LFS to do some water testing. My tank is a 120g that has been running five months. I have been testing with a mix of testing kits. I tested phosphates with a Hanna UL and get .03. My nitrates are testing 5 with an API test kit. Alk was at 8.3 and over a week is 8.0 using Salifert. Calcium is 465 with Salifert. PH is 8.1 with API.

The LFS tested today - PH 8.2
ALK - 8
Cal - 480
Phos - 0
Nitrates - 0
Mg - 1380
Salinity 1.023

The glass has been getting a brown dust every 2-3 days.
The sand has some brown dust.
The white rock (was dry rock) has a green tint on surfaces that get light.

Live stock is two small clown fish, one medium coral beauty and one starry blenny. I feed them some flake or pellets in the morning and mysis shrimp or brine shrimp in the evening.
Clean up crew is a dozen hermit crabs, a dozen Astra snails, six trocus snails, three big turbo snails and four nassissis snails.
Two "corals" - a GSP frag and a candy cane frag added last week.

My filtration is a protein skimmer and filter socks.

So...my topoff water will have saltwater for the next few days to raise the salinity. Normally I have been topping off with RODI water.

What should I do with Phosphates and Nitrates?

Personally, I wouldn’t mess with them. Sounds ok to me.

 

[GuppyHJD]

Hello,
It looks like I have joined the club...I think I have Dinoflagellates.
My tank is 120g, that I setup in Nov 2020, and it cycled in Jan 2021 (4 months ago). The tank as 4 fish (two clowns, one blenny and one Coral Beauty) and 4 coral frags (GPS, Chalice, Candy Cane, Monti S). The tank was started with dry rock. In February the LED lights (Noopsyche K7 Pro) we setup on their LSP/SPS settings. The filtration is primarily a skimmer in the sump. My LFS had advised me to dose Seachem Stability for three months after the tank cycling, so that stopped 2.5 weeks ago.
Approximately a week ago, I noticed an area 3" round of what I believe is Dinos on the rocks on the other side of the tank from the powerhead(brown stringy algea looking with bubbles that grows during the lighted period, and seems to shrink back over night). The area has grown about an inch in the last week. I added more movement in the tank with a IceCap Gyre 4K on the opposite end of the tank, and a Aqueon power head at the end nearest the dinos.
My tank have been running with Nitrates 0.0 and Phosphates 0.0. Calcium 460-480. Magnesium 1360. My testing is using Hanna UL Phosphate, rest is Salifert. (my testing confirmed by LFS every 2 weeks) My LFS has advised me to feed the fish more and more often to raise the phosphates. Nitrates are still 0. Phosphates have jumped from 0 on March 15, .20 on March 25, .42 on March 30 and today .31. LFS also recommended dosing Red Sea AB+ which started 3/28.
Having read maybe 100-150 posts and multiple threads on this site concerning Dinos, I am planning to start dosing Microbactor 7 or Vibrant (have both on hand) and dosing ESV B-Ionic Nitrate (picking up tomorrow).
Will be changing the tank to only blue light and less hours starting with tomorrows cycle.

What am I missing?

 

[vetteguy53081]

What test kits are you using ?

 

[GuppyHJD]

Hanna for

What test kits are you using ?

Hanna for phosphates, API for PH, Salifert for Nitrate, Calcium, Alk, (LFS for Magnesium)

 

[Nano sapiens]

What am I missing?

Reef associated bacteria? Did you add any real live rock, rubble or sand to the system (as in originally from the ocean or from an established reef aquarium)?

Common problem with dry rock only reef aquaria these days (was nearly unheard of when using true ocean live rock 'back-in-the-day').

 

[GuppyHJD]

Reef associated bacteria? Did you add any real live rock, rubble or sand to the system (as in originally from the ocean or from an established reef aquarium)?

Common problem with dry rock only reef aquaria these days (was nearly unheard of when using true ocean live rock 'back-in-the-day').

I did not add any live rock or live sand. My aquarium 25 yrs ago was all live rock but now it does not seem to be in favor. My LFS are very vocal that I should not risk bringing anything from the ocean in, for fear of hitchhikers. I started the dry rock with Dr. Tims and then Microbacter7 and after cycle Seachem Stabilty.

 

[Nano sapiens]

I did not add any live rock or live sand. My aquarium 25 yrs ago was all live rock but now it does not seem to be in favor. My LFS are very vocal that I should not risk bringing anything from the ocean in, for fear of hitchhikers. I started the dry rock with Dr. Tims and then Microbacter7 and after cycle Seachem Stabilty.

Ah, there you go. The products you mentioned are limited bacterial strains that are good for cycling, but not long term reef care (few of the thousands of marine bacteria/archaea species that exist on the reef are culturable in a lab).

As you know from 25 years ago, hitchhikers (and how to deal with the 'bad' ones) was part of the reef experience. Along with a few nasties are many of the species (micro and macro fauna) that naturally develop to balance a reef aquarium. Did you have dino problems with your old LR setup? If not, that tells you something .

If you are really concerned about hitchhikers, here's an idea (but note that you will not get the full benefit of larger potentially stabilizing organisms this way). You can take a piece or two of real live rock, rubble or sand and put it into something like a 200 micron filter cleaning sock and then tie the end shut real tight. Place this in your sump or tank where there is flow and leave for a few weeks. The bacteria are small enough and will pass right through into your system, but very few, if any, other larger creatures, eggs, larvae, etc. can. Remove rock/sock and give LR to someone else when done

 

[attiland]

Hello,
It looks like I have joined the club...I think I have Dinoflagellates.
My tank is 120g, that I setup in Nov 2020, and it cycled in Jan 2021 (4 months ago). The tank as 4 fish (two clowns, one blenny and one Coral Beauty) and 4 coral frags (GPS, Chalice, Candy Cane, Monti S). The tank was started with dry rock. In February the LED lights (Noopsyche K7 Pro) we setup on their LSP/SPS settings. The filtration is primarily a skimmer in the sump. My LFS had advised me to dose Seachem Stability for three months after the tank cycling, so that stopped 2.5 weeks ago.
Approximately a week ago, I noticed an area 3" round of what I believe is Dinos on the rocks on the other side of the tank from the powerhead(brown stringy algea looking with bubbles that grows during the lighted period, and seems to shrink back over night). The area has grown about an inch in the last week. I added more movement in the tank with a IceCap Gyre 4K on the opposite end of the tank, and a Aqueon power head at the end nearest the dinos.
My tank have been running with Nitrates 0.0 and Phosphates 0.0. Calcium 460-480. Magnesium 1360. My testing is using Hanna UL Phosphate, rest is Salifert. (my testing confirmed by LFS every 2 weeks) My LFS has advised me to feed the fish more and more often to raise the phosphates. Nitrates are still 0. Phosphates have jumped from 0 on March 15, .20 on March 25, .42 on March 30 and today .31. LFS also recommended dosing Red Sea AB+ which started 3/28.
Having read maybe 100-150 posts and multiple threads on this site concerning Dinos, I am planning to start dosing Microbactor 7 or Vibrant (have both on hand) and dosing ESV B-Ionic Nitrate (picking up tomorrow).
Will be changing the tank to only blue light and less hours starting with tomorrows cycle.

What am I missing?

You are missing a positive ID of what stains you have. Treatment is different for some. Find the Dino tread where people can ID you microscope pics abs advise what to do.
if you do it without an ID you are just experimenting on your live stock

 

[attiland]

I visited my LFS to do some water testing. My tank is a 120g that has been running five months. I have been testing with a mix of testing kits. I tested phosphates with a Hanna UL and get .03. My nitrates are testing 5 with an API test kit. Alk was at 8.3 and over a week is 8.0 using Salifert. Calcium is 465 with Salifert. PH is 8.1 with API.

The LFS tested today - PH 8.2
ALK - 8
Cal - 480
Phos - 0
Nitrates - 0
Mg - 1380
Salinity 1.023

The glass has been getting a brown dust every 2-3 days.
The sand has some brown dust.
The white rock (was dry rock) has a green tint on surfaces that get light.

Live stock is two small clown fish, one medium coral beauty and one starry blenny. I feed them some flake or pellets in the morning and mysis shrimp or brine shrimp in the evening.
Clean up crew is a dozen hermit crabs, a dozen Astra snails, six trocus snails, three big turbo snails and four nassissis snails.
Two "corals" - a GSP frag and a candy cane frag added last week.

My filtration is a protein skimmer and filter socks.

So...my topoff water will have saltwater for the next few days to raise the salinity. Normally I have been topping off with RODI water.

What should I do with Phosphates and Nitrates?

Based on your post you have a new tank. Nitrate on 5ppm is perfect don’t touch it. Phosphate is ok on 0.03. Whatch out for that though.
Brown staff on glass is normal.
you may want to change that API nitrate test when it runs out.
sand brown stuff - can be many things. Get a microscope that will help to check what is it exactly.

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

Diatom

 

[homer1475]

Pics would help get an ID on it too.

From the description and subsequent reading, I would dare say it is more then likely is dino's. But without a proper ID, it's a tough call(could also be diatoms in a new tank). Different strains require a different approach, none of which calls for vibrant, only blue lights, or microbacter7. Raising nutrients will help with all forms of dino's, and is what usually eradicates them(creating more favorable places for other strians of algae to grow and outcompete the dino's).

There is a huge thread about dino's, how to properly ID them, and how to comabt them down in the algae section of this forum.